#FreetheNipple
- nora comtois
- May 23
- 10 min read
How Might Instagram Female Celebrity Fashion in Conjunction with the Meta Oversight Board’s Recent Case About Nudity Coincide with the #Freeing the Nipple Movement?
The conversation regarding freeing the nipple is not new, but with the Meta Oversight Board’s recent ruling, the conversation has started to gain traction once again. At the same time, female celebrities are posting content of themselves to Instagram that shows their nipples through their fashion choices. How Might Instagram Female Celebrity Fashion in Conjunction with the Meta Oversight Board’s Recent Case About Nudity Coincide with the #Freeing the Nipple Movement?
This research paper is split into two portions: Firstly, I will study the political economy in regards to nudity — specifically nipple – regulation on Instagram by analyzing the Meta Oversight Board’s "Gender Identity and Nudity" cases along with Meta’s Sexual Solicitation Community Standard and Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Standard (which includes Instagram’s community guidelines). Secondly, through discourse analysis (Brock), I will study the attention economy (Tufekci) by observing the amount of attention that these celebrities’ nipple-baring photo receive — likes and comments — and the kind of attention these posts receive — the public’s reaction to the posts and the conversation this creates in regards to Instagram’s nudity policies on nipples. I will then pair this with my studies about the political economy.
Meta is the technology company that owns Facebook and Instagram. The Meta Oversight Board was established in 2020 to “...answer some of the most difficult questions around freedom of expression online: what to take down, what to leave up, and why” (“The Oversight Board”). The board is an independent entity which allows users to appeal to Facebook or Instagram decisions regarding content. Members of the board consist of people from a variety of professional backgrounds, including academics, politicians, and journalists (Demopoulos)
At the beginning of 2023, for the first time, the Oversight Board reviewed two cases at the same time: two posts from the same Instagram account — one from 2021 and one from 2022 — which showed the bare chests of a transgender and non-binary couple. In both of the photos, the couple’s nipples are covered, and the caption writes that one of them will undergo top surgery which the couple is fundraising for (linked in their bio). From both reports by users and alerts from AI censors, as well as multiple reviews by Meta, the posts were removed on Instagram due to violating the Sexual Solicitation Community Standard; the couple decided to appeal to Meta and then the Meta Oversight Board.
On January 17th, 2023, the Meta Oversight Board overturned Meta’s initial decision to remove the posts and decided to restore them. Along with the ruling, the board suggested for Meta to revise its Sexual Solicitation Community Standard and the Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Standard “...so that it is governed by clear criteria that respect international human rights standards” (“ ‘Gender Identity and Nudity’ cases”).
According to Instagram’s Community Guidelines, the Sexual Solicitation Community Standard states that any content which “...facilitates, encourages or coordinates sexual encounters or commercial sexual services between adults” will be removed in order “... to avoid facilitating transactions that may involve trafficking, coercion and non-consensual sexual acts” (“Sexual Solicitation”). Under this policy, Meta states that both explicit and implicit solicitation violates the policy. The first criterion prohibits any content that “offers or asks for sexual solicitation,” and the second criterion prohibits any content that does so by using a “sexually suggestive element” which can be language or “poses” (Instagram). In terms of the Instagram posts from the Oversight Board case, despite not exposing the nipples, the posts violated the Sexual Solicitation Community Standard because it contained a “method of contact” — the fundraising link — for an implicit “offer or ask” (“ ‘Gender Identity and Nudity’ cases”).
Content of nudity or sexual activity is defined as “...photos, videos and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks” (“Community Guidelines”). According to the Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Standard, in terms of female nipples, content “...in the context of breastfeeding, birth giving and after-birth moments, health-related situations (for example, post-mastectomy, breast cancer awareness or gender confirmation surgery) or an act of protest are allowed” (“Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity”). However, even in terms of scarring, moderators must determine whether the extent causes the post to violate the standard or not. Also, “Nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures is OK” (“Community Guidelines”). Unless the post meets one of the exceptions outlined by that standard, any content of female breasts is deemed as inherently sexual, even if it is not for that reason. In fact, the board received public comments that it is unfair to assume sexual implications for women’s posts when there are none of those assumptions for men’s posts.
