FRUSTRATED tattoo artists are shocked Instagram is removing their posts for a breast cancer fundraiser deeming them "pornography".

Circle of Swords, a tattoo studio on Trinity Street, is hosting a fundraising event for the Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance (MTA) which offers areola tattoos to women who have undergone treatment for breast cancer.

Despite the incredible work the charity does, the tattoo studio is struggling to promote its upcoming charity event due to social media platforms taking down their images deeming them "inappropriate". 

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Lawrence Phillips, known as Loz, who co-owns the business with his wife Katie Phillips, is hoping for a good turnout to the MTA Flash Day on Sunday, October 29 but the social media ban is causing concern.

He said: "It is incredibly frustrating as it is really difficult to explain what nipple tattooing is without showing it.

"The process involves tattooing nipples, and some other designs as well, to help women feel like themselves again."

"Due to there being a whole issue with female nipples we cannot properly promote it on social media.

"When my wife has been posting about the event, she has been using some of the promo material from the charity which features tattooed nipples and the images keep getting flagged as inappropriate."

People will be able to walk-in on the day and pick a design from the flash sheet before getting tattooed with all proceeds going to the charity.

Mr Phillips praised the important work that the Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance does.

He said: "The most annoying thing is we do not often promote our own work that much but as this is a charity event we want to promote it but it cannot be done.

"It is just a shame because it is a great cause, it is tattoo-related and we are friends with the organisers as well."

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The Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance (MTA) was founded by Tanya Buxton in 2021 and was created to help support breast cancer survivors reclaim their bodies after mastectomy surgeries.

MTA provide "life-changing and empowering" areola-nipple tattoos and mastectomy tattoos for people who have had breast cancer.

They say the tattoos help people reclaim their body and confidence after surgery.

The charity launched the campaign Celebrated Not Censored saying social media constantly remove the images claiming they ‘violate community guidelines on sexual and nudity activity’.

The charity added: "[It is] both an outdated and sexist attitude towards the female body. This also prevents an incredibly positive service reaching survivors."

The event will be held on Sunday, October 29 and does not require a booking to be able to attend.

For more information on the charity, visit https://www.mastectomytattooingalliance.org/about-mastectomy-tattooing-alliance/.