I have nipples. Everyone knows. Everyone knows that I am wearing a bra. EVERYONE KNOWS. It’s my body. It’s just a simple deal that I have them. I never once when I was a little girl thought, “THAT BOY IS SHOWING HIS NIPPLES!” Nope. Never.
Every single day we are bombarded with the male nipple. We see in movies the superhero that shows his chest of steel. We see the rock star on stage flash whatever he’s got to the fans. We see our dad at the beach take off his Tommy Bahamas shirt and show it off to the ladies. We are well acquainted with the male nipple and it never crossed my mind to shame the man for it.
After Phoenix Feeley was arrested with public indecency while showing her nips in New York City in 2005, it officially became war against the female nipple. Now I know that I’m not Miley Cyrus, blazing through town with my pasties on, but I have nipples. We all have nipples and that’s what the most frustrating thing is. We all do.
I was running the other day and got a little sweaty. Running, nothing crazy, simply wearing a white shirt. The female nipple became very apparent and the embarrassment filled my entire face. I was continuously making eye contact with the men that I ran past. They were, however, not looking at my eyes, they were making contact with two other circles on the front of my body.
I was on the subway the other day. I had stepped inside the cold train from the humid, and wet platform on the Lower East Side. BAM! The female nipple had again lurked inside and with its appearance, men from the seats, from next to the door, from behind me, were now all making it more aware that the female nipple had made its way into plain sight.
I am tired. I am tired of covering up this part of my body. I was tired of the looks that would fixate in between my head and stomach. What was I even more tired of? I was tired of using the term “female” before I ever did anything. It felt like every motion I made was halted. I had been wanting to free, not only the nipple but my “female” life.
Women have it rough these days. It seems to be that the double standard isn’t so double anymore. It’s blatant that men and women are now looked at differently. We are now living in an age where obscenities like the bra strap and the “female” nipple are seen as grotesque, whereas the pecs and low boxer revealing pants of a male are simply the norm. We now live in a time where separation is completely normal to both the genders. In the near future, one may even suggest that every body part will contain the prefix, “male” or “female”.
We as women, should not be treated equally to men. We are not equal. Because here’s the shocking statement that no one else will say. Fair is not always equal. So, ladies, I hope with this letter, we may get a little closer, to freeing the “female” nipple. As men have been freeing the “male” nipple for centuries on end.
