Photographer Banned From Facebook For Body-Positive Nude Series

Original Round Blue Facebook Web IconPhotographer Julia Busato started a project one year ago to photograph nude women posing with a mannequin. According to Busato, the series was designed to emphasize the positive message that beauty should not rely on societal standards. However, Facebook apparently saw it differently — the social media giant suspended her account after users reported it.

Busato is still unable to access her account, though she commented on the issue of malicious image reporting in a Facebook post earlier this month. She noted that, as an independent business owner, the practice can severely harm her bottom line.

“I make a living from the contacts I make on social media. Being blocked from Facebook… can have a serious negative effect on one’s ability to pay their bills, and reporting images because of who posts them or because you don’t like them is going to contribute to that,” she said. “Second, it is nothing less than bullying. It is taking advantage of a system that Facebook themselves are complicit in allowing.”

Facebook often responds to strong public outcry in cases like this, but as of this writing, Busato still cannot access her account. Hopefully the site soon acknowledges it made a mistake and restores her privileges, before examining why instances like this keep happening in the first place.