The media’s disproportionate censorship of male and female nudity is appalling. Realistic portrayals of naked women are considered taboo due to a hypersexualization of the female form. The “Free the Nipple” movement is a backlash against the conventional treatment of female bodies as forbidden. Until we are regularly exposed to more natural images of female nudity, a dangerous double standard will persist.
Many celebrities are using their fame to draw attention to this double standard. Earlier this year, comedian and TV personality Chelsea Handler Instagrammed a picture of herself topless on a horse, a mimicry of a popular image of Vladimir Putin. Although Instagram promptly removed Handler’s photo, Putin’s portrait remained uncensored.
Instagram’s nudity discretion policy states, “You may not post violent, nude, partially nude, discriminatory, unlawful, infringing, hateful, pornographic or sexually suggestive photos or other content via the Service.” By these terms, I can understand their decision to remove Handler’s picture. But by those standards, Putin’s photo should also be removed. The two were equally naked.
The criminalization of naked female bodies is a chauvinistic act. Whereas Putin can proudly ride topless on his horse without any mention of his naked body, especially his nipples, Handler’s photo is needlessly censored.
Similarly, actress Alyssa Milano recently received criticism for posting a “selfie” she snapped while breastfeeding her daughter. Milano’s picture was in no way sexual or inappropriate. In fact, she merely captured a natural, nurturing moment. Milano’s picture is still considered more unlawful than the numerous overly sexualized images which bombard our media every day.
The aversion toward nipples is also evident in television and movies. The plastic surgery reality TV show Botched blurs out nipples even when showing entire breasts. It is absurd that a show dedicated to the portrayal of breast augmentation surgeries still censors nipples. Once again, this reinforces the sexualization of the female body and disdain for the natural form.
To combat this issue, we must familiarize ourselves with images of natural naked females performing ordinary, everyday acts. Nudity discretion policies should not be gendered, and we should openly accept the uncensored female body just as we do with the male.