Older Woman: What is there about showing so much of your breast exposed, except for excitement, for a male! Book Club Member 2: You know, half of them, are going to have them when they grow up, and all of them probably at least at one point sucked on them, so I don’t know why they should be such a big deal. In 2015 the phrase “free the nipple” spiked on social media, outpacing other gender-related terms. Why so much interest in this? And what is it people want to achieve? We hung out with the Outdoor Coed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society in New York to learn more. Book Club Member 1: Many New York citizens don’t realize that it’s actually legal for women to be topless. It’s been legal since the year 1992. That year Ramona Santorelli argued that New York nudity laws were unconstitutional since they single out female nipples. Several justices agreed and effectively legalized female toplesseness in New York. Book Club Member 1: At one point in history it was also illegal for men to be topless as well. And only in the year 1937 did it become legal for men to be topless in New York. Book Club Member 3: The law should not be applied differently based on your gender. The law should just be the law. Still, some officers may not be aware of the law, and this has led to wrongful arrests. X-roll: Oh my goodness. They called 911. We are a threat! Oh wow! The public decency laws in most other states are still murky and open to interpretation. X-roll: This is not an emergency. They really called 911! Book Club Member 2: That was hilarious. I’m sorry, I’ve never had the cops called on me, in my life. I don’t know, I wasn’t terribly threatened by it, since I know my rights. In Time Square, a group of topless women created a media frenzy in 2015 when they decided to exercise their right as a way to earn tips. X-roll Desnuda: Hi guys! Photo? Picture? X-roll young bystanders: Oh my god! That’s Free the Nipple! Desnuda 1: Free the nipple, yes. The media dubbed them “the desnudas” which translates to “the nudes.” Desnuda 2: Well I’m out here expressing my rights as a woman. Mayor Bill de Blasio has expressed concern about the issue. De Blasio: I don’t like the situation is Times Square and we’re going to address it in a very aggressive manner. He set up a task force to look for a way to regulate the activity, but no action has come of it yet. Desnuda 2: We’re not bad people, we’re just naked girls in paint. We don’t hurt anybody. The Joker: They don’t have the right that the Naked Cowboy had for 20 years. And it is a question of equal rights for women, and I can’t stand the hypocrisy. X-roll desnudas with old man: Thank you my love. Thank you. Desnuda 3: The female body is definitely owned. It’s a commercial entity. When an independent woman wants to take control and decides she can make a little cash showing off her body, that’s when it becomes a problem. But while an exposed female nipple is legal in New York, social media sites like Instagram and Facebook still censor female nipples. Desnuda 1: You can show all the side boob and underboob you want to, once those nipples come out, it’s a problem To get around it on certain social media sites, women are photoshopping men’s nipples onto their nipples. That is ridiculous. How can you tell the difference? Why should one nipple be censored while the other one isn’t? Male nipple templates such as these have circulated widely on social media. The movement has attracted national attention. In New Hampshire, lawmakers responded by introducing a bill that would make it illegal for women to expose their nipples. That bill has yet to have a hearing. Opponents of the movement argue that female breasts are sexual organs, and are too distracting for men. I think it’s too seductive for the opposite sex. The men can’t help themselves! They must go and take a photo.¬ But activists argue that it’s all about context. OR Activists argue that it’s all about context. Book Club Member 2: In a context where you’re being sexual with somebody, they can become sexual, but if you’re just walking out in public, I don’t think they should be any different than a man having his shirt off. Desnuda 3: Who sexualized breasts, really? Someone did that. Someone made it sexual. Naturally they’re not sexual at all, they’re for the babies. Book Club Member 4: I was out with some coworkers, and we saw this woman breastfeeding, and one of my coworkers was like: oh that’s totally disgusting. Desnuda 1: It’s disgusting that people see it that way. People say: oh there’s a bathroom. Why would I want my child to eat in a disgusting bathroom? Opponents are also concerned about the effect that shirtless women can have on children. The kids ask why the women are like that. And they tend to copy whatever they see. But activists disagree. Book Club Member 3: A lot of families get upset when they see topless women, they’re like oh my god, think of the children, the children are going to see you topless. Book Club Member 5: If the kids aren’t told that it’s wrong, they’re not ever gonna get that sense. X-roll Kuwaiti women in hijabs sharing tea with desnudas: For Arabs, that’s wrong. X-roll Desnuda: That’s wrong, yeah, we know. Young Male Bystander in Times Square: I think someday women will be able to have their nipples looked at in the same way as a man’s. Young women bystanders in Times Square: I don’t know, if everyone was doing it, it would become the norm, but it’s not, so it’s a little bit different, and people take time to get used to it. Desnuda 1: The ultimate goal for us, for women’s equality and women’s rights is that there’s no reaction.