The Free The Nipple campaign really has done a lot to change the public's perception of breastfeeding and women's bodies, especially when it comes to how they are treated by men in the real world and online.
But this week, a new campaign has been launched by Instagram influencers aimed at tackling a different feminine taboo: #freetheripple.
It all started when body confidence activist Megan Rose Lane shared a picture on Instagram of the rippled skin around her breasts, which had been left there after breastfeeding her child.
Rather than be ashamed of the mark, she proudly displayed the wrinkled skin, and explained to her followers why she'd decided to be so candid about it.
Megan captioned her post: "I’ve never really seen anyone talk about what happened to their boob skin after pregnancy and breast feeding, but I’d like to share it with you because after talking to lots of other Mumma’s I’ve learned that it’s sooo bloody normal. Our skin stretches to accommodate all of our glorious milk, and as our babies empty our boobies and they fill back up the skin gets stretched over and over again. [sic]"
She continued: "It’s definitely the one thing that I’ve struggled to accept about my body changing since having Esmé, so I’m not going to pretend I love it. I don’t love it ? it makes me feel less sexy and a little more self conscious. But it also makes me feel proud of myself, and reminds me that I fed my baby girl for a whole year. [sic]"
She added: "I wouldn’t change our magical breastfeeding journey for anything, I wouldn’t change the bond it’s given me and my little pud pud and I’d take this wrinkly ass boob skin for those big eyes looking up at me, sucking away and getting all of the goodness from my milk every single time [sic]"
Check out this video on how some women are getting designer nipples to match Kendall Jenner's:Her post ended up being liked more than 22,000 times by her various followers, and soon spurred other bloggers to take action themselves. Soon after Megan made her post, another blogger called Sarah Nicole Landry took part in the hashtag campaign by sharing her own snap.
She wrote: "This week @megan_rose_lane posted a photo of how her breasts rippled. And. I. Was. Shaken. In the best way possible. I *knew* but had never seen something so similar to my own. Not only that, but I found it beautiful on her, while on myself I had struggled to see that at all. [sic]"
She continued: "Social media is this place where people can come and often feel small, less, insignificant or alone. Or, it can be this place of being built up, seen, heard, normal, confident and in community. It’s like a choose your own adventure novel, but we just forget sometimes that we have choice. [sic]"
She added: "So I’m freeing MY ripple and I’m sharing with you so that maybe, you might have the same experience. Choose your own adventure. Experience this place for all it can be. And #freetheripple. [sic]"
But this isn't the first time that women have had to stand up against body shamers on social media. Check out this article we penned about how Carrie Underwood was attacked by trolls for sharing pictures of her scars.