SEXUALITY & YOU
Censoring the Female Form
WRITTEN BY DR . CARLEN COSTA
Why am I trying to free my nipples ? Who are the terrorists trying to take away the religion of pleasure , sex positivity and the female form ? What is keeping my nipples hostage in a most aggressive and gross way ? It ’ s you . It ’ s the perpetuation that somehow my cisgendered female nipples are offensive in comparison to cisgendered male nipples . But , what if I was a trans woman , who hadn ’ t yet experienced or choose not to have top or bottom surgery ? According to Canadian Blood services , a trans woman is still considered in their eyes to be a man ( without the completion of bottom surgery and thus cannot give blood , if they ’ re sleeping with men ), but what if I present clearly as a woman ? Does that mean I can or cannot show my nipples on Instagram ?
All of these questions , thoughts and queries have procured a raping of the female body ; as a dissolution of what it means to be a woman , to be female and to love oneself truly , if that is their identity . It has
A woman shouldn ’ t have to be modest to be respected . -Anonymous . come to our attention , that the unwarranted censorship of the female body has actually caused a greater sexualization and cause for permissive objectification ( although , not via the subject ’ s consent ), thus delineating discourse in the need for women ’ s health , sexual rights , and women ’ s autonomy by all peoples on this planet . And , you know what ? That pisses me off . In 2015 , the excruciatingly popular publishing platform , Instagram , updated their archaic policies to allow photos of some female nipple photos ; which are now limited to post-mastectomy or “ actively ” breast feeding to be allowed pictorial portrayals of female breast tissue ; as well as nudity in photos of paintings & sculptures ; because , obviously my female breast tissue is offensive in every way unless it ’ s been cut off or being suckled from the teet of conscious narcissism .
Herein is born the # freethenipple movement . The people behind this , campaign for gender equality when it comes to nude images and seeks to bring attention to the fact that photos of topless men are rarely censored ( or ever , actually ) and that the male gaze ,
41 Issue 20 | Missy Ink