Lina Esco’s 2012 film ‘Free The Nipple’ showed a group of fictional young women exposing the double standards and hypocritic ideals society upholds for nudity when it comes to men and women. The film showed real-life protests across New York. Many arrests were made on the issue since it generated considerable controversy.
The feminist cause of free the nipple protest became a much-buzzed term as it highlighted the differences in torso nudity for men and women. While men can undress in public openly, the same does not hold for women. The movement has had significant social and political repercussions around the world.
We will take a closer look at the free the nip protest and understand its origins, logic, and how it has impacted society.
Free The Nipple Protest: A Feminist Movement?
There has always been a significant distinction between how men’s and women’s bodies are viewed. While men’s bodies are also sexualized, the degree is nothing compared to what women’s bodies are subjected to. The simple fact is that a man can go shirtless in public without raising eyebrows. However, it is practically unheard of for a woman to do the same. If the question lies around modesty, why does that not apply to men? Why do there exist different interpretations of modesty for men and women?
Many feminists put forward the view that breasts are secondary sexual characteristics, and their primary requirement is associated with nourishment in babies. Therefore, to consider this a sexual characteristic is in itself inherently flawed. Popular media has sexualized breasts to the point where no women would even consider going out topless in public.
The same standards do not hold for men, even though breasts are secondary sexual characteristics for them as well. This bridge in thinking is highly sexist and forces women to adhere to a false and flawed sense of modesty. This is what the free the nipple protest was based on.
Lina Esco tried to highlight this logic in her documentary, and it took over two years for it to be screened to the public. It was later promoted by several women’s organizations and celebrities, which gave the meta protest more momentum.
Nevertheless, the question of whether the protest is a feminist stance has also been under considerable debate. Many feminist groups did not agree with the morale behind the protest. Therefore, it cannot be said with absolute surety that the free the nipple protest is itself inherently feminist.
The Rise Of Free The Nipple Movement
After the release of the film, feminist current saw a global upsurge. This led to protests and demonstrations worldwide, where women stripped and covered their nipples with tape to protest against the double stands of society.
In England, over 200 men and women marched shirtless on a beach in solidarity with the protests. In the USA, women who protested during Bernie Sanders’s campaign were arrested for indecent exposure. One of them then filed a complaint saying her constitutional rights had been infringed since breasts were meant for breastfeeding and were not sexual organs. French movement COPAM had also been engaged in a long movement to grant freedom for mothers to breastfeed their children in public.
The Rise Of Free The Nipple Movement
The free the nipple protest also spread to social media channels but was met with much controversy and sexism online. Facebook removed clips from the movie, stating that they went against their community standards. However, this changed when celebrities came ahead with their visions of the movement. While Facebook allowed it when it concerned breast cancer prevention and/or breastfeeding, Instagram (an independent company) deleted Rihanna’s account for wearing a transparent outfit.
As a result, many social media accounts have been created to keep the free the nipple protest alive online. These have systematically met with restrictions and community guideline violations. Although the free the nip movement has been going on for a long time, the controversy surrounding it is as fresh as ever.
“Free The Nipple” became the viral slogan that brought together common people, activists, and celebrities to protest against a common problem. All people who have supported the free the nipple protest have been shamed both online and in real life, but the objectivity of the protest- the inherent double standards for treating torso nudity differently in men and women- is still under question.
Free The Nipple Movement- Examining From A Legal View
Since male torso nudity is not considered vulgar, the question about female torso nudity also came to be questioned on its legal grounds. While indecent exposure is a crime in many countries worldwide, it remains to be seen if this extends to men going shirtless as well. Sadly, social media has not changed its views regarding the free the nipple protest, but the law has changed considerably concerning this.
Even in jurisdictions where no law expressly states women exposing breasts in public is considered indecent, women have been arrested for the same. In the state of New York, toplessness was legalized in 1990. A woman was later arrested in 2005 in New York for appearing topless, and the court ruled in her favor and granted her compensation.
Many court cases across the USA have openly debated whether it is illegal for women to reveal their breasts in public the same way a man can go shirtless. This was significantly led by the free the nipple protest. The most prominent is Free The Nipple V. City of Fort Collins. A provision in the municipal code of this city in Colorado forbade women from exposing their breasts in public.
After a long battle and spending over $300,000, the city agreed to repeal the code. This gave women the right to go topless wherever men could go shirtless across the 10th Circuit. This is the free the nipple movement 6 states where it is legal for women to go topless (Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma). This was the federal case of free the nipple supreme court. These states came to be known as the free the nipple states.
Two U.S. states have laws that forbid a woman from exposing her breasts (Indiana and Tennessee), while there are 14 states and many cities that have ambiguous laws regarding the same. The supreme court on free the nipple movement has yet to give a verdict for these states.
Conclusion
The free the nipple protest is far from being over. The nature of the debate is still revealing itself. It is time for society to evaluate the double standards it holds people to, and that begins with not policing how women should expose themselves in public. The movement has received massive media coverage worldwide and has been in the headlines thanks to support from celebrities, protest groups, and the justice system.