Facebook asks user to remove viral posts against LGBT-friendly restroom policies

In this photo illustration, a Facebook logo on a computer screen is seen through a magnifying glass held by a woman in Bern May 19, 2012. Picture taken May 19, 2012. | REUTERS/THOMAS HODEL

Social media giant Facebook has asked one of its users to take down her posts that question the policies of men being allowed to use women's facilities.

Kristi Merritt of Lakewood, Washington has posted a series of photos showing herself dressed in different costumes, with the underlying message that dressing up as one or the other does not make her into what the costume makes her appear to be.

She put on pirate costume and asked, "Does this make me a pirate?" while another photo showing her in a football jersey asks, "Does this make me Russell Wilson?" One of the photos features a dress, high-heeled shoes, and a purse, along with the message, "Then how can this make a man into a woman?"

The caption of the post reads: "A man in women's clothes does not make him a woman. Men should not get to be in our bathrooms or lockers!"

Her post has garnered more than 114,000 shares, but apparently, there are those who tagged it as nudity in order to have it removed. Facebook has sent her a "Review the Facebook Community Standards" message.

"Facebook is trying to make me remove this post, they are saying it has nudity in it," Merritt said in an update. "Here's what's happening. The people who want to censor me are reporting it as having nudity when clearly it does not. THIS IS HOW THE LEFTIST HATERS function, only they have free speech!!!!"

In a complaint she sent to the social media giant, Merritt stated that there is no nudity in her photos and that "people are harrassing and bullying me to get it removed because they do not like my opinion and want to censor my free speech."

Facebook has already removed one of her photos showing herself in a Mexican costume. Media outlets have also criticized her posts, with Pink News calling her action as "a bizarre show of ignorance," and Refinery 29 calling her "transphobic" and her post as a "socio-political problem."