A popular Twitch streamer has provoked controversy online, after a video showing her breastfeeding her baby was removed by the platform.
Heather Kent, who goes by the handle HeatheredEffect, boasts nearly 90,000 subscribers on YouTube and almost 16,000 on Twitch. Her videos typically involve her chatting with a guest and discussing current issues.
However, in one recent video, where she decided to breastfeed her baby on camera, the footage was taken down after some viewers complained that it was a NSFW violation of the Twitch terms of service.
Check out this footage from the deleted video below:Outraged by the censorship, Heather took to Twitter to share her frustration with Twitch, and uploaded the footage in question to her Twitter account.
She captioned the video: "Today I streamed while breastfeeding on @Twitch. This clip (which had over 20k views and would’ve helped tremendously with the #normalizebreastfeeding movement) was deleted by Twitch with no explanation. We obviously have a long way to go in the fight to normalize breastfeeding."
She later added: "The fact that I even have to share this. SMH. Also, I’m NOT sorry if a breastfeeding woman makes you feel uncomfortable. If you’re triggered by a NIPPLE that’s FEEDING A BABY & try to equate it to anything else that’s inappropriate (porn) then you need to do some soul searching. [sic]"
In a later interview with video gaming website, Kotaku, Heather stated: "I thought that I would get some creepy comments because it’s Twitch. But I’ve honestly been shocked by the negative community reaction as a whole."
She continued: "It’s been a little shocking and a little demoralizing and kind of sad. It’s actually put me in a corner where I feel like I actually need to take a stand for this because clearly there’s a lot of minds that need to be changed or enlightened when it comes to breastfeeding."
Sadly, this isn't the first time that breastfeeding has provoked controversy online.