Inherently sexualised when on a female body, the sight of women’s nipples has previously caused shock and outrage in the media. In an era of fourth wave feminism, this sexist notion seems to be changing. Whilst going braless is not exactly revolutionary for young women – the majority of whom embrace and celebrate the ‘free the nipple’ movement – ideologies are now changing among the older generations, those who have been confined to misogynistic ideas of beauty and sexualisation for decades. With that said, is going braless empowering, or simply something that should have been normalised years ago?
Kim Kardashian’s faux nipple bra made headlines in 2023, and seemed to take a small step towards normalising the sight of women’s nipples. Although the bra may seem to defeat the point this article is trying to make, as a 20-year-old, this was the first time I have noticed women purposefully showing nipples under clothing, and most people simple not caring.
I can think of countless times that men’s nipples have been obvious through their shirts, and no one batted an eye.
For me and many of my peers, nipples have never been an issue. I remember watching Friends when I was 13 and noticing that Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox often went braless in their scenes; I acknowledged this and moved on. After all, I can think of countless times that men’s nipples have been obvious through their shirts, and no one batted an eye. Aniston clearly agrees with me, telling Vogue in 2017, "I don't know why I'm supposed to be ashamed of them—it's just the way my breasts are." Despite this, I remember seeing countless Tweets and articles commenting on her nipples, even 15 years after the series ended. To this day, the energy put into this sexualisation of women’s bodies confuses me: everyone has nipples, and it’s about time the constant objectification of women’s is stopped.
If you want to wear a bra, do; if you don’t, don’t.
I don’t think going braless is necessary empowering. Instead, it should be something quietly normalised, just like the common visibility of men’s nipples. If you want to wear a bra, do; if you don’t, don’t. Just like everything else we decide to wear, the choice should be up to you, and only you.