Linnea Hoops
LBST 2101 - 19H
Why is it okay for men to show their nipple? Why is it NOT okay for women to show their nipple?
Lina Esco is a filmmaker that resides in Los Angeles who
supports gender equality and strongly feels that women should be able to show
their nipples in public just like men are able to do. Last year Esco directed a
film “FREE THE NIPPLE”. The film follows a group of young women who walked
through New York City topless and tried to conquer the censorship laws of NYC.2
It seems as if the public is okay with any amount of breast
tissue showing or protruding out of a swimsuit or small top, but as soon as the
female areola or nipple slips out it becomes a whole different situation and
attention is brought to that women in a negative way and considered indecent
exposure.
Esco goes on to talk about how New York City made it legal
to expose the female nipple, but as soon as they began shooting in New York,
topless women were arrested left and right! 2
Esco has come across some bumps in the road while filming.
Most of the pages put up on social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
have been deleted because they “violated” the rules of that social media
website. 3Being a active user of all three of these websites I see pictures of
topless men left and right everyday, but as soon as the female nipple hits the
internet the account gets deleted.
Even though Free the Nipple has been hard to film, the cast
and Esco have experienced some great things along the way. When women around New York City saw what was
going on they soon joined in the movement and the camera got it all on tape.
Also, Miley Cyrus 1 has acted as a catalyst for this movement making more people
aware of what’s going on and broadcasting it on twitter. She has even released
pictures of her showing her nipple.
What Esco has to offer to the community is excellent. She
realizes how unfair it is for women to have to hide when men get to be proud.
Everyone loves the saying “if you’ve got it flaunt it”, so if we all have
nipples to flaunt, we should all be able to flaunt away! Even though female
nipple exposure is illegal in 37 states, I think this will change. I don’t
think it will be any time soon and maybe many years from now, but I do believe
it will change. Not only do I believe it will change I think it NEEDS to
change.
I think if women can make this step to gender equality it
could perhaps speed up gender equality that is very much needed in the
workforce and in dating. But those subjects are for a different day.
I couldn’t help but include this picture that shows how
strongly I feel about this topic before the movement ever came along. My best
friend and I decided to be boobs for Halloween our junior year of high school
to stray away from the outfits most girls wear every Halloween and prove that
female nipples are okay. (I am the left boob and my friend is the right boob)We even wore these costumes to a “pink out” football
game that was supporting breast cancer and were not allowed in, yet boys were
topless covered in pink paint. I can’t wait for the female nipple phenomenon to
be a thing in the past that we will laugh about in the future.
1 Miley Cyrus and Lina Esco worked together years prior to this movement. Esco is very appreciative of Miley's support and loves the light she has shed on the movement.↩
2 http://fundanything.com/freethenipple?locale=en↩
3 http://fundanything.com/freethenipple?locale=en↩
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