On Oct. 26, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a lawsuit against the city of Springfield, Missouri, on behalf of Free the Nipple—Springfield Residents Promoting Equality. The group is challenging a new indecent exposure law that is so vague it could prohibit breast-feeding of children in public.
In early August, the plaintiffs had protested the double standard for woman exemplified by Springfield’s indecent exposure ordinance by appearing without shirts, but with their nipples covered, at Park Central Square. This group advocates for gender equality by challenging laws and policies that treat women as inferior to men. The Springfield City Council responded by repealing its previous ordinance and enacting another one that makes it a crime to show “the female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola, for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification or which is likely to cause affront or alarm[.]” However, the ordinance exempts breast-feeding an infant or performances for adult entertainment.
“Ordinances like this perpetuate the double-standard that female breasts are primarily objects of sexual desire,” said Jeffrey A. Mittman. “If Springfield is serious about wanting to make their city more family friendly, they wouldn’t pass legislation criminalizing the breast-feeding of children who are no longer infants, while allowing women to expose their entire breasts for the purpose of adult entertainment.”
“It is not unusual that a protest makes some people uncomfortable,” explains Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. “But, a city cannot target a protest it finds offensive by making that expressive activity illegal.”
UPDATE
On Jan. 22, 2016, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri issued a preliminary injunction in Free the Nipple, et al., v. City of Springfield. The injunction stops Springfield from enforcing a discriminatory provision in the City’s indecent exposure law that made it illegal for women to show any portion of their breasts beneath the areola as an act of protest.
On Dec. 28, 2015, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri denied the defendant's motion to dismiss.