On Saturday, topless women hit the streets of Manhattan to fight for “nipple equality” at the 10th annual Go Topless Parade. “Our goal is for equal gender topless rights to be enforced worldwide, freeing women’s nipples,” said Rachel Jessee, a spokeswoman for Go Topless.
In a shocking twist, the crowd surrounding the topless women was mostly male, stopping to take a peak at the allegedly desexualized breasts, often snapping photos with their smartphones and leaning over guardrails to get a better glance at the empowered feminists.
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Essentially, the scene was dominated by men with a sudden affinity for photography.
Here’s how one Gothamist photographer described the parade:
While there were some tourists surprised by the parade — our photographer overheard some saying “Whoa, crazy New York!” or “Go ladies!” — there was a large, almost overwhelming contingent of men with cameras and smartphones following the parade.
As noted by the New York Post, male hecklers enjoying the scenery had to be removed from the parade: “The march drew plenty of attention from shutterbugs lining the barricades, and from some male hecklers who were quickly ushered away by cops.”
The movement to free women’s nipples, so to speak, has hit the mainstream in recent years, gaining validation from celebrity advocates like Chelsea Handler, Amber Rose, Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevigne, Rita Ora, and Kendall Jenner.
Of course, all of this is insanely confusing messaging, as feminists simultaneously brag of empowered women owning their sexuality by getting nude, yet work to desexualize female breasts at the exact same time.
So, are women supposed to own their sexuality, or rid themselves of it? Are “free nipples” pro-feminism or “problematic“?
We’re not sure, and neither are feminists.
(WARNING: Video below contains nudity)