Free the Nipple (campaign)

"Free the Nipple" redirects here. For the film, see Free the Nipple (film).

Free the Nipple is a gender equality campaign named after Lina Esco's 2014 film Free the Nipple.[1] The campaign argues that women should be allowed to show their nipples in public.

History

Some women have been charged with public indecency, disturbing the peace, or lewd behavior even where it was legal.[2] One such woman was Phoenix Feeley, arrested for being topless in the state of New York in 2005. Because it was proven that the law was misapplied—considering female toplessness had been legal for nearly 15 years in the state of New York—Feeley was released and later received $29,000 in damages.[3]

In 2015, the campaign received attention in Iceland and was supported by MP Björt Ólafsdottir, who posted a topless photo of herself, in solidarity with a teenage activist who had received harassment for doing the same.[4]

Indecent exposure laws

Main article: Topfreedom

According to nudity and public decency laws in America, New York, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire,[5] Ohio, and Texas are the select handful of states that have explicitly legalized toplessness of both men and women in public places. Conversely, most states in the US note either explicitly or implicitly that any kind of exposure of the female areola is an act of indecent exposure and therefore a criminal offense. Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Washington are the only states whose laws expressly differentiate breast-feeding mothers from performances of "public lewdness."[6]

Although most states prohibit women from being topless, New Hampshire does not prohibit women from going topless if men are allowed the same privilege, which is why areas like the Hampton, Laconia, and Gilford beaches have become popular places for protest.[7] In fact, on March 9, 2016, the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee of New Hampshire voted 18-0 to kill a bill that would prohibit topless sunbathing on state beaches. Their reason for denying the bill was, "because passing the bill would guarantee the law would be challenged in federal court because it violated the equal protection rights under the constitution."[8] In other words, the bill was denied because of its illegal attempt at limiting only female bodies.

It is not inherently illegal to be topless in the United Kingdom. In 2009, the Metropolitan Police of London told the BBC "it was not a crime to appear naked in public".[9] In the UK, it is technically legal to sunbathe naked on any beach, and naked bike rides occur each year in London.[10]

Online campaign

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram prohibit any and all "graphic content" that pictures a woman's areola.[11][12] Chelsea Handler,[13] Miley Cyrus,[14] Rihanna and Scout Willis[15] have each received backlash from Instagram for sharing photos of their chests exposed. Willow Smith also had a post removed because it pictured her wearing a shirt with a pair of women's nipples printed on it, though the shirt itself was fairly conservative in cut.[16] Some have even gone so far as to photoshop male nipples onto their pictures posted on Instagram in order to cover their female nipples. This is mostly used to make the comparison between the two and censorship.[17] When explaining the need to remove nudity, Instagram's CEO Kevin Systrom blamed the rating system of Apple's app store.[18][19]

Film

In 2014, director Lina Esco released her American feature film Free the Nipple. The film is centered around a group of young women who take to the streets of New York City as they protest the many legal and cultural taboos regarding female breasts by way of publicity stunts, graffiti installations, and First Amendment lawyers. Originally shot in 2012, it was nearly impossible to give the film a wide release which therefore prompted Esco to start the movement in December 2013.[20][21][22]

References

  1. ↑ Jenny Kutner (2014-12-16). ""Maybe America just needs a big blast of boobies": Lina Esco tells Salon about her topless crusade to free the nipple". Salon.com. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  2. ↑ Gerson Uffalussy, Jennifer. "The Weird, Wild Legal History of Breasts and Nipples". Yahoo, California, 12 December 2014. Retrieved on 20 January 2015.
  3. ↑ NBC News. "NYC pays $29,000 over topless arrest" Associated Press, New York, 18 June 2007. Retrieved on 1 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Heawood, Sophie (2015-04-06). "#FreeTheNipple: Liberation or titillation?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  5. ↑ Cappadona, Bryanna (2015-08-19). "Free the Nipple movement comes to Hampton beach". Boston.com. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  6. ↑ HG.org. "Nudity and Public Decency Laws in America". HG.org. Retrieved on 20 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "No challenge - Toplessness at Gilford beach won't be fought in court but is still not going to be tolerated, say selectmen". laconia. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  8. ↑ http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=c8248d13-8ad7-40bb-a038-6a605d51b33f%2540sessionmgr120&vid=0&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%253d%253d#AN=2W63493597534&db=n5h
  9. ↑ "When does public nakedness become a crime?". BBC News. 3 September 2009.
  10. ↑ Brown, Lindsay (2015-11-05). "This is where you can be naked in public in the UK". BBC. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  11. ↑ Esco, Lina. "Facebook Wages War on the Nipple" Huffington Post, New York, 7 January 2014. Retrieved on 20 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Zeilinger, Julie (2015-08-21). "Here's what the Free the Nipple movement has really accomplished". Mic. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  13. ↑ Marcotte, Amanda. "Chelsea Handler Stands Up for Freed Nipples". [The Slate Group], 31 October 2014. Retrieved on 20 January 2015.
  14. ↑ Hathaway, Jay. "Miley Cyrus Frees Her Nipples in Topless Instagram Photo". [Gawker], New York, 29 December 2014. Retrieved on 2 March 2015.
  15. ↑ Rosenfield, Kat. "Rihanna Joins Scout Willis In #FreeTheNipple Topless Instagram Campaign". [MTV], New York, 29 May 2014. Retrieved on 2 March 2015.
  16. ↑ Bacardi, Francesca. "Willow Smith's "Topless" Picture Is the Latest Instagram Naked Photo Controversy". E! Online, California, 22 January 2015. Retrieved on 2 March 2015.
  17. ↑ Writer, Taylor Pittman Voices Staff; Post, The Huffington (2015-07-07). "Women Take On Body Censorship With Help From Male Nipples And Photoshop". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  18. ↑ Bolton, Doug (2015-10-06). "Free the Nipple: What types of nipples are allowed on Instagram?". The Independent. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  19. ↑ Scott, Ellen (2015-10-06). "Why Instagram won't be freeing the nipple". Metro. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  20. ↑ Esco, Lina. Free the Nipple. Disruptive Films Inc., 2014. Retrieved on 20 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "The Naked Truth Behind the 'Free the Nipple' Movement". Etonline.com. 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  22. ↑ Siegemund-Broka, Austin (2014-09-29). "'Free The Nipple' Picked Up By Sundance Selects For North American Release". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-12-21.

External links

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