Scout Willis recently tweeted a series of photos in which she can be seen walking around New York City while topless. In a new essay for XOJane, she explains the reasoning behind her semi-nude activism. After she posted a photo of a jacket that featured a photo of her topless friends, Instagram shut down her account. Obviously, Scout was not pleased. She writes:
"My situation was in no way unique; women are regularly kicked off Instagram for posting photos with any portion of the areola exposed, while photos sans nipple — degrading as they might be — remain unchallenged. So I walked around New York topless and documented it on Twitter, pointing out that what is legal by New York state law is not allowed on Instagram."
She's not wrong. Earlier this year, Rihanna was kicked off Instagram for posting photos from a nude shoot, and rumors have been swirling that Instagram is intentionally removing photos of "unattractive" users. For Scout, this issue is one of inequality. After all, men post shirtless photos of themselves all the time, but when women do the same, their accounts get shut down. She uses historical examples of men's fight to bare their own nipples to back up her point:
"There are also some people who would criticize my choice to relate nipples with equality at all. To me, nipples seem to be at the very heart of the issue. In the 1930s, men's nipples were just as provocative, shameful, and taboo as women's are now, and men were protesting in much the same way. In 1930, four men went topless to Coney Island and were arrested. In 1935, a flash mob of topless men descended upon Atlantic City, 42 of whom were arrested. Men fought and they were heard, changing not only laws but social consciousness. And by 1936, men's bare chests were accepted as the norm."
Scout goes on to say that she's not arguing for "mandatory toplessness," but rather "a woman's right to choose how she represents her body" without fear that someone will shame her for her appearance. Preach, Scout!
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