“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.

Clothing is a necessity in everyday life and is a

significant part of one’s visual representation. The

expected norms of women’s clothing from the 19th

century and 21st century are tremendously

different. Feminists from each era chose an item of

clothing as their medium to express their desire for

equal power in society. In this post, I would like to

discuss how women took off clothing to show

women’s power and fighting for their equality against the social expectation from the society.

Today, feminists lead a movement of taking off an item of their clothing, specifically their bras,

to show the power of feminism via the “Free the Nipple” campaign.

Women makeup half of the population around the world yet take the brunt of

discrimination and suffering from society. Despite their ages or races, their commonplace was

women; their shared enterprise was women, their rights, and their freedom. Additionally, this

sparked a movement about breastfeeding in public which was not acceptable despite its

necessity. These women questioned why breasts needed to be covered while breastfeeding and

argued it was an unlawful gender discrimination. As more powerful groups supported the

movement, more participants joined to support their wives, girlfriends, and daughters. These two

movements of women taking actions with clothing were not just for a practicality, they show the

ongoing pattern of women taking a stand for their freedom and rights.
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These two movements promoted rights and freedom by breaking social pressures and

expectations for females. As you recognize the changes in women’s clothing, you can also

recognize the changes in their freedom and rights. These two movements’ impacts are shown in

today’s women’s clothing. Bloomers and trousers were not just practical attire, but a freedom

from societal constraints that limited women both physically and symbolically. Through this

movement, women gained rights and freedom. However, the ongoing movement of women not

wearing undergarments takes the further stance and shows the power of feminism by breaking

the social norm, a weakness of the pants’ movement. It was an expected norm from a society that

women have to wear bras in public yet these feminists continued to protest. While women

wearing pants focused gender equality, women not wearing bras represent the resistance against

the society’s expectation of being “feminine” women by covering our parts of bodies.

Take a look at women’s clothing presently, it shows how these movements are ongoing

successes around the world. It is because these movements successfully caught the eyes of kairos

and were alive through media, newspaper, magazines, or even social media.

As Feminism became a familiar and recognizable topic in society, a filmmaker Lina Esco

made the self-documentary “Free the Nipple” in NYC, running on the street without wearing

undergarments to express freedom from social pressure(MetroUSA, NSFW: Miley Cyrus and

Lina Esco want you to 'Free the Nipple'). Now, it is the symbol of modern feminism. The video

was spread by social media with #FreetheNipple on Instagram and was appeared on more than

four million posts.(Instagram and Twitter, 2018.) Also, due to celebrities such as Miley Cyrus,

joining this movement and sharing their support of Esco’s approach, more people around the

world were familiarized with this movement.(Twitter @MileyCyrus, December 14, 2013) In
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2013, Facebook removed these clips, citing their guidelines, and banned related posts(Price, Rob.

“Facebook bans most photos of female nipples for ‘safety’ reasons exec says”). However,

feminists still believed in the power of their campaign. Later, male supporters conducted a social

experiment titled “Nobody looks at the topless man, why a woman?” in August 2017 to show

that gender inequality still remains(Mackley, Elizabeth “Why these women went topless on

Hessle Foreshore today”). The issue became more rationalized and encouraged by the #metoo

movement, a movement to support survivors of and end sexual violence​(You Are Not Alone,

2018)​. The media caught both movements’ impacts of empowering feminism and spread them to

the national and then global level.

Neither pants themselves nor the absence of a bra are symbols of feminism; however,

these women are. They show how they were and could be civically engaged to fight for their

equal rights and freedom. Objections to it were fierce but the change happened nonetheless.

