Tattoo Artist Claps Back at Mastectomy Censorship

Meet Lucy Thompson, a 29-year-old tattoo artist based in Bradford, UK who specializes in 3-D nipple tattoos for breast cancer survivors. She’s established a charity called the Nipple Innovation Project, which connects breast cancer survivors with tattoo artists throughout the United Kingdom.

Social media allows Thompson to share her craft and is an integral tool to her business. However, because of Facebook’s terms and agreements regarding nudity, her work is consistently censored. Thompson first shared her concerns about being blocked on social media with Daily Mail, sharing:

“These tattoos are not a luxury, they are a necessity and an important part of the healing process for breast cancer survivors. A semi-permanent tattoo will only temporarily boost their confidence and it does not look very realistic, I have customers come to me and they can’t even look in the mirror. The tattoos I do are permanent and they must be good as Facebook is mistaking them for ‘nudity.'”

Thompson is far from the only tattoo artist who experiences censorship on social media, however, because of the sensitive nature of her work, being locked out of her Facebook page is especially harmful. These mastectomy tattoos can change people’s live and turn a negative association into a positive one. However, if artists like Thompson are shut out of their accounts, they cannot help women in need.

What do you think of Facebook’s censorship of mastectomy tattoos? Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments section.