For the fashion world,this is a thrilling new development. Designers and influencers are constantly looking for new and innovative ways for women to show more flesh.
Australian model Gabby Epstein in a ‘circumboob’ bikini.Instagram:@gabbyepstein
They’ve given us underboob and sideboob,nipple-baring tops and completely transparent “naked” dresses,as well as gowns made of nothing more than strips of fabric placed strategically over the groin. And the media provides a positive feedback loop,by responding in a frenzy of excitement.
“Florence Pugh frees the nipple!” the headlines cry,or “Julia Fox wore a nearly naked dress!”
The circumboob trend combines underboob,sideboob and cleavage,showing off the entire breast except for the nipple. We women have yet another semi-nude option to explore!
Liz Hurley wore ‘that dress’ back in 1994. But it looks positively conservative by today’s standards.Dave Benett/Getty Images
Now,I believe that women (and all humans) should be free to dress how we wish. But can we think,just for a moment,about what is happening here? Can we notice the clothes getting smaller and smaller? How much more naked can we women possibly get? And what is the end goal here?
We have been so desensitised to female nudity that it is no longer titillating,and yet we are constantly pushed to reveal more and more and more. Back in 1994,Elizabeth Hurley was considered ground-breaking when she wore a with safety pins revealing the sides of her torso. Now,in 2023,women are showing up on red carpets with their entire bodies on display. Female nudity is ubiquitous in the media.
Back when I was growing up the only way to see underboob was to buy special magazines,or go searching in the dark corners of the local video rental store. But these days,we need simply to open Instagram to see a range of practically naked women. Boobs are not scandalous or scarce anymore. They are bog-standard.
When a female celebrity rocks up to an event wearing a “daring” transparent dress,or a skirt that precludes underpants,or a weird bandage across her chest in lieu of a top,I don’t think “OH MY GOD NUDITY”. I think,“Yeah. It’s a body. I’ve seen a few.”
And maybe this would be okay,if the same standards applied to men. But,of course,they don’t. We’re not seeing the wardrobes of male celebrities get skimpier and skimpier. We’re not seeing male actors turn up to events pantless,or even topless,for that matter.
Chris Hemsworth would look fabulous in a mankini.AP
They aren’t walking the red carpets wearing a Borat-type sling,or a Band-Aid from testicles to navel. When a male celebrity wants to get noticed,he wears a cape over his tux,or chooses a suit in a jaunty colour,or – very rarely – dons a skirt.
This isn’t because men’s bodies aren’t attractive as women’s;I mean,Chris Hemsworth and Michael B Jordan would look fabulous in mankinis. And it is certainly not because men are more evolved than women. Men are simply not subject to the constant objectification and sexualisation of their bodies,nor the same societal pressure to get attention by showing flesh.
It is only women,not men,who are taught that the path to empowerment lies in wearing as little as possible. And the fashion industry obliges by taking that “possible” as far as it can.
When will it end? The boundaries have been pushed so far that there are almost no boundaries left,and yet it keeps going. We already have circumboob and bare nipples and see-through frocks;how many more pieces of clothing can women take off? What does a female celebrity have to do now to be considered “ground-breaking” or “exciting”? Appear in public stark naked but for a ribbon in her hair? Walk the red carpet with nothing but a few stick-on jewels on her bum?
This frenzy for female flesh will not stop until we are all naked,all of the time. It seems the only path to equality is to make the men get naked too. Free the chest. Free the penis. Free the testicles. Free it all! Circumboob? Let’s have “circumballs”.
And then watch how the gender dynamics change.
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