Discussion: Please read before Judging

DevonDreams

Quote:

This photograph of a father holding his son in the shower has been shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook in the last fortnight. But over the same period it's also also been taken down by the social media platform more than once before ultimately being reinstated each time. Why?

In some ways the picture appears to show a fairly everyday scene. A dad cradling his severely sick child in his arms. Except in this instance, they are in the shower and both naked. The picture was posted on social media by the photographer Heather Whitten who lives in Arizona in the US. It shows her son Fox and her husband, the boy's father Thomas Whitten.

For many viewers the image is a touching portrait of parental care and affection. The reason that father and son were naked was because Fox had Salmonella poisoning for which he would soon after be hospitalised.

"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," Whitten wrote in her post accompanying the photo.

"He was so patient and so loving and so strong with our tiny son in his lap... I stepped out and grabbed my camera and came back to snap a few images of it and, of course shared them."

But for some people the image is inappropriate at best and at worst has undertones of paedophilia. Whitten has been surprised by this reaction and was shocked when people posted negative comments about what was for her a beautiful moment.

"There is nothing sexual or exploitative about this image," she wrote in the initial post. "I was taken aback by how many people missed the story or didn't even look past the nudity to find the story."

credits

May

very powerful after learning the backstory

Diarrhoea

I saw this on BBC yesterday. It's cute, I would never do it but that's nice.

Jet

Ok that's touching but I don't see why the father had to be naked

Nikolai.

there's nothing wrong with this, my dad took showers with all of us when we were little

DevonDreams

Quote:

Originally posted by Jet

Ok that's touching but I don't see why the father had to be naked

did you even read it?

J a y

Lovely story, had to stop reading when I got the general idea cos I don't wanna cry rn

I wouldn't have had a problem with the image anyway, if not for the unfortunate circumstances

But - would the image have been less or even not deemed controversial if it was his mother instead? 👀

Thought provoking

Diarrhoea

Quote:

Originally posted by Jet

Ok that's touching but I don't see why the father had to be naked

Well I wouldn't want my son's vomit and diarrhoea smearing all over my soaking wet clothes either

Daddy

That's one of the disadvantages of social media. Nowadays we can read the thoughts and opinions of the most stupid and vile people out there just because they were able to get on the web. People can be TRAGIC!

Cute story and great pic, nothing wrong with that.

Harrier

Quote:

Originally posted by Nikolai.

there's nothing wrong with this, my dad took showers with all of us when we were little

!!! exactly. Not all men are paedophiles.

DILF $

Quote:

Originally posted by Diarrhoea

Well I wouldn't want my son's vomit and diarrhoea smearing all over my soaking wet clothes either

So you would like his vomit and diarrhea covering your skin?

No

Diarrhoea

Quote:

Originally posted by Rih's Sex Slave

So you would like his vomit and diarrhea covering your skin?

No

It washes off of skin a lot easier than clothes

wesleywalrus

People need to stop seeing being in the nude as sexual. It's what we're born with. As long as the child isn't in danger (which the adult male was doing the exact opposite) then who's to say what you can do with your child?

Javan

All of this could have been avoided if white people learned to cook chicken but I digress.

jose168

i get it and agree its not inappropriate but i dont see why he/they had to take a picture? Fish for sympathy/likes? out of your childs illness? ehhh

Diarrhoea

Quote:

Originally posted by jose168

i get it and agree its not inappropriate but i dont see why he/they had to take a picture? Fish for sympathy/likes? out of your childs illness? ehhh

Kinda

moonlight.

Quote:

Originally posted by Daddy

That's one of the disadvantages of social media. Nowadays we can read the thoughts and opinions of the most stupid and vile people out there just because they were able to get on the web. People can be TRAGIC!

Cute story and great pic, nothing wrong with that.

!!! like, people literally see a picture and one word and get their own opinions going before reading the whole article. its annoying.

but the picture is powerful and so is the story

Sazare

Quote:

Originally posted by Javan

All of this could have been avoided if white people learned to cook chicken but I digress.

fridayteenage

Quote:

Originally posted by Javan

All of this could have been avoided if white people learned to cook chicken but I digress.

oh my

Can't_M!ss_This

Beautiful shot. Stupid people. The outraged. Or "outraged" as is most likely. People love being up in arms. Ignore them and do what you please