The board states the Meta standards on nipples are based on a binary view, excluding restrictions and exceptions for intersex, non-binary and transgender people which is “confusing” (“ ‘Gender Identity and Nudity’ cases”); the Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Standard only refers to “male and female genitalia,” “female breasts” and “female nipples” (“ ‘Gender Identity and Nudity’ cases”). In regards to nipple guidelines specifically, “...users do not know if their content is assessed and categorized according to their gender identity, the sex they were assigned at birth, or aspects of their physical appearance” (“ ‘Gender Identity and Nudity’ cases”). “The same image of female-presenting nipples would be prohibited if posted by a cisgender woman but permitted if posted by an individual self-identifying as non-binary,” argued the board (“ ‘Gender Identity and Nudity’ cases”). The gender confirmation surgery exception allows “...uncovered female nipples before the individual has top surgery to remove their breasts…” but “...nipples of male-to-female transgender women having undergone a breast augmentation (top surgery) are prohibited, unless scarring over nipple is present (Meta).
The board said that they understand “...Meta may have a legitimate interest in limiting sexual or pornographic content on its platform,” however, the board argued that this precaution can be met without discrimination (“ ‘Gender Identity and Nudity’ cases”). Specifically, the board asked Meta to 1) “define clear, objective, rights-respecting criteria to govern its Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity Community Standard, so that all people are treated in a manner consistent with international human rights standards, without discrimination on the basis of sex or gender,” 2) “provide more detail in its public-facing Sexual Solicitation Community Standard on the criteria that lead to content being removed,” and 3) “revise its guidance for moderators on the Sexual Solicitation Community Standard so that it more accurately reflects the public rules on the policy” (“ ‘Gender Identity and Nudity’ cases”).
The Oversight Board suggested that Meta apply warning screens and age-gating content for users over the age of 18 (Meta). Meta could implement user control which allows users to limit the nude content on their feed (Meta). The board also suggested that — in order to avoid subjectiveness and speculation — Meta should employ more human moderators to make more “...more contextualized determinations of what content is sexual, as long as such determinations avoid reliance on discriminatory criteria in making such determinations” (Meta). As of yet, Meta has not agreed to implement changes to the nudity policy; however, Meta has responded to the case with clarifications for its policies.
The #FreeTheNipple social media movement started in 2012 — “...this period caused the movement to gain attention from celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Chelsea Handler, Rihanna, and Chrissy Teigen” posting nipple-revealing to Instagram (Anbouba). Although not all female celebrities who were posting their nipples to Instagram were in direct support of the movement, because their content was posted during the height of it, more attention translated to the movement. Since the Meta Oversight Board case ruling, the #FreeTheNipple social media movement has started to rise again in discourse. Post-ruling — as per usual — female celebrities are posting content with their nudity to Instagram, and the fashion industry’s sheer trend might play a role.
For Spring 2023, designers decided to free the nipple. “It’s not about going totally topless—instead, luxurious sheer fabrics like tulle and mesh…” (Anbouba). Many celebrities are wearing these runway looks to carpet events and then posting these looks to Instagram. And with the sheer trend from runway fashion also becoming embraced in street fashion, more people in general are repping the look.
Considering the Oversight Board case ruling which publicized at the same time as the free the nipple trend, Women's Wear Daily magazine says “...it’s clear that embracing subtle nudity in 2023 is less of an abstract concept or micro trend. Instead, it’s a movement where disruptors will use fashion as one outlet for self-expression and social change” (Chwatt). Whether female celebrities are posting photos of their nipples because of the fashion trend, because of the Oversight Board case ruling, or for no particular reason at all, these posts are still generating attention about Instagram’s nudity policy regarding nipples. To observe this attention, I looked at the recent nipple-baring posts by Emily Ratajkowski, Lily-Rose Depp, Madelaine Petsch, and Kendall Jenner.
Model Emily Ratajkowski has 30 million followers on Instagram, and she usually averages about 591.2 thousand likes and 840 comments per post (“Hype Auditor”). On February 4th, Ratajkowski posted a video to Instagram of her wearing a sheer, brown top. She captioned the photo with: “I heard they freed the nip on instagram so. Thanks @themarcjacobs @melzy917” (Ratajkowski). Currently, the post has 765.2 thousand likes and 4.3 thousand comments (Instagram).
