THE The Free the Nipple campaign is working to achieve equality when it comes to male and female nudity – but will de-censoring womens’ nipples do more harm than good in the quest for gender equality? Our two writers battled it out.
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tarting off, let me just say I’m a prude. I cringe at men walking around topless and sunburned in town centres in the summer and would be horrified at the thought of women doing the same. Unfortunately this is not a view shared by everyone, and the desire to bare all has lead to the formation of a new internet campaign – Free the Nipple. The Free the Nipple campaign aims to confront the stigma associated with women being topless in public, and to make it socially acceptable for a woman to show her nipples in the same way a man can. Organisers of free the nipple state "we stand against female oppression and censorship." According to Lina Esco the director of the Free the Nipple film, the campaign aims to help change censorship laws and de-criminalize the female body. In the USA it is a criminal act for a woman to be publicly topless in 37 states, which in some includes breastfeeding. Based on that information, it’s obvious why there is a certain amount of unrest among women. Yes, a woman should have the same right to be topless as a man, and certainly she should be able to breastfeed her child without the fear of being arrested. But I’m still yet to see
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Priscilla Quarcoo why exactly women have such an ardent yearning to cavort topless in public? Not all women want this; in fact – it’s really only a minority. While freeing the nipple may represent a step forward for female equality, it may also exacerbate the problem of women being judged by their body image and encouraging unwanted sexual attention. One of the many reasons that lads magazines are covered up in shops is to desexualise women, so why reverse the process? With many women already facing sexist banter and misogyny daily, freeing the nipple and potentially being judged on my breast size and shape seems spectacularly unappealing. Surely this campaign can only increase the pressure to conform to a certain body image, thereby creating more problems than it solves. All in all it seems that the dignity of western women is plummeting rapidly, and this is just another example. Focusing on first world problems, such as being unable to show your breasts on Instagram, feels just a litte bit shallow to be considered a real problem.
Not all women want this - In fact It’s really only a minority
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