Since the release of feminist campaigner Lina Esco's 2014 film, Free The Nipple, there have been many celebrities joining in by the masses. They are encouraging women around the world to say no to sexual objection and gender inequality. Around the world, women are still largely at risk of a public indecency charge if they are caught topless. Yet for men - not so much.
According to Facebook and Instagram, there are rules enforced on their social media platforms which prohibit "graphic content" including pictures of a woman's areola, a.k.a the human nipple. 15-year-old Willow Smith called out the hypocrisy when she was banned from sharing a photo of herself wearing a t-shirt with women's breasts on it, yet a photo of her wearing a t-shirt depicting a male torso would have been okay?
Well, Facebook and Instagram might have their rules, but when it comes to other forms of freedom, these stars are willing to let it all out in the name of #FreeTheNipple.
14 Kendall Jenner
In 2015, Kendall Jenner took the catwalk for Chanel's runway show during Paris Fashion Week and made almost every jaw drop on the front row. The 19-year-old had everyone talking as she went braless in a sheer top and barely-there makeup.
Her mother, and everyone's favourite momager, Kris Jenner shared a snap of her and designer Karl Lagerfeld before the show, exclaiming how excited and proud she was. We're quite sure she wouldn't mind her teenage daughter freeing the nipple on the runway - it is in the name of fashion after all. Shortly after the show, Kendall joined her BFF, Cara Delevingne, in a protest organized by Lagerfeld on the streets of Paris, promoting the #FreeTheNipple campaign.
13 Rihanna
Rihanna caused an absolute Twitter storm when she turned up to the CFDA fashion awards wearing a totally see-through, crystal, full-length gown in 2014. The elaborate gown was created by designer Adam Selman, who personally applied more than 230,000 crystals to the dress in order to complete the look.
The Barbadian star, who had already engaged in a long rant via social media because Instagram censored her nipples, was present at the evening to collect her award for Fashion Icon. She said during her acceptance speech, "I can compensate for all of my weaknesses with fashion. Fashion should never be frustrating, it should be fun. As long as I can remember, fashion has been my defence mechanism."
12 Rose McGowan
Before the #FreeTheNipple campaign was even a thing, American actress and singer Rose McGowen wore a dress to the 1998 MTV Music Awards that had the entire world talking. The gown, made entirely of beads, left very little to the imagination as she walked hand-in-hand with her fiancé, Marilyn Manson.
Since this moment that changed red carpet fashion forever, stars like Rihanna and Amber Rose have followed (birthday) suit and gone for the "a-lot-less-is-more" look too.
11 Rita Ora
Earlier this year, Rita Ora posed for Lui Magazine in a NSFW photo shoot with controversial photographer, Terry Richardson. A couple of years previous, paparazzi caught her in a sheer top which showed up her braless figure under the flashbulbs - at the time everyone suspected it to be a fashion faux pas but now we're not so sure.
Her shoot, where she appears completely full frontal on the cover, shows her with a huge wide-grinned smile across her face. Inside the spread, more images of Ora playing the piano naked and posing topless again in a hotel room can be seen. She caused the initial chaos on social media after posting the snaps to Instagram with the caption: "'FREEDOM' Being ME without permission."
10 Scout LaRue Willis
24-year-old Scout LaRue Willis, who is the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, was angered by Instagram's double standards - allowing notorious playboy Dan Bilzerian to pose with almost nude bikini models yet they ban photos of women breastfeeding.
In New York, where it is legal to be topless in public, she took to the streets, nude from the waist up and posted the snaps online with the caption: "Legal in New York but not on Instagram?" Her mission to change censorship rules on Instagram continues today.
9 Iggy Azalea
Sydney-born rapper Iggy Azalea is no stranger to controversy, so when she set press columns alight by showing up to Paris Fashion Week in this see-through blouse, sans bra, it must have been just another day for the 25-year-old.
The Fancy singer, who is currently engaged to LA Lakers star Nick Young, caused a lot of trouble for herself when she tweeted two comments that her Twitter fans called racist. She wrote: "Is it wrong I feel happy to hear Southern accents again & not Mexican ones? F**k it. I am." and "Just saw five black men get arrested out the front of Popeyes. #Stereotypes." She survived a severe social media backlash but is still yet to announce any new music.
8 Chelsea Handler
Comedian Chelsea Handler has been working hard for the #FreeTheNipple cause since last year. She also protested Instagram's double standard on toplessness by appearing naked from the waist up whilst riding horses, climbing mountains, skiing and even laid on the floor at Mardi Gras.
The pictures she shares of her "girls" has quick become a game where she plays how long they can stay online before the sites restrictions call for them be taken down. At times we feel as if we have seen the 40-year-old's "girls" more than our own.
7 Miranda Kerr
Miranda Kerr is in the dreams of many men and also body inspiration for women too. The 32-year-old model shows off her perfect figure with yoga poses and dance moves on her social media regularly. She also bravely appeared completely nude for Harper Bazaar's January/February 2016 issue.
The Australian model managed to bag herself a younger boyfriend in 25-year old billionaire, Evan Spiegel. As her new beau is the founder of Snapchat, which has landed him a personal net worth of $2.1 billion, we expect to see her active on social media now more than ever.
6 Lady Gaga
There is one thing that can be said about Lady Gaga - she likes being naked. A lot. Her performances in music videos see her strip down to barely nothing. Then last year she took part in a completely topless shoot for V Magazine and posed like a natural bare-all.
Gaga, who recently turned to acting with a lead role in American Horror Story: Hotel, said about turning 30-years-old this year, "My birthday is in March, so these are the last moments of my 20s. Why is it that we’re disposing of people once they pass that mark? It’s suddenly, ‘You’re an old woman.’ I’m not f***ing old. I’m more sexual and powerful and intelligent and on my shit than I’ve ever been."
5 Keira Knightley
British actress Keira Knightley agreed to go topless for Interview magazine with just one condition: there was no photoshop allowed. The unedited shoot with fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier was a hit and sent out a positive image for women around the globe - just embrace your natural self.
Keira told The Times newspaper, "I've had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it's paparazzi photographers or for film posters. That (Interview magazine shoot) was one of the ones where I said: 'OK, I'm fine doing the topless shot so long as you don't make them any bigger or retouch.' Because it does feel important to say it really doesn't matter what shape you are."
4 Sharon Stone
Posing in stilettos and a high-waisted corset, Sharon Stone became a topless cover girl for Paris Match magazine aged 51-years-old. The mother-of-three proved that age is just a number and she can rock a half-naked photo shoot just like her younger contemporaries.
The Basic Instinct star, who shot to fame with that infamous leg-crossing scene, told Harpers Bazaar magazine, "I'm aware that my a** looks like a bag of flapjacks. But I'm not trying to be the best-looking broad in the world. At a certain point you start asking yourself, 'What really is sexy?' It's not just the elevation of your boobs. It's being present and having fun and liking yourself enough to like the person that's with you."
3 Madonna
Madonna is the master of stirring up conversation. In the run up to the promotion of her Rebel Hearts album, the 57-year-old singer went completely full frontal for Interview magazine. The Queen of Pop has been on a nudity mission for the past thirty years of her career.
Only last year she posted a fully nude photo of herself when Instagram removed a snap of her nipples. She wrote: "Why is it ok to show a** but not breasts? Drowning in the hypocrisy of social media." The picture was able to go live for six hours before it was removed by the photo sharing site's admin team.
2 Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has grown up quite quickly over the past few years. The former Disney Channel star changed her entire image when she 'twerked' her way through the MTV Music Awards in 2013. Miley said in a recent documentary Miley: The Movement, "I just needed to let go of the past in a way, so I felt like I could be the bad b***h I am." The 23-year-old singer continued, "How many times have you seen this play out in pop - Madonna's done it and Britney has done it."
Last year, her close friend, The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, revealed that Miley was planning to perform a concert where everyone — including her, the band, and the audience — will be completely naked. Now that would be a very Miley thing to do.
1 Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian broke the internet with her Paper magazine photo shoot when she wore a necklace, earrings and - well, that was it. Kim said of the shoot, "It was an art project and it taught me to do what you want to do." Even her momager, Kris Jenner, was in the shock and completely unaware how the shoot would look, revealing, "Sometimes I don't even know that they're coming out. I was like, 'Where did this come from?' I thought it was Photoshopped for a second."
The reality TV star was one of the many female celebrities who had nude pictures leaked online thanks to an iCloud hack. After Kim's private selfies were leaked, the Paper magazine shoot was an opportunity to take back control of her own body image online. The shoot will now be remembered as one of the most talked about of all time.
Sources: thetimes.co.uk, harpersbazaar.com
