So there’s been some media attention surrounding Facebook’s purging of any photos having anything to do with a woman’s nipple.

The sides have been distinct: breast-feeding advocates insist that women should be able to nurse anytime, anyplace, while opponents use words like discretion and discomfort. But the latest battle apparently has nothing to do with the best way to nourish a baby or the boundaries between private and public. It’s about the nipples, stupid.

Facebook has drawn a line in the sand by removing any photos it deems obscene, including those containing a fully exposed breast, which the site defines as “showing the nipple or areola.” In other words, plunging necklines or string bikinis are fine — just no nips. The purging of bare-boob pics began last summer and has swept up, alongside any girls gone wild, a growing number of proud — and very ticked-off — breast feeders. (Read about giving birth at home.)

On Dec. 27, some 11,000 protesters held a virtual nurse-in by uploading breast-feeding photos onto their Facebook profiles, and 20 or so women showed up at the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., to breast-feed there. By Dec. 30, more than 85,000 members had joined a Facebook group called “Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!”

The group, founded by San Diego mom Kelli Roman, urges Facebook to change its obscenity policy. “We expect you to realize that nursing moms everywhere have a right to show pictures of their babies eating, just like bottle-fed babies have a right to be seen,” their petition reads. “In an effort to appease the closed-minded, you are only serving to be detrimental to babies, women, and society.”

Personally? On one hand, I’d really not watch a kid nurse in public. On the other hand, I can always look away. Further, I think it’d be great if beautiful women walked around topless all the time, so it is at least somewhat hypocritical for me to oppose nursing in public.

Frankly, I think women’s breasts and nipples are far more attractive than a man’s. You might say, “But, Snay, that’s because a.) you’re not a gay male, and/or b.) you’re not a straight woman.” True enough, but even from an objective standpoint, hairy guy nipples are disgusting. And since we’re speaking of hairy man nipples — and at this point I should warn you that clicking on “more” might make this post very much NSFW — please click more:

So, I’d like to start the Facebook Nipple Meme. If you’re reading this, and you’ve got a blog, a digital camera, and at least one nipple … well, a.) you’re tagged, and b.) I’m sure you can figure out what’s necessary for the meme itself.

Disclaimer: Check for applicable rules-of-use if you don’t host your own blogs. Female bloggers encouraged to participate. This is the closest you’ll get me to a TMI Thursday.