Touched Mama Takes Photo Of Husband and Son, But Internet Freaks Out Over One Detail

When Heather Whitten shared a picture of a vulnerable and intimate moment between her husband and son, what resulted was wild, unexpected controversy.]

Heather, a professional photographer, took the above picture of her spouse and (then) 1-year-old son Fox when Fox was ill with a high fever from food poisoning.  She wanted to show the close relationship between father and son, and capture a scary but sweet moment in the parenting experience.

Heather wrote on Facebook:

"Thomas had spent hours in the shower with him, trying to keep his fever down and letting the vomit and diarrhea rinse off of them both as it came. 

It was a powerful moment for us as parents. Our intuition was starting to fire off that this was much more serious than just a virus." 

Instead of support and appreciation, Heather and her family were met with aggressive criticism and negativity, people decrying the photo as innappropriate because of the "nudity". (Probably by the same people that think women should go hide in a bathroom stall if then have to breastfeed while they're out and about.  IF you think there's something sexual about a woman feeding her child, or about a father comforting his son...there's probably something wrong with YOU.)

People actually reported the picture as pornographic and Facebook took it down.  According to PetaPixel, it even became the subject of a legal battle with child protective services!

But Heather wouldn't back down.  This is her family and she wouldn't be shamed, or allow people to label their beauty and experience as "inappropriate" or any of the other lewd comments.  "There is nothing sexual or exploitative about this image. There aren't even any 'private parts' showing."

Heather recently reposted the picture and had this to say.

"As I sat in the shower with the two of them I was just overwhelmed with the scene in front of me. This man. This husband and partner and father. He was so patient and so loving and so strong with our tiny son in his lap. His whispers of reassurance to Fox, that he would be ok and that Thomas would take care of him were so steady and so honest. 

I stepped out and grabbed my camera and came back to snap a few images of it and, of course shared them. I was taken aback by how many people missed the story or didn't even look past the nudity to find the story. They were just hung up on them both being nude and being in the shower. I had crossed a line. It was too intimate. It shouldn't be shared publicly. 

But, I disagree. 

My family may be different than yours. But, that doesn't make your way right or my way wrong. You may never take images of your family like I do... you may never share images of your family like I do. But, that doesn't give you the right to silence my voice."