- Vicky Martin, a mastectomy tattoo artist, is leading a protest outside the Facebook UK HQ in London this Friday after photos of her work have been repeatedly banned from the site – for being 'pornographic'
- Martin claims that her efforts to reach out to Facebook have been ignored
- For the action, she has commissioned a 15ft inflatable breast with her areola tattoo, including the slogan: ‘This is Art’
- Facebook have told Women's Health that: 'Vicky’s profile shouldn’t have been suspended – this was a mistake and we’re sorry for the upset this has caused'
Vicky Martin, a medical tattooist who creates 3D nipple tattoos for breast cancer survivors, is leading a protest outside the Facebook UK Headquarters in London after her work has been repeatedly banned from the site – for being 'pornographic.'
At 11:30am on the 15th of November, Martin will be leading breast cancer survivors, fellow medical tattoo technicians and members of charity the Pink Ribbon Foundation in a bid to raise awareness of the incidents.
Martin, who has tattooed more than 100 life-like areolas on women who have had theirs removed after undergoing mastectomies, has said the social media platform keeps removing her photos for violating their community guidelines on sexual content and pornography.
Martin explains: ‘Women deserve the very best artwork and support after the end of a long journey. Medical tattooists like me are the last stop in their fight against this terrible disease, and I feel it’s my duty to share on social media what’s possible because everyone deserves to look and feel whole again.’
'It's crazy that women can't post these images – they are not pornographic, they are a celebration of how far they have come on their fight against breast cancer and a means of helping them feel special and strong,' she said.
'All they want to do is share the pictures with small groups of like minded people, who through a special type of 'sisterhood' help them to feel special again and enhance their confidence.'
'We should not take away the right for women to celebrate the end of their journeys. Allow us to share privately, give people the option to 'un-blur' if necessary, or set age restrictions – just please stop blocking us. We just want a reasonable way forward.'
Women's Health reached out to Facebook for comment, who said that the suspensions had been made in error.
'Vicky’s profile shouldn’t have been suspended – this was a mistake and we’re sorry for the upset this has caused,' said a spokesperson.
'Whilst nudity isn’t allowed on Facebook, we make exceptions for posts which are clearly intended as medical or educational, which can include images of post-mastectomy areola tattoos. The decisions we make when we apply our policies are very nuanced and sometimes we get it wrong. We have restored the posts that were removed.'
Martin believes the decision to remove her pictures and suspend her account can have damaging effects on her clients.
'When I am blocked, I am unable to reply to women who are reaching out for help which is heart-breaking,' she said. 'The last thing they need when their confidence levels have hit rock bottoms is to feel like their are being ignored.'
Martin claims that she has 'tried calling, emailing and using social media [to contact Facebook] but nobody ever gets back,' to her.
Speaking of the protest, she explains: ‘We’re pulling out the stops so that they won’t be able to ignore me any longer. Ironically, I used posts on Facebook to gather the troops, let’s just hope they listen to what we have to say.'
As to what you can expect to see? Multiple like-minded 'troops' accompanied by a 15ft inflatable breast with Martins areola tattoo, including the slogan: ‘This is Art’.
A spokesperson from the Pink Ribbon Foundation, Lisa Allen, expressed their support for the campaign as she said: ‘The Pink Ribbon Foundation is very supportive of the fantastic work Vicky Martin and others like her do to support those affected by breast cancer. As such we are very pleased to come to show our support to her – and to the hundreds of people she helps to feel whole again.
'We really hope her efforts are rewarded so that she and others like her can continue to promote her good work across social media and help women and men on their fight against breast cancer.’
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