Disclaimer: I apologize if I used any improper wording or phrasing in this article. I do not wish to offend anybody for their gender, sexual orientation or body type.
The Free The Nipple Campaign is a campaign that challenges the censorship of public nudity revolving around the female breast, also tackling sexual objectification. Although the issue of censorship of the female breast has been around for a long time, the campaign has grown even more strength in the past few years. The fight for freeing the nipple is not just for women, but for trans males and trans females too. In fact, all genders have begun participating in the campaign!
I wrote this article in the form of frequently asked questions about the campaign with thorough and thoughtful answers to help people understand what this campaign is truly about.
To start off: What is the campaign really about?
The #FreeTheNipple Campaign is about censorship of the female (and perceived female) breasts. Female breasts are censored in nearly all kinds of media; however, males can expose their chest freely with no backlash. Many people are even trying to censor real life, telling women they cannot be topless and cannot breastfeed their children in public. Here's the thing: female breasts are so over-sexualized by society that their intended purpose is compromised. Female breasts exist to feed infants after they are born. Female breasts excrete milk. That's literally it. Not only do men sexualize breasts; other women do too.
To add on, trans males who have not had top surgery have their breasts censored if they are perceived by others as "female," but not if they are perceived as male (though they can still be censored). They go through more discrimination than women in the #FTN factor because they may not be seen as the gender they are.
Why do people care so much?
People care so much because our bodies are being objectified by other people and the media. The general concept of "My body; my rules" is compromised because breast tissue and areolas are seen as offensive and lewd. It shouldn't be such a problem to be topless for women, because cis (short for "cisgender" and opposite of "transgender," used to describe someone whose gender identity matches their anatomical gender at birth) men can do it without any backlash.
This is further affecting the internet and social media. According to Facebook's and Instagram's community guidelines, users must "keep their clothes on," but this basically just refers to women's areola being exposed. An example of a woman taking hits regarding being topless is Miley Cyrus. She would regularly post on Instagram with "inappropriate" photos in order to protest against their rules and regulations.
Can you give examples of protests and other people dealing with this?
Courtney Demone (trans-woman; she/her) is a trans activist and a #FreeAllBodies activist. She promotes the acceptance of all bodies for the way they are without discrimination. She is currently on hormone replacement therapy (HTM), which is causing her to grow breasts. In one of her articles, she states, "When people start to consistently see me as a woman, my privilege to be comfortably topless in public will be gone for good." On Facebook, Courtney posts frequently about respecting people for who they are and protesting for everyone's rights. She conducted an experiment involving the HTM, posting pictures of herself as her breasts started to grow to see when Facebook decided that her chest was inappropriate for their standards.
Dominic Ravina (known as Dominic Wolf on YouTube) is a trans male (trans-masculine) who has recently had top surgery. Before his surgery, he dealt with discrimination from his peers and plenty of others. Though his gender is now accepted by others, he still went out with female peers on a protest for freeing the nipple. The video shows all the women (and Dominic) in a line, holding arms and staring at a crowd that surrounds them. All the participants had several phrases written on their bodies and posters. Under the video, the description states, "A chest is a chest, we all have a nipple, areola and breast tissue. Stop sexualizing breasts and start accepting the fact that anyone should be able to share as much of their body, or as little of it, as they want to!"
What can I do to help or get involved?
To help and get involved, you should support others around you that have to go through discrimination. Participate in peaceful protests at your school to show that being topless is a natural and OK thing for any gender. If you're a cisgender male and don't have to deal with discrimination, at least help your friends facing this campaign or support them for making a difference.
Also, read more on the #FreeAllBodies campaign, which goes even more in depth about the sexualization of all body types and all skin colors. As Courtney Demone stated once, "It has also failed to recognize that baring her nipples doesn’t mean freedom for every woman," which is true. The #FreeTheNipple campaign mostly pertains to femininity, but we all have rights as a people that we must exercise.
Just remember one thing: they're nipples. You'll be OK.
