The amazing disappearing lady has disappeared once again. For the third time in less than a year, YouTube has deleted one of my unassisted homebirth videos because it "violated their community guidelines." They've also threatened to permanently disable my account.
WHAT IS SO OFFENSIVE ABOUT THIS VIDEO ??? While it's currently posted on Jumpcut, it's already been flagged, although not deleted (yet). Google, MySpace and several other video hosting sites deleted it within hours of my posting it. When I've asked friends about this I've gotten the following responses:
-It makes people uncomfortable because it's too sexual. It takes place in a bedroom, and the sounds she's making are similar to those of a woman having sex. She almost sounds as if she's enjoying giving birth!
-It makes people uncomfortable because they're afraid to see birth outside a hospital setting. Most people are convinced that birth is inherently dangerous, and needs to be managed and controlled by "experts."
-It makes people uncomfortable because the woman is far too independent. No one is there telling her what to do. She actually has the audacity to think for herself and believe in her own abilities.
Of course, I'm not the only one that has been targeted. As I wrote in my previous post about Censorship on YouTube, other homebirth videos - both unassisted and midwife assisted - have also been deleted. Hospital birth videos, however, no matter how graphic (and disturbing, as far as I'm concerned) are perfectly OK. Click here and here.
The upside of this is that I no longer have to spend time everyday deleting angry comments from people who didn't approve of the video. On the other hand, I no longer get to read the lovely comments from people whose lives were changed for the better after watching this beautiful and inspiring NATURAL event.
7 comments:
I started reading through your blog and I just had to leave a comment on this one.
I have seen this beautiful video a few times before and think it is just incredible. I have had 2 homebirths myself and could not even finish watching those hospital "birth" videos you linked to (if you can even call them birth, I think they should be called something more like baby extraction!.
Those videos had me crying and shaking and just screaming in horror.
"Leave her alone!!"
"Just let that poor woman stand up!!!"
I was beside myself!
That poor woman . . . "Just lie there you poor woman we'll take care of it! . . . NO, don't do anything you poor woman, we'll get this baby out of you!"
No one should be That Poor Woman while they're bringing life into the world! That powerful woman, that amazing woman, that BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!! But not that poor woman, that just takes something away from ALL women!
I'm thankful to find others who believe that babies AND mothers are born together, and how they come into this world MATTERS!!!
Thank you for the beautiful images of birth . . . the way it is meant to be!
Forever a homebirther!
Tracy
Beautifully put, Tracy! I agree completely!
Laura
There is nothing wrong with that video. It is very inspiring for me. I wish I had seen this before I had my first child via c-section. I would have made different choices than. Thanks for sharing, and ensuring that we have access to real information about birth.
I agree, there should be nothing offensive about that video beyond the fact of her nudity. It's almost as if people do not want anyone to see what childbirth could be like; just read the comments on those hospital-birth video if you don't know what I'm talking about - most of them simply accept that as the way it must be.
One thing that strikes me - and did even before seeing these particular births - is just how _obvious_ it is that lying on one's back is the wrong position for giving birth.
Andrew Usher
I love watching homebirths! I'm a self professed birth junkie and am UCing with my current pregnancy...I just wanted to add that there are VERY FEW hospital births that are even viewable now. something is very sick and wrong with today's society that allows porn left right and center and yet something as beautiful as homebirth is shunned! So frustrating!
Lori-Dawn
The first video was *of course* beautiful and the video that has been inspiring me whenever something negative crosses my mind about an out-of-hospital birth. And the last two....I'm speechless. I actually had to look away, and that is unusual. That is not childbirth. That is the definition of "birth rape" right there. It is wrong, sick, and sad. That last one when they are literally ripping the baby from her is....my word.
YouTube should be ashamed of themselves.
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