The Instagram Account ‘genderless-nipples’ Has The Social Media Censors Stumped

As any user of social media outlets knows (or probably assumes) there are standards in place to keep obscene, incendiary, or abusive content out of news feeds and away from user’s eyes. On Instagram especially, this has drawn the ire of users who claim double standards are in place that allow for male shirtlessness but don’t allow female bodies the same consideration.

You don’t need to be a medical professional to realize that all people have nipples. So censoring those of women but not men seems arbitrary and discriminatory.

That’s the line of thinking that birthed the strangely glorious Instagram account “genderless_nipples.” In case you can’t determine the premise of their gimmick from the account name, they post zoomed-in photos of nipples devoid of context or gender.

Is this NSFW? Should it be banned based on Instagram’s terms of service? We don’t think so, but we also can’t vouch for your workplace’s response to this conundrum. I guess it will open a dialogue, but the cost of that dialogue is better determined on a case-by-case basis by the user.

That’s the discussion the site would like to bring to attention with these weirdly candid photos. Instagram doesn’t know either, so they haven’t yet taken action on the site (with one exception, it would seem), allowing the dozens of nipple pics to remain up, barring proof that we’re laying eyes upon *gasp* a female nipple.

So, in the interest of giving them the benefit of the doubt, and foregoing prior restraint, here are some of the photos featured on this wonderfully absurd account:

It lives up to its name, doesn’t it?

I assume you don’t need more nipple pics to get the idea, but if you do...explore the photos on your own.

The account is soliciting nipple pics in a style they summarize as “no hair and hard” so that Instagram censors don't’ really have a leg to stand on.

I’m not sure what the fallout from genderless_nipples will be or what change it will affect, but for now, as long as they’re genderless or male, it seems we’ll be free to keep looking at nipples on Instagram.