Whether it’s a sign of protest, a prioritization of comfort, or an aesthetic choice, it has become trendy to throw the bras away and go for a more free style. Every day, thousands of women have decided to free their nipples. This idea of not wearing a bra to protest for women’s rights and liberation has existed for a while now. However, this picked up speed thanks to the film Free the Nipple (2012) that, through comedy and satire, wanted to draw attention towards gender equality, repression, and violence. What started as a film and idea, soon became a campaign, which has gathered more and more followers every day.Last year, model Kendall Jenner wrote an essay with the same name as the campaign in which she “seriously” discusses her choice of going braless: “I don’t really see what the big deal is with going braless! I think it’s cool and I really just don’t care! It’s sexy, it’s comfortable and I’m cool with my breasts. That’s it!” Now, whether she got inspired by the campaign or the title is just a happy coincidence, the truth is that her essay popularized the trend of going braless. Together with other models, she’s embraced this popular trend that has overpowered social media. People applaud Jenner’s decision and see it as a flag for women’s self-confidence. But let’s not lose track of the campaign and the serious questions it asks. So, in order to discuss this a little bit thoroughly, here are some ideas to free your nipples and embrace this liberating fashion.
The “Free the Nipple” campaign, managed by Lina Esco, who was also the film’s director, has become a worldwide movement that fights for women equality, empowerment, and freedom through social media, lectures, and public protests. Influenced by this campaign and anger towards the double standards of censorship when it comes to public images of female nipples, many have shown their support by wearing t-shirts alluding to the nipples.
We’re living in an era of information and apparent free will, where people ideally are more open minded and objective. However, believe it or not, this illusory freedom is pushing us every day to a 2.0 version of the Inquisition. So basically, we’re living in a society of double standards and political correctness that is annihilating our freedom of speech. People use social media to judge, criticize, and demonize all those “who are in the wrong.” These digital demonstrations of censorship have trespassed our phones and computer screens and are really affecting areas that were totally normal. All this can be linked to this insane censorship of women’s nipples, like the lovely campaigns against breastfeeding in public, or why men nipples aren’t censored at all.
But let’s go back to our main defender of women’s rights. After her groundbreaking publication, she was spotted wearing one of these iconic shirts and the Internet went crazy. I like to think that all this craze was to promote the campaign, and many will say that it doesn’t matter who is promoting it as long as it reaches more people, and I couldn’t agree more. This movement has inspired many to create more creative clothes to fight against censorship, and you can join the movement and get the ball rolling.
Moreover, this trend has influenced many levels of fashion, and people have become more and more creative when it comes to showing their support for women’s empowerment. There are bras with embroidered nipples, bathing suits, necklaces, kitchen cloths, you name it; I bet there’s at least one design with nipples on it.
Now the sad (or weird) part of the story. As with any good cause and a great idea, there’s someone –or many, actually– who take things to an extreme and create totally ridiculous objects. Seriously, I don’t really know what to say about these… What’s the point? This movement is not about showing our nipples just because they’re pretty (which they are), nor pretending to expose them for no apparent reason, it’s about freeing ourselves as women by showing that we don’t have to hide.
If you’re interested in knowing more about the campaign, or if you want to join, check their official website.
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Check these guide to embrace this braless trend.
