Great piece, Joe. I used to complain as a teenager about the fact that, say, gun violence was perfectly fine to show on TV, but female nipples weren't. If I were in a dark alley late at night, I'd sure as hell be much more afraid of the gun than the nipple. (I was also annoyed that, prior to age 17, I wouldn't be allowed into movies that showed female nipples, lest the nipples corrupt me.... even though I had these already myself. It's a real self-worth affront for a girl coming of age to learn that her chest is seen by society as wrong and bad, whereas a boy's/man's chest is a-okay.)

I always found it offensive that women's bodies are considered offensive... but, being female, it doesn't often matter to the status quo if I feel offended. ;)

In any case, everything you say here is a huge part of the reason why, in 2022, I sporadically began sharing topless and totally nude photos on my Instagram account. I'm careful not to show my areolae or my labia (so that I can stay on the platform), but it's about f*cking time we normalize allowing women to be seen unclothed. There's more to say about why I started doing this — I have a lot of reasons, not all political — but for now, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for fighting the good fight... as usual. :)