Brilio.net/en - This year is quickly becoming the year of the boob. Breast have made the news seemingly every angle in recent months. Whether it a womenbreastfeeding in publicor Susan Sarandon wearing a more risqu outfit to the SAG Awards, it seems that women just cant own their own bodies without having some form of backlash.
So whats the big deal with a little boob? Or even a little nipple?
As a quick refresher, artist Micol Hebron created a template from mens nipples so women could use it on Instagram as the policy banned womens nipples on the social media platform, but not mens.
This, alongside some other social injustices that women face based on their gender, started the #FreeTheNipples campaign that took off on social media two years ago and hasnt lost momentum. The policies of Instagram and Facebook prohibit all graphic content that pictures a womens areola, but not a mens. Were scratching our heads too. Celebrities arent free from the regulations either and singers Rihanna and Miley Cyrus along with comedian Chelsea Handler have had their Instagram posts censored based on the smallest inkling of an areola.
It seems as if boobs and womens bodies overall, are only alright when appealing to the archaic standards of beauty, as Rupi Kaurs period photo proved. The Canadian artists wanted to destigmatize the taboo of periods and documented her menstruation with some sweet and not pornographic photographs yet within less than 24 hours her pictures were removed. Outraged, Kaur took to social media to call out the censorship. She wrote on Facebook: "Thank you Instagram for providing me with the exact response my work was created to critique... I will not apologize for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society that will have my body in underwear but not be okay with a small leak when your pages are filled with countless photos/accounts where women (so many who are underage) are objectified, pornified and treated less than human."
In more recent news, Twitter had a field day with Susan Sarandon for baring more than what is traditionally considered appropriate for a 69-year old woman. Wearing a full sleeve white pantsuit, her black bustier was the talk of the night at the SAG awards this past weekend. But would that have been the case had she been two three decades younger?
Cancer patients arent even safe from social media backlash, as Rowena Kincaid found out. The 40-year old woman posted a picture of a rash around her nipple, which is a little known symptom of breast cancer. Her PSA was eventually removed from Facebook as it violated the policies. Last week she wrote on her Facebook: They dont see what the reason behind it is. Its just automatic. They dont see that the picture I posted earlier may actually save lives.
Our culture glorifies the female body, but only if it is sexualized, young, free from its natural purposes (namely, breastfeeding and menstruating) and geared for the male gaze. The paradox is clear, even in the video. A woman with her breast more or less exposed is applauded and praised for her sexuality yet when the breast are serving their original purpose, people walk past in disgust. It comes down to the social constructs of ownership and power with our own bodies, and the intersection of objectification and media.
(Reported by Ivana Lucic)