I am protesting
This is from a social media post that I shared in May 2019. The post went viral and then was taken down:
Hey Facebook/IG. I noticed your community guidelines are awfully specific about when my naked body is appropriate and when it is not.
I noticed that my nipples are appropriate when they are an act of protest, specifically.
I also noticed you deem them appropriate if they are being used to feed a baby, or if I have breast cancer. But not any other time?
Well, I am protesting.
I am protesting that society deems my body to be sexual when I am not doing anything sexual with it.
I am protesting that my boyfriend can lie outside in the park with his shirt off and I cannot.
I am protesting that lawmakers continue to take ownership of my body. In a country where we are supposed to be “free.”
I am protesting that we have a president who would assault me if he could.
I am protesting that your guidelines don’t make any sense.
I am protesting that you think my nipples are inherently sexual.
I am protesting that everybody seems to think they get a say about what I can and cannot do with my own body.
I hope you leave this photo up. Your guidelines are very specific, as I mentioned:
“Where such intent is clear… we allow other images, including those depicting acts of protest.”
“We understand that nudity can be shared for a variety of reasons, including as a form of protest, to raise awareness about a cause…”
I think that abortion bans are toward the top of a pyramid whose base is made up with cat-calling and my nipples being deemed too sexual to show in public.
I am protesting. I demand the same rights as men.
If you liked this piece, you might also enjoy:
– Sometimes I think about how women were considered property not even 200 years ago
– They have told you to hide it
– They will tell you you are unclean
– The way you have been taught to feel is wrong
– I’m fucking tired of the world telling me I can’t have pleasure