Rant: it all began with "free the nipple"

I was scrolling through twitter and spotted an article by I-D on the new phenomenon, free the nipple. The movement promotes sexual equality. They made the point that the only people partaking in this protest were women with beautiful perfect breasts, "we're not all Cara Delevigne, Rihanna or Miley Cyrus", and would people have the same response to larger, saggier breasts? Although I think the same could be said for men, you'd find that the ones that are most likely to bare all in the park are the ones who have been hitting the gym. You don't see many beer bellies on instagram do you?

"free the nipple" source: ID

 Men protested for the right to be topless in public in 1930 and won that right, however, women weren't given the same courtesy. It is bewildering, how the social "norms" of our culture have such an impact on the way we live. Why is it so unacceptable for a woman to be seen topless in public? What's the difference between wearing a bathing suit and wearing underwear? That has always fascinated me, just because something is labelled as such we immediately assume that it only has that one use. The occurrence of the bralette has allowed women to show more skin in public, but what constitutes a bra and a bralette? Does it matter? I say these things but I know I would still be weary to go out in just a bra, even if it looked like a "bralette". I have braced everyday life without wearing a bra, it has actually become quite normal for me now, and it’s comfier. But I love lingerie, "intimates", sometimes wearing more clothing can be sexier than going completely bare. It builds tension, leaves more to the imagination as they say. Take knee high socks, there's something very seductive about exposing just the thigh rather than the whole leg, I feel more self-conscious walking down the street in high knee socks than if my legs were completely bare.

Women’s bodies have always been placed in the public eye through media, maybe it seems more obvious by today’s standards but go to any art gallery and you will always find paintings of the female nude. What is acceptable and what is not? It's the context in which it's presented. The Birth of Venus depicts a beautiful goddess, it is an appreciation of the body, she had two aspects: she aroused humans to physical love or she was a heavenly goddess who inspired intellectual love in them, or both. For our fashion show we ran with the theme of sex/ fetishism and religion. They seem like very controversial subjects but when delving deeper into the subjects I found that they were very closely related. Have you ever heard of sex being sacred? It seems like a lot of people don't see it that way, it can be viewed as sinful, something to be kept a secret, ashamed of. In ancient times, before the rise of patriarchal religions people worshipped the goddess; benevolent, fertile and above all sexual. "The Goddess of Sacred Sex invites us to open to the sacred in our love making, to be aware that sex is a gateway that can connect us with the divine, to see our bodies as sacred vessels of immense power and love."

Venus Goddess

But what makes it seem sinful? Maybe it's the exploitation of sex in today’s media, too much, in your face, get away! It can be viewed in different ways. I think a woman can feel empowered by her sexuality, she who has the power to seduce all men on page 3, or is she a sexual object? Most would say she is. The boundaries of what is acceptable have become very blurred, or maybe it's just instagram that's confused: Petra Collin's account was deleted because of her post of her unshaven bikini line, what was their reasoning for this? It isn't offensive. Rupi Kaur had her image taken down twice, it was an art-piece featuring a girl who left a leak on her period, she is fully clothed and all is shown is a red spot on her joggers and on the bed. Why are these women being ridiculed for what their bodies do naturally? Whether people like it or not, it's life, it happens to all women but we are told to shush. Honestly, how many girls have to go through that phase of worrying, omg do I need a bikini wax?! Why should we have to worry?

I think this is the all-natural "hippy" in me, make love not war people xx

Rupi Kaur 

Petra Collins- unshaven bikini line