![]() Topless men in movies, for instance, were generally frowned upon until 1934, when Clark Gable took off his shirtduring a scene in It Happened One Night. Yet a quick look at history shows that men's chests used to be perceived to be as obscene in many part of the United States. Judge Herman Walz, one the first people to hear a landmark 1986 case over gender inequality in topless laws, wrote in his decision, "community standards do not deem the exposure of males' breasts offensive," the Atlantic reports. Surprisingly, this double standard wasn't always quite so extreme. For the most part, public obscenity laws only apply to women, and only women's chests are deemed indecent. ![]() ![]() Some nipples actually are easy to find: Men's. Topless men abound on YouTube, on television and even greeting shoppers outside clothing stores. "You can objectify her breasts, but a woman can't own her body," Esco told Mic. ![]() That query highlights the contradiction of a society that commodifies women's sexuality yet legislates their bodies. In reference to women's nipples, the child asked Esco, "Why is that we can sell them, but we can't wear them?" If our society loves boobs so much, what does it have against nipples? This is the basis behind the ideology of the movement, and an issue succinctly highlighted by an enlightening exchange Esco once had with a 7-year-old girl. It's clear we're often more fascinated by women's breasts than who they are as people in film, for example, although women are less likely to have speaking roles than men, they are more likely to appear naked on screen. They are sexualized and gratuitously emphasized in film, television and magazines. We live in a culture that's obsessed with women's breasts. They are glamorized, fetishized and over-exposed. That's something Lina Esco is combatting with Free the Nipple, a movement she founded to fight against sexist public nudity laws that unfairly target women. Although a handful of states technically allow women to go completely topless, those in many places can be arrested for doing so. ![]() But if you look closely, there's consistently one thing missing: nipples. Most American cities are full of breasts. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |