Women, and older women in particular, disapprove of visible female nipples
During a Brit Awards acceptance speech last month, singer Charli XCX called out broadcaster ITV for “complaining about my nipples” – a reference to her translucent outfit that night.
She went on to say "I feel like we're in the era of 'free the nipple' though, right?"
The results of a new YouGov survey suggest that the public are at odds with the music artist, however. While 36% say it is acceptable for female celebrities like Charli XCX to wear transparent or translucent outfits that leave their nipples visible at red carpet events, they are outnumbered by the 55% who say this is unacceptable.
And there is even greater disapproval for the wearing of such outfits by regular women in public settings like the high street, with only 28% considering this acceptable and 63% branding it unacceptable.
Women, and older women in particular, are the most likely to say that female nipples should be kept under wraps. Three quarters (77%) of British women say that regular women in public places should not have visible nipples, rising to 89% of women aged 60 and above.
When it comes to young women – those aged 18-29 – most (54%) also see it as unacceptable for nipples to be on display on the high street, but when it comes to the red carpet young women are slightly more likely to consider it acceptable (47%) rather than unacceptable (42%).
Men prove to be more permissive on ‘free the nipple’ fashion. Almost half (48%) say it is acceptable for female celebrities to have observable areolas on the red carpet, more than the 41% of men who disagree. When it comes to the high street, however, these figures reverse – although this still leaves men significantly more likely than women to consider it fine.
There is far less of a generational difference in attitudes among men, with men in our under-60 age groups answering similarly across the two questions. Those aged 60 and above tend to be less permissive, but not to nearly the same extent as women, with 48% saying female celebrities should not have nipples on display and 57% saying the same of women in everyday public settings.
YouGov polls have previously found men to be more accepting of female exposure than women, with a 2020 survey finding 72% of British men finding women sunbathing topless in the UK acceptable, compared to only 44% of women saying the same.
Indeed, men appear to be less bothered by the presence of female nipples on the high street than their own – a 2018 poll showed that 54% of men said it was unacceptable for men to go topless in the street and about town when the weather is hot.
Charli XCX is not the only famous figure to have been so on display at recent red carpet events, with Bianca Censori – wife of rapper Kanye West – having also hit the headlines for her transparent attire in February. Our survey at the time showed many Britons expressing concern for Censori, with most who are familiar with the pair’s relationship saying it seems unhealthy, and that red carpet stunts like that involving the dress seem to be driven primarily by West.
What do you think about visible female nipples and fashion, social attitudes towards women's bodies more generally, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Photo: Getty
