To accompany i-D’s new Female Gaze Issue, model, actress and cover star Adwoa Aboah traveled to LA to create a video series exploring female body image and sexuality. In this series, Adwoa meets the women that are reclaiming power over their own bodies and promoting self-love along the way. It’s sadly irony that on Women’s Equality Day, the first video of the series, Gurls Talk: Free The Nipple was given an age restriction for allegedly “making breasts the focal point of the film.” Unfortunately, an age-gate is triggered when a video gets a certain amount of flags from viewers, which makes a strong case for showing that the female body is still unnecessarily sexualized. However, it also highlights exactly the reason why campaigns and movements such as #FreeTheNipple are so important.
Women’s Equality Day was conceived in 1970 to commemorate the granting of the vote to women throughout the country, which was a great milestone for feminism. But it was also a springboard for continual change and protest against the limitations and oppression women continue to face everyday. As Lily Rose Thomas wrote recently, “Free the nipple isn’t just about nipples, it’s about equality.”
Unfortunately, we’re not yet at a stage where women’s bodies aren’t automatically deemed as sexual. But, through projects like Gurls Talk, this is something we can change. Eloise King, i-D’s head of video who directed the Gurls Talk series shared, “Working on the Gurls Talk series as all female crew, we were reminded again and again that gender inequality is something we as women are collectively experiencing, and yet being told it doesn’t exist. Whether it’s the sexualization of young girls, slut-shaming, or policing of our bodies — it’s clear that society is still negatively dictating how we express ourselves. It’s nothing short of ironic, that a film about female empowerment is restricted by the same online community that constantly objectifies and victimizes them. It’s 2016, yet just this week while men are forcing Muslim women on French beaches to de-robe, the girls we featured are being told to ‘put it away.’ The klaxon has sounded, society as a whole needs to accept that our voices are valid and powerful and we’re ready for change. The film is a testament to why girl’s voices and choices over their own bodies is so vital.”
To celebrate Women’s Equality Day, we want anyone at any age to be able to see Gurls Talk: Free The Nipple so they can witness the positive projects and protests taking place all over the world. Here’s a non-restricted version of the episode open for all to see. Spread the word.
Credits
Text Lula Ososki
Photography Lily Rose Thomas