#FreeTheNipple: It's Back and On Point

Social media campaigns led by hashtags are all the rage and probably will be for a long time yet. They can be used to great effect, particularly against people like Julien Blanc, and can make attempts to inform, educate and inspire. Similar campaigns such as #BringBackOurGirls received attention worldwide.

BaDoink has followed the Free The Nipple campaign and movement already. At first we discussed the relevance and importance of an issue that has strived to achieve credibility in the face of many detractors. Then earlier this year we reported on the upcoming fictional movie based upon the movement and a number of incidents they have been involved in.

It stands to reason that Free The Nipple would always have pockets of like-minded people across the world; splinter cells operating topless under the cover of night. And so we head off to the dreamlike landscapes of Iceland where 17-year-old student Adda Þóreyjardóttir Smáradóttir inadvertently set the new wave in motion. According to reports, Adda, chair of the Feminist Society at The Commercial College of Iceland, announced her plans for her institution hold a Free The Nipple Day on Thursday March 26th.

After a disagreement with a male student who protested by picturing himself topless, Adda responded in kind… only for the male student in question decided to start throwing the picture around to all and sundry in an attempt to embarrass Adda. Way to prove the campaign’s point, playa. Full marks and extra credit. Women from all over the world decided to throw their bras into the ring for Adda and began posting their own topless shots and nipple pics via #FreeTheNipple (NSFW).

Other educational institutions in Iceland soon followed suit and declared their own FTN Days too. “It’s just a body part. Boys have breasts and nipples and it’s fine for them to expose them. The same should apply to us” Heiður Anna Helgadóttir, chair of the Feminist Association of the University of Iceland, told Visir news website according to Iceland Review.