Aliyah Williams

Editor-in-Chief

The following story was written by Stroud Courier staff writer Brittany Barnes and published on Oct. 29, 2015. 

Only critical style issues have been changed. 

For reasons unknown, many people are extremely offended by female nipples. 

Instagram and Facebook, for example, have strict no female nipples policies. And as we all know, there are no female nipples shown on television. 

These policies confuse me because I see far worse things on Facebook, Instagram and television than a nipple. 

Teen television series such as Vampire Diaries shows underage drinking and sex scenes amongst the teenage characters. This show is also saturated with violence and murders. But if the series shows a nipple disaster may strike. 

The other day in the “Explore” section of Instagram, I saw a photo of a woman who was completely naked. The only reason the photo wasn’t taken down was because the user blurred out the woman’s nipples. 

According to NYPost.com, Micol Hebron, a professor at Chapman University in California, thought up the “Photoshop the Nipple” idea. 

The idea is to copy and paste the “acceptable” male nipple over the “unacceptable” female. Thus, topless photos of women will be accepted on the Internet. Instagram user Aline Nilsson, stated that one of her photos was reported and taken down, so she re-uploaded the same photo but placed male nipples on top of hers. 

This backlash on social media sites is just a small part of the #FreeTheNipple campaign. This campaign is an attempt to desexualize and decriminalize female bodies, particularly the nipple. 

The #FreeTheNipple campaign started with a documentary. According to FreeTheNipple.com, “Free The Nipple is a film, an equality movement and a mission to empower women across the world.” 

This movement is based on the idea that women should have the same rights as men. 

Many people do not understand the #FreeTheNipple campaign. They believe that it’s just an excuse for women to be naked, and they call them “sluts.” 

Here is the mission statement for Free The Nipple: “We stand against female oppression and censorship, both in the United States and around the globe.”

The idea is that women should be the only ones to sexualize their bodies. The female body has always been overly sexualized and that is the problem here. 

Also stated in FreeTheNipple.com: “Today in the USA it is effectively ILLEGAL for a woman to be topless, breastfeeding included, in 35 states.” 

While breastfeeding is only illegal in Idaho, it is still looked down upon when done in public. Mothers have given stories about the dirty looks and complaints they receive when breastfeeding in restaurants, malls and parks. 

I have personally seen photos of mothers breastfeeding on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and within the comments, users shun them for nursing their children. 

The female body is so overly sexualized that a natural part of life must be done in private.