Among the trending hashtags that have come and gone, one has continued to reappear even after everyone thinks the movement is over. #FreeTheNipple is still relevant, whether you believe it to be or not. Let's get it trending, ladies and gentlemen, because of all the things to worry about in our lives, why are the indecency of women's nipples always the hot talk of the hour.
If it is even 70 degrees outside in Pullman, I can guarantee that I can easily find at least 20 men parading around without shirts on. It's hot (ish) outside, so less clothing makes sense, right?
How often do you see women without shirts on?
If I go to the mall and pass by Victoria's Secret, I can see multiple, blown-up images of women sporting the latest bra and panty set. I can see their photoshopped, perky boobs the size of half my body, simply by walking past the store.
God forbid a woman breastfeed her baby without covering up at that same mall.
Tell me why it is that women's nipples, and breasts in general, are sexualized? Men get to show theirs all the time, so why is it that if a woman were to have a "nip slip," the tabloids would lose their minds?
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't women's breasts actually serve a biological function other than just existing? Last time I checked, women literally feed children from their breasts. Women's breasts are there for a reason, yet they are sexualized and shunned so much it is actually disgusting to think about.
While we are on the subject of breast-shaming, let's talk about nipple censorship in the media for a second. Enlighten me, for a moment, as to why women's nipples are censored in media but men's aren't. What is so disgusting and vile and inappropriate about a woman's nipples?
This might just be another feminist rant, but I really do not understand why women's boobs cannot be shown in the media or in public.
Why is my body not "appropriate" to be shown in public?
Why am I shamed for having breasts if I show them?
Why is it acceptable for men to have their chests exposed?
What did I do to deserve being taunted, cat-called, called "slutty" for wearing things that show them?
Why, if I am showing any cleavage whatsoever, am I asking to be harassed?
Tell me why, because I don't understand.
Sure, there are more important and dire topics to fight about, but with something so simple should it not be easy to sort out?
I am not saying that all women need to march down the street topless. However, if a woman wants to, she should not be stopped. If you are OK with a man being shirtless in public, you have absolutely no reason to condemn a woman for doing the same. No reason at all.
Our bodies aren't foreign planets we've never seen before; they are our bodies. We've lived with them our entire lives, so they should not be such a strange concept to us. So stop nipple shaming. Stop telling women to put their breasts away. Stop telling women to cover up. Stop sexualizing every part of women's bodies. Just stop.
#FreeTheNipple
