The Sexualisation vs. Censorship of Breasts – The Double Standard We Need to End
- Grace Carter
- Mar 14
- 5 min read
It’s 2025, and yet, somehow, the female breast remains one of the most controversial body parts in existence. Society can’t seem to decide whether breasts should be worshipped, hidden, monetised, or censored - often all at once.
This bizarre contradiction is best summed up in a single, everyday reality: a woman breastfeeding her child in public is often met with disapproving stares, while a nearly topless model in an advert for perfume is completely acceptable.
So, why do we still have such a conflicted relationship with the female body? More importantly, who benefits from this double standard?
A History of Control
The sexualisation of women’s bodies isn’t new - it’s been a long-standing tool for both profit and control. For centuries, the female form has been curated for the male gaze, dictated by shifting beauty standards, religious modesty rules, and, more recently, corporate interests.
For centuries, the female form has been curated for the male gaze, dictated by shifting beauty standards, religious modesty rules, and, more recently, corporate interests.
Breasts, in particular, have been fetishised to the point that their primary biological function - feeding infants - is treated as secondary to their role in male pleasure.
Historically, cultures have oscillated between reverence and restriction. In some Indigenous societies, exposed breasts were (and still are) completely normal, neither inherently sexual nor inappropriate.
Meanwhile, in Victorian Britain, women were expected to cover up entirely, yet corsets and bust-enhancing garments were encouraged to create the illusion of an idealised silhouette. Today, while laws may no longer dictate women’s attire, social norms continue to police female bodies with unnerving intensity.
Breasts in the Media: From Objectification to Censorship
One of the most glaring hypocrisies surrounding female breasts is how they are portrayed in mainstream media. Open a magazine or scroll through social media, and you’ll see endless images of barely-covered cleavage used to sell everything from lingerie to fast food. Films, adverts, music videos, and even reality TV thrive on showcasing women’s bodies for entertainment and profit.
Yet, platforms like Instagram and Facebook have long banned images of female nipples unless they fit into a narrow category of ‘acceptable’ exposure - usually linked to art, medical necessity, or activism. This digital censorship is a modern extension of the double standard that has existed for centuries. The female body can be displayed and consumed when it suits commercial interests, but the moment a woman asserts ownership over how and why she reveals her body, the rules change.
The female body can be displayed and consumed when it suits commercial interests, but the moment a woman asserts ownership over how and why she reveals her body, the rules change.
A prime example of this contradiction was the Bobbie breastfeeding advert with chef and author, Molly Baz, that was banned in the US. The ad, which depicted the realities of new motherhood - including breastfeeding - was deemed ‘too controversial.’ The message was clear: a natural and essential act was somehow inappropriate for public viewing. Meanwhile, barely-there lingerie commercials air without issue. If this isn’t proof of a system designed to police women’s bodies, what is?
The Breastfeeding Hypocrisy
Perhaps nowhere is this contradiction more evident than in attitudes toward breastfeeding. A mother nursing her child in public is often told to ‘cover up’ or ‘be discreet,’ as though feeding a baby is somehow offensive. The idea that a natural and necessary act should be hidden away speaks volumes about how society has conditioned us to see breasts primarily as sexual objects.
Perhaps nowhere is this contradiction more evident than in attitudes toward breastfeeding.
Yet, if those same breasts were pushed up in a low-cut dress for a night out, they would be seen as perfectly acceptable, even celebrated. This double standard sends a clear message: women’s bodies are only allowed to be visible on terms dictated by others.
Who Decides What’s ‘Appropriate’?
The real question is, why do we continue to accept these contradictory rules? Why are women’s bodies still being policed in a way that men’s never are?
Male nipples are freely displayed in public, in fitness magazines, on social media, and even in professional settings without a second thought. Meanwhile, women must navigate a minefield of conflicting expectations, constantly adjusting how they present themselves to avoid judgment or censorship.
Women must navigate a minefield of conflicting expectations, constantly adjusting how they present themselves to avoid judgment or censorship.
These societal contradictions aren’t accidental - they’re part of a broader framework that keeps women’s bodies commodified and controlled. By sexualising breasts while simultaneously shaming women for displaying them in non-sexual contexts, the message remains clear: women don’t have full autonomy over their own bodies.
Free the Nipple – A Fight for Equality
One of the most vocal movements challenging this hypocrisy is Free the Nipple, a campaign that started as a feminist protest against censorship and evolved into a wider discussion about gender equality. The movement highlights the absurdity of banning female nipples on social media while allowing violent or degrading content to circulate freely.
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have repeatedly removed images of women’s chests under the guise of ‘community guidelines,’ even when the images are not sexual in nature. Meanwhile, male torsos - identical in anatomy apart from the presence of breast tissue - remain untouched.
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have repeatedly removed images of women’s chests under the guise of ‘community guidelines,’ even when the images are not sexual in nature.
The campaign has gained widespread attention, with activists, celebrities, and everyday women pushing for a shift in societal norms. And yet, despite growing awareness, the issue persists.
Social media companies have made only minor changes, and mainstream media continues to enforce double standards. Clearly, we still have work to do.
It’s Time to Dismantle the Double Standard
Ending the hypocrisy around the sexualisation and censorship of female breasts starts with shifting our cultural mindset. This means normalising breastfeeding, challenging dress codes that disproportionately target women, and questioning why social media algorithms automatically flag female nipples while allowing exploitative content to flourish.
Ending the hypocrisy around the sexualisation and censorship of female breasts starts with shifting our cultural mindset.
We also need to acknowledge that women’s bodies do not exist solely for consumption. Whether someone chooses to cover up or bare their chest should be entirely up to them, not dictated by outdated norms or corporate interests.
The female breast isn’t inherently sexual - society made it that way. And if we created this double standard, we can dismantle it too.
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