Facebook and Instagram to allow bare breast images for transgender and nonbinary

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has decided to allow images of bare breasts for individuals who are transgender and nonbinary, a change to their previous policy that did not allow images of bare breasts.

At this point, bare-breast images of cisgender individuals are still not allowed on the platform.

The board on Wednesday overturned a ruling that removed two images of a transgender couple from Facebook because their breasts were bare.

Facebook said that the removal was “not in line with Meta’s Community Standards, values or human rights responsibilities,” then restored the photos.

A Facebook spokesperson told the New York Post, “We welcome the board’s decision in this case.”

The ruling requires human reviewers to make split-second decisions regarding gender and sexual orientation, which does not seem feasible given the rapidly multiplying number of gender identities.