Free the Nipple is a movement of our time, embodying the power and danger of occupying both global social media and local social norms. Now ubiquitous, the tagline was introduced in 2012 during the filming of a movie of the same name. Thanks to real protests created for the film and the fanning of flames on social media by celebrities, the Free the Nipple protests soon sprang up internationally. By framing the issue for causes such as women’s health, bodily equality, gender laws and art censorship, it quickly became clear that a real and important movement was underway.
Unlike other social media-centric movements like BLM And #Me too, Free the Nipple lacks central leadership, defined goals and an active website. Although there remains a “hidden hashtagon Instagram and TikTok, making it difficult for activists to organize, he has gained international recognition, legal successes and a fervent support base. Yet the movement has long been touted as a frivolous concern of bored, sexy celebrities and social media enthusiasts. This misconception reveals the paradox at the heart of the movement: our societal tendency to sexualize and diminish women displaying bodily autonomy.
Free the Nipple embodies two identities: online and offline. Online, the movement focuses on exposing sexist and harmful community guidelines that prevent users from sharing information, art and advocacy based on their perceived gender. Offline, he focuses on implementing legal change, bringing the community together and changing mindsets.
Because offline concerns are often idiosyncratic in comparison, the movement’s public image is usually tied to social media. Therefore, this perception is shaped by algorithms and engagement, typically representing younger, whiter, and thinner activists. This contributed to a real problem that Free the Nipple faces when it comes to intersectionality and representation.
Bee Nicholls, founder of Free the Brighton Nipple, is concerned about the alienating nature of the popular image of the movement. “Given that young women’s bodies are overrepresented in the media, it’s important that Free the Nipple doesn’t focus on them either,” she said. Hyperallergic.
The annual Nichollss Walk brings together participants from all backgrounds and walks of life. This is critical, Nicholls said, because “the version of feminism that centers the experiences of the most privileged women in our society is at best unnecessary and at worst harmful to marginalized women. Free the Nipple is no exception.
Free the Nipple has sued the courts and challenged local laws many times with successas in the case of Dorothy Stover, which passed a Nantucket beach freedom bylaw last summer. While a victory for the movement, her experience underscores a major line of opposition: preventing children from seeing their breasts. From local laws to online spaces, protect children is often the driving force behind bans on nipple exposure, resulting in the erasure and shame of female bodies. But as Stover witnessed, it’s not children, but adults who “sexualize or are offended by female breasts.”
The premise that the nipple is inherently sexual has plagued nipple freedom fighters for generations and perpetuated the disturbing reality that, although it is a body part that all genders share, only the female body is despised for him. Most social media works with the same equivalence: a female nipple is nudity, nudity is sexual activity; therefore, a female nipple is inherently sexual. Exceptions can be made for breastfeeding, breast cancer awareness and certain arts, although moderation often targets these images anyway. ICT Tac follows Meta notorious anti-nipple position, while Vero And Youtube draw the line at nudity that is meant for sexual gratification. Twitter enacts nudity placement restrictions and tumblr allows it but applies warning screens. All of these platforms, and more, combine nudity with sexual content in their guidelines.
Accounts like @In_Transitu_IG challenge social networks by daring to erase themselves. Methodically documenting her gender transition with images and gender recognition algorithms, Ada Ada Ada poses the challenge: “When does Meta consider my nipples to be female? Such an argument was underscored when Meta’s supervisory board recently took the company to task in their “Gender Identity and Nudity” decision. Focused on the dysfunction of gendered nipples, particularly those of trans and non-binary people, the Council chided: “Meta’s policies on adult nudity result in greater barriers to expression for women, trans people and gender non-binary people” and called on Meta to “avoid discrimination based on sex or gender identity”. Don’t be fooled by misleading headlines though: the pacifier is not yet free on Instagram.
As Free the Nipple continues to be decentralized and debated, there’s no doubt that it’s effective. As the principles of the movement become mainstream through legal changes, endorsements and growing awareness, there is reason to believe that it will break free from its limited representation.
“We hope literacy around the topic of true bodily autonomy and intersectional feminism spreads,” Nicholls said.