Model and actress Lily-Rose Depp has 7.2 million followers on Instagram, and she usually averages about 740.3 thousand likes and 3.1 thousand comments per post (“Hype Auditor”). On February 20th, for i-D magazine, Depp posted a series of seven photos to instagram — in some she is completely topless but covering her breasts with her arm or jacket, in one she is wearing a top braless, and in another she is wearing a clear, see-through dress which fully exposes her chest. Currently, the post has 1.3 million likes and 5.2 thousand comments (Depp).
Actress Madelaine Petsch has 25.5 million followers on Instagram, and she usually averages about 1.3 million likes and 3 thousand comments per post (“Hype Auditor”). On March 2nd, for Paris Fashion Week, Petsch posted a series of three photos to Instagram of herself wearing a pink tweed Givenchy skirt-suit with a sheer turtleneck. Currently, the post has 2.3 million likes and 6.5 thousand comments (Petsch).
Model Kendall Jenner has 287 million followers on Instagram, and she usually averages about 4.4 million likes and 11.5 thousands comments per post (“Hype Auditor”). On March 27th, for an editorial promotion for FWRD, Jenner posted a series of five photos to Instagram of herself wearing a slightly sheer, white tank top dress with no bra. Currently, the post has 7.5 million likes and 26.5 thousand comments (Jenner).
In terms of the amount of attention that these nipple-baring posts received, all of them received more likes and comments than the users’ usual posts. In fact, for most of these posts, the amount of attention received practically doubled in comparison. However, this isn’t unusual as “celebrities posing nude almost always make headlines” (Yasharoff); Either way, because these celebrities are posting nudes of themselves showing their nipples, the headlines specifically focus on that celebrities are exposing their nipples which may implicitly bring exposure to the #FreeTheNipple as a whole.
In terms of the kind of attention that these nipple-baring posts received, all of them received a plethora of comments from both sides of the #FreeTheNipple movement. Commenters addressed many of the topics discussed in the Oversight Board case; I noticed three different trends of conversation:
One trend of conversation was in relation to what qualifies as porn on Instagram. For example, one user said “Might as well be porn. Lol” (@unforseenventures) on Petsch’s post and another user commented “Well, this is basically porn but okay.. 🤷♂️” on Depp’s post (@b.klaebe13). On Jenner’s post, one user questioned “Is she a ̶p̶̶o̶̶r̶̶n̶ star ? 🤔” (@jannat_maha).
Another trend of conversation was in relation to what qualifies as an exception to Instagram’s nudity restrictions in regards to art. For example, two users show disagreement to fashion being an exception; On Depp’s post, a user commented “Nudity labeled as fashion 😂😂” (@devansh_cane) and another commented “Too much nudity this is not fashion nor art 🙂 have some respect for your body” (@lay.1929). On the contrary, on Jenner’s post, a user said “why are y'all like this? she is a model and this is what a lot of models do. she probably has self respect and what she wears shoes no reflection of if she does or not. leave the damn woman alone” (@420kris.hate.page69).
Lastly, I noticed a trend of conversation in regards to Instagram’s regulation of posts according to age. On Ratajkowski’s post, one user commented “If they do this on insta they should ban instagram for anyone under 18” (@sheldonborders19), and on Jenner’s post — receive 3.5 thousand likes — a user said “Her acc. Should be labelled as 18+!” (@__beingsid).
According to fashion historian Cassidy Zachary, it’s not completely a coincidence that these nipple-baring collections — along with the celebrities repping it on Instagram — are debuting at this particular time which aligns with the Meta Oversight Board’s ruling. “ ‘There’s been a symbiotic relationship between women gaining greater access to the public sphere and the way they dress their bodies,’ ” Zachary says (Anbouba). She says that feminist movements often go hand-in-hand with new fashion trends like when “...hemlines shrinking at Courrèges in the mid-’60s, as birth control became more widely available and The Feminine Mystique could be found on many a bookshelf” (Anbouba). So although there isn’t a clear reason certain female celebrities are posting photos of themselves in nipple-showing fashion right now, these posts are still generating conversation about the topic which could soon translate into social changes that progress the movement (Tufekci).
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Madelaine Petsch (@madelame) instagram stats and analytics - hypeauditor.
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Ratajkowski, E. (2023, February 4). Emily Ratajkowski on Instagram: “I heard they freed the nip on Instagram so. thanks @themarcjacobs @melzy917.” Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPvhSRj_w8/
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