Because feminists and activists showed civic engagement by breaking the social pressure and the

expected norm. We are here in this world: a world where a girl can wear pants to a class, go to a

college, and vote- the three fundamental things they would not be able to do without these brave

women and their effort. These brave women took actions by making a unique choice of their

outfit to show the power of a feminist by wearing or not wearing items of clothing with pride and

meaning. Choosing an outfit is a simple everyday action and yet is a way for you to get engaged

as a member of society. Starting tomorrow, when you get dressed in the morning, think and

appreciate the spirit of these women who took and are taking actions for themselves and for you.
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Works Cited

Cover Photo,​ Life ​(June 27, 1895), quoted in Karen Kriebl, ​From bloomers to flappers: the

American women’s dress reform movement, 1840-1920​ (electronic dissertation, Ohio

State University 1998), https://etd.ohiolink.edu/

Cyrus, Miley Ray. “Merry Christmas ❤❤ THANK YOU NY for Being One of the Few States

to @Freethenipple Pic.twitter.com/OuXhlBrXVW.” ​Twitter​, Twitter, 14 Dec. 2013,

twitter.com/mileycyrus/status/411959790760624128?lang=en.

Finamore, Michelle. "The Audacity of Pants". Los Angeles Archivists Collective. September 23,

2018.

Frost-Knappman, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Smith Miller." In American History. ABC-CLIO, 2000-.

Accessed September 23, 2018. https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/25

2491?terms=elizabeth+smith+miller&sType=quick

Instagram.com. (2018). ​#freethenipplemovement hashtag on Instagram • Photos and Videos​.

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/freethenipplemovement/
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Jocelyn Sears, ​“Why Women Couldn't Wear Pants on the Senate Floor Until 1993.” ​Mental

Floss,​ 22 Mar. 2017,

mentalfloss.com/article/93384/why-women-couldnt-wear-pants-senate-floor-until-1993.

McGuire, William, and Leslie Wheeler. "Amelia Bloomer." In American History, ABC-CLIO,

2000. Accessed September 23, 2018.

https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display

/246037?terms=Amelia+Bloomer&sType=multi

McGuire, William, and Leslie Wheeler. "Susan Anthony B." In American History, ABC-CLIO,

2000. Accessed September 23, 2018.

https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display

/246037?terms=SusanAnthony+B.&sType=multi

“NSFW: Miley Cyrus and Lina Esco Want You to 'Free the Nipple'.” ​Metro US,​ Metro US, 18

Dec. 2013,

www.metro.us/entertainment/nsfw-miley-cyrus-and-lina-esco-want-you-to-free-the-nippl

e/tmWmlq---931vcsxST11k.

​Price, Rob. “Facebook Bans Most Photos of Female Nipples for 'Safety' Reasons, Exec Says.”

Business Insider​, Business Insider, 26 Apr. 2018,

www.businessinsider.com/freethenipple-facebook-bans-photos-female-nipples-safety-20

18-4.

“Research Paper- Pants Phenomenon: The Switch from Skirts to Trousers.” ​Weeklysilence,​ 9

Dec. 2011,
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weeklysilence.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/research-paper-pants-phenomenon-the-switch-

from-skirts-to-trousers/.

Revolvy, LLC. “‘Free the Nipple (Campaign)" on Revolvy.com.” ​Trivia Quizzes,​

www.revolvy.com/page/Free-the-Nipple-(campaign).

“Sign the Petition.” ​Change.org​,

www.change.org/p/instagram-stop-taking-down-body-positive-pictures-and-stop-sexualiz

ing-the-female-nipple.

Steinmetz, Katy. “Why We're Not Talking About Hillary Clinton's Pants.” Time, 14 July 2016,

time.com/4363815/history-women-pants-hillary-clinton/.

Twitter.com. (2018). Search Twitter - #freethenipple. https://twitter.com/hashtag/freethenipple

“WHAT SHALL THE NEW WOMAN WEAR, SKIRTS OR BLOOMERS?" Los

Angeles Herald, September 15, 1895. Accessed September 22, 2018.

http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc? a=d&d=LAH18950915.2.50.

You Are Not Alone. (2018). ​You Are Not Alone.​ https://metoomvmt.org/