Photo cred - Neil Nop

Freedom of bodily expression and gender equality got a big win in the last few days, after Facebook officially changed its stance on photos of bare breasted women. Previously, any top-half female nudity would be swiftly removed from Facebook servers. Now, thanks to the #FreeTheNippleCampaign, women are free to bare their breasts on Facebook, in certain contexts.

While Facebook still prohibits pornographic content, their newly amended policy on nudity now allows for photos to be posted with bare breasts and nipples shown, as long as it is not in a sexual context. Pictures of mothers breastfeeding are a prime example. Here's an excerpt of Facebook's policy:

"We aspire to respect people’s right to share content of personal importance, whether those are photos of a sculpture like Michelangelo's David or family photos of a child breastfeeding."

Previously, any photos of female nudity would not be allowed on Facebook. Topless photos of men with full nips out were not an issue, whereas any image of a bare breasted women were deemed "pornographic" and taken down, even when photos were not sexual in the slightest, again, breastfeeding pics being the prime example.

Some kinks in the system put people in unease at first, as it seemed that Facebook's claim to allow more tasteful nudity was just a way to placate the public and not actually change anything. A test run of the new photo-screening process (now with a human reviewer, and not just bots) by blogger Paa.La confirmed the new policy was more than just talk.

Facebook's decision to change their policy is a direct result of the #FreeTheNippleCampaign, a widespread online initiative which sought to, and still seeks to equalize the disparity between the genders in terms of accepted nudity. The campaign has made a win on Facebook, but global change is the goal of the initiative. Learn more about the #FreeTheNippleCampaign here.

Do you agree with the change?

For more on all things awesome, follow Michael on Twitter @MDAlimonte

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