While researching for this article, I came across this story which shows the double standards in our society-
A girl was spending some quality time with her mother. And her mom suddenly glares at her with a look of dismay and says “Why can I see your nipples through your shirt? Heights of indecency” And when the daughter refused to wear a bra, the mom yelled at her till she wore her bra. The same mother was ogling at a famous hero shirtless a little while before this incident.
Why is it that a man is allowed to walk shirtless? And everyone is perfectly okay with it but a woman can’t do the same thing just because she has a little extra mass in that area. If a woman does the same she would be charged with public indecency and would have to go through lifelong harassment.
Women’s bodies have always been oversexualized and breasts have been an example of flagrant objectification. The objectification of a women’s body makes something as simple as a nipple into an image of obscenity. This should not be the case as the female nipple is not a symbol of obscenity but a symbol of life.
What is the “Free the Nipple” movement?
In 2012, filmmaker and actress Lina Esco started a topfreedom campaign in New York City. She released a documentary of herself running topless through the streets of New York. She later posted teaser clips on Facebook, which was taken down in 2013.
Netflix then released the documentary titled Free the Nipple in 2014. This led to the “Free the Nipple” campaign to become a global movement. The Free the Nipple campaign has made its mission to reclaim women’s bodies, sexuality, and safety. Toplessness assists the movement not only as a platform but also as a protest to desexualize women’s nipples. This movement is about giving women the option to be topless, free of harassment & judgment, and not to force every woman to go topless.
Objective of the Movement
The motto of this movement is that both women and men have breasts as they share the same characteristics such as breast tissue, areolas, and nipples. The major difference between men’s and women’s breasts is that the latter has the ability to produce milk for the offspring. This leads to female chests being perceived as sexual rather than biological.
Role of Social Media
Instagram and Facebook’s community guidelines ban posting of nudity on the app which includes female nipples. However, the depiction of violence and women posing alluringly have not been censored in the media. This uncalled-for over-sexualization which has been hardwired into the society has led to women’s nipples being viewed as obscenity whereas, men’s nipples are viewed as normal. That is the reason women are advocating for the Free the Nipple movement.
Mako Ward, an instructor of women’s and gender studies said, “The Free the Nipple movement represents the desire to have the same level of freedom to display the nude body the same way that men do“. Women who support movements like Free the Nipple are not simply fighting for the right to walk around topless, but are also raising awareness of the importance of desexualizing women’s bodies.
Recently, Facebook started to allow pictures of breastfeeding mothers where nipples are visible. So hopefully one day all social media platforms will allow pictures of women who are topless just like men post shirtless pictures on social media.
Recent developments in the US
A recent advancement in the movement is that, women are allowed to go topless in 6 US states. Although it is a small development, this has a huge impact on the movement. This decision was made in September 2019. The six states where women will be able to go topless are- Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Original Starbucks Logo
I’m sure you must’ve heard of the International coffee brand – Starbucks. But what you probably wouldn’t have known is that the original Starbucks logo displays a mermaid or siren’s upper body completely topless. Starbucks was founded in 1971. The brand which started as a small retailer has grown into the International coffee brand that it is today. The Starbucks logo had its own fascinating journey, one destined to still grow and evolve.
Starbucks first started as Starbucks Coffee, Tea and spice. It displayed a mythical two-tail mermaid inside of a circular ring in a coffee brown palette. Brown palettes are thought to stimulate appetite and are often associated with nature, nurture and stability. The mermaid or siren’s upper body was completely exposed. The siren was born from a 16th century Norse Woodcut of a two-tailed mermaid.
Is it really possible that this movement can take place in India where people teach women to hide their cleavage, bra strap?
In our society, a woman is judged by her clothes. If a women wears short clothes, her bra strap and cleavage is seen, she wears a backless dress, she will become a woman of bad character. To the people who do that, I have one question for you – From when did a piece of cloth become a main tool in judging the character of a person?
Recently, Anurag Kashyap’s daughter, Aaliyah Kashyap says she got rape threats for a lingerie photoshoot. “I have never felt more frightened”- she says. Many other celebrities and even common people get threats like this for posting their opinion online.
But yes, this movement can take place in India. But it will take a really long time to change the mindset of people. Many people are stuck in the same age old mentality. It will take a lot of continuous efforts and the success rate might be low. But we should not give up. We unfortunately don’t live in such an open-minded society hence, it is our responsibility to make sure that our future generations don’t face the same problem.
Ancient India: A Braless Society
In ancient India, it was normal for women to not cover their breasts. It was common for upper class women to cover themselves completely but other women could go topless in public in many parts of India.
The rise of the Mughals in India was responsible for changes in women’s attire like covering their head and breasts. This also gave birth to salwar kameez which is one of the most common and comfortable dresses for women to this day. This practice continued even after the Mughal rule.
Another example is that in Kerala, women covering their breasts was a sign of class and only upper class women belonging to certain clans were allowed to cover their breasts.
This shows that women’s breasts weren’t always sexualized as women didn’t cover their breasts in Ancient India but over time women’s breasts have been sexualized.
Benefits of Freeing the Nipple
- Promotes Gender equality.
- Body Positivity.
- More comfort for women.
- Blood circulation improves without wearing bra.
- Desexualizing women’s bodies.
Going Braless is an Individual Choice
Please note that going braless or not is an individual choice as not everyone is comfortable to go braless. The Free the Nipple movement is to show that going topless and braless is a gender equality right and it is your choice to exercise it or not. No one should feel pressured to do so. The movement is to change the idea that women’s breasts are a sign of nudity.
The Free the Nipple movement has brought in the discussion of femininity and violence against women globally, creating a space for women to discuss issues deeply affecting us in an unequal society.
Please find below links for more details:
- https://youtu.be/eZTX_sJQ_Cs – Interview with founder of free the nipple + documentary teaser.
- https://youtu.be/EfIcAk25cpg – Netflix documentary trailer
- https://www.instagram.com/freethenipple – Official Instagram page of the movement
- https://www.facebook.com/freethenipple – Official Facebook page of the movement
- https://twitter.com/freethenipple – Official Twitter page of the movement
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-WtmhFq2jS3oj1MrLGb7Tw – Official Youtube channel of the movement
- https://democraticnaari.com/2021/04/02/going-braless – Going Braless: Is Not Wearing a Bra Good for You?
