#freethenipple – digital activism and embodiment in the contemporary feminist movement

Abstract

Contemporary, or so-called fourth-wave feminism has heralded an era of online activism which celebrates the potential of this space to reconfigure and reorder gender relations. In this paper we explore an example of an online campaign, #freethenipple, which attempts to disrupt and destabilise a highly sexualised patriarchal breast ideal. We examine both the mechanisms of (re)inscription that feminist activists are using in the campaign and the readings and interpretations of the campaign. We find subtle slippages between these intentions and interpretations. In closing we question the ability of the campaign to revoke dominant patriarchal inscriptions of female bodies, and raise questions about the efficacy of the online environment in effecting real world change.

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