I remember when I was still in college, my ex-girlfriend asked me what I thought of the "Free the Nipple" campaign. Back then, I had no clue there even was a "Free the Nipple" campaign, much less what it was, though of course the name seems self explanatory. And indeed it is. The "Free the Nipple" campaign contends that there should be no legal and cultural distinction between the exposure of male and female nipples. In our society, it is legal for men to be topless in public, and even on TV, with no consequences. By contrast, even women's swimsuits naturally come with something to cover up their breasts. Some say this is unacceptable; females should be allowed to go topless too!
The simple answer I gave at the time was that I, myself, don't feel especially comfortable when my own, male nipples are exposed. Both for reasons of common decency and simply because I feel uncomfortable, and I only ever go topless in settings where it's expected, like a swimming pool. But I wish I'd given a better answer. Something more like "imagine I asked you for a picture of you topless. How would you feel?"
The correct answer to my question would be something like "exploited". If a man asks to see a woman's breasts, he does not typically have good intentions. You can make exceptions, such as a doctor performing some kind of check or treatment, but generally, there's only one reason a man would want to see an exposed breast. And believe it or not, that includes the men who oppose "Free the Nipple". Whether legislators writing indecent exposure laws, or just your average Joe on the street, most men really don't mind seeing breasts. Some men don't even need the breasts to be exposed, they'll stare anyway. So it's not like we're just a bunch of control freaks who don't want women living their lives. Believe me, if it was down to men's desires alone, women would be able to wave their breasts around at random.
But of course, at least right now, they don't. We live in a somewhat civilised culture where laws are passed based on practicality and decency, rather than the mindless sexual desires of... Ok, I can't say that with a straight face, but we used to, and indecent exposure laws are a remnant of that. Sadly, however, they are merely a remnant. But look at how we got to this point. The culture we live in proves the slippery slope "fallacy" is not a fallacy at all.
It wasn't too long ago we were still debating gay "marriage", and asking "where will it end?" We all knew it wasn't just the right to "marry" who they wanted, but they insisted it was. Well now they have men in women's sports and dominating women. Now we have our pronouns in our Twitter bios, and are shot down as bigots if we refuse to do so. Now "X" is becoming a valid gender on driving licenses in some places. Now, even Conservatives are congratulating Dave Rubin and his partner on their surrogate children. Worst of all? Now, we have a bill in Florida that prevents teachers from teaching 5-8 year olds about gay sex, which has been falsely bashed as the "don't say gay bill", and teachers quitting because of this.
How did we get to the point where "don't teach kids about sex" became "homophobic"? We got here with something as small as "Free the Nipple". A minor grievance had a hidden agenda. The pursuit of pleasure took the wheel, while common sense was bound and gagged and thrown in the trunk.
But "Free the Nipple" has even deeper implications. In the beginning, just after the Fall, Adam and Eve hid from God. "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”" (Genesis 3:6-11).
So why did they hide? Because "...by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:20b). Who told Adam he was naked? Why did he know to hide his own nudity? Put simply, his outer shame is a result of his inner guilt. It is little wonder, therefore, that as the culture drifts further from God, wallowing in our shame like pigs in the mud, we are beginning to lack the decency to make fig leaf clothing. Similarly, it is no wonder that there are reports of nudist tribes receiving the Gospel, only to immediately ask for clothes.
To our modern culture, the opposite should be the case. Make no mistake, it will never end with "free the nipple". As it already is, the Gospel will become increasingly politically incorrect, and laws may even be passed in none other than the U.S.A. to ban it completely. It should not surprise us, therefore, that as man continuously feasts on our forbidden fruits that we go from hiding our nudity to instead flaunting it.
But there is more even to The Fall, as God rejected Adam and Eve's futile efforts to hide themselves. "Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them." (Genesis 3:21). Our attempts to cover our shame are futile; God alone can blot out our transgressions. And sadly, it requires bloodshed. But praise be to God, that blood was indeed shed by none other than His only Son, Jesus Christ. All who repent and confess Jesus as the risen Lord will be forgiven of all sin, even the utter perversion displayed by our culture. It's a sad time when Christianity is seen as more perverse than public nudity, but to this dying world, I say free your nipples in the privacy of your own home, but free your souls in the sight of the world.