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Woman’s Inspiring Post-Mastectomy Photos Banned from Facebook


Joanne Jackson
Joanne Jackson

After beating breast cancer, Joanne Jackson, 40, commissioned a series of photos of her post-mastectomy body as a celebration of survival and strength. "I took breast cancer and the mastectomy in my stride and decided it wasn't going to stop me living my life," the British mom of two told the Daily Mail, "It wasn't going to define who I was, and it didn't make me any less attractive as a woman." The images show Jackson draped in cloth like a Greek goddess and some expose her chest and mastectomy scar (click here to see more of the images.)

See more: Too hot for work? Woman sues former lingerie employers

She posted the pictures on her own Facebook page as well as on the pages of some cancer organizations. She was shocked when she discovered some of the pictures had been deleted and received an automatic message that they had been taken down for their "offensive" content. "Shares that contain nudity, pornography and graphic sexual content are not permitted on Facebook," read the warning. "Additional violations may result in the termination of your account."

"It's censorship, pure and simple,'" Jackson told the Mail. "And I'm not backing down so Facebook can do their worst." Friends around the world have re-posted her pictures.

Last week, the social media giant was criticized for banning Heather Walker, a Tennessee mother, from the website, after she posted pictures of her newborn boy who was born with an incurable neural tube defect. In some of the images, which were taken in the hospital with the baby's father and other family members, parts of the baby's brain were visible through his skull. "They allow people to post almost nude pictures of themselves, profanity, and so many other things," Walker told WMC-TV, "but I'm not allowed to share a picture of God's beautiful creation."

Are Facebook's censors going too far? Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

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