Phi Mu resigned membership over 'nipple' swimsuit top
 

How could she have not known that the top was questionable?

http://www.people.com/article/free-t...-nipple-bikini

I don't know that I agree with your statement that it was a questionable top. Further,

1) it was a PRIVATE Instagram account.

2) Didn't see that she was wearing anything that identified her as a member of Phi Mu.

3) What is the big deal about womens' nipples? Breast feeding? Holy cow. SMH.

Reading Phi Mu's statement, I ask if they are truly prepared to act on that, because I guarantee you that those Instagrams are full of photos that don't depict "the highest standards of conduct at all times". That's why their Instagram accounts are private, for the love of Mike.

In another thread someone (was it 33?) talked about the furor 20 years ago over political candidates' experimentation with "drugs" and how today it's NBD. How is this any different?

I'm embarrassed for my organization on this one, and I support Lauren.

My personal take is that the top is in bad taste- but I don't think that posting a picture of it on a personal site should have affected her membership status.

I agree. It should have been handled more delicately and not so black and white. However, IIRC Belmont is a Christian university so it doesn't surprise me that her chapter may have had an issue with it.

I think it's funny that the photo in the linked article blurred out her chest even though her actual boobs are completely covered. They blurred out a flesh-colored bikini top with a printed picture of nipples.

I agree that the nip-top is super-tacky and I wouldn't have forced her to resign over it. But I also think this is the type of thing that should be decided at the local level, with an appellate process that goes to a higher level. The local exec board knows their campus culture much better than outsiders.

Would I have worn the top, no. But I do agree with her stance about trying to de-stigmatize female nipples. I've always asked myself the fairness of men being to run around bare chested yet there is an expectation of females to cover up.

From reading her point of view on this, she's got a great attitude about the situation and isn't playing the role of victim in this.

I think my new hash tag will be "free the mammaries"

Wait, what?

I'm really sick of hearing this whole "breasts are just to feed babies" line, because it isn't the truth.

I've never heard that they were "JUST" to feed babies, but there is a big problem when people seemingly think they are JUST to be sexy and therefore it is acceptable to show 'em to be sexy, but not to feed babies.

Bravo to the young woman for standing up for her values. Not only does she have nipples, but she also has balls!

It seems like she's resigned her membership over the right to wear a tacky swim top. If I were her, I would have stood up for myself instead of resigning.

I have to believe that there are plenty of sorority women who have visited topless beaches while abroad, and who have actually gone topless.

Gee, slow news day much? I do not see this as worthy of such hubbub. But I am continually perplexed at men's fascination with nipples. As a 49 year old back in the dating pool, I can't tell you how many text or email based conversations I've had that go something like this:
Him: send me a pic
I send a pic
Him: No, show me your boobs (from a guy I've never met in person)
I send a pic that is sort of flirty
Him: No, show me your NIPPLES.
Seriously? My entire value as a person, even as an object is entirely contained in 2 square inches of my entire body? Why go to the gym, eat right, color my hair, put on makeup? All I have to do is have decent nipples and I'm in.

I'm honestly surprised Belmont hasn't asked her to leave school.

However, what is the point of this bikini top? If you want to free the nipple, then free your nipples, by golly. What is the point in a flesh colored bikini top with nipples?

I'm guessing this isn't going to help any with the Belmont administration moving forward with extension....

This is awful, shame on Phi Mu for reacting this way. Our organizations should be supporting young women in everything they do - she was making a feminist statement, not starring in a pornographic film (which I also don't think warrants delettering unless you're literally wearing a Phi Mu shirt in the hypothetical film).

How is a female organization so offended by female body parts?

I'm sad for Lauren that this situation ended the way it did. Was there alcohol, letters, or bad behavior in this photo? No. So how did she not "emulate the highest standards of conduct" by sharing this cute, fun photo of herself at the beach on her private Instagram account?

Would I wear one myself? No, but I think the bikini is a hoot!

#freethenipple #golauren

For everyone saying "shame on Phi Mu": how is this different than women (and men for that matter) being forced to take down pictures of themselves holding Solo cups on their personal Facebook pages? You can't see anything there, either.

This young lady wanted to make a statement and she did. I wonder how her ex sisters feel about it.

Good for Phi Mu.

It was a PRIVATE Instagram account. She wasn't throwing a Phi Mu sign, or doing anything else that would reflect on Phi Mu. None of us are on "Theta/ChiO/Kappa/DG etc" time 24/7/365. Don't even go there. Please.

FWIW, 33girl, I'm of the same opinion as you on the solo cups. Ridiculous. And we all have "those sisters" who do stuff that make us groan. Whatever.

Bottom line: unless Phi Mu wants to enforce its policy on every.single.member, this was a hollow, hypocritical statement.

Personal opinion: ugly, tacky top, but she has the right to waste her $ however she chooses.

Let he who is without sin...

I think the Phi Mu chapter at this Christian school has every right to interpret their own rules the way they see fit.

Good for them.

Christian school doesn't always = conservative students. Or even Christian students.

I'm just sayin.

Jesus hung out with prostitutes, thieves, and other less than lily white folk. Just sayin'.

IMO Phi Mu, my mother's sorority, has gone waaaay too far with this one. This was private and a feminist statement.

To be clear, they didn't say she would have been removed as a member, they said she'd have to face the disciplinary committee to discuss it. We don't know what the outcome would have been.

I think discipline is not in order for something of this nature, but I do want to point out that she probably would *not* have lost her membership over this.

Don't need to add much more. I also find the top (and pretty much everything supported by Miley Cyrus) tacky to the extreme, but I would have preferred that she had seen which disciplinary actions would have resulted, rather than just throwing away a lifetime of sorority membership.

Agree, HC. Of course no one truly knows the deets, but I can't imagine throwing away a lifetime of sisterhood for a tacky swimsuit top.

PS: yay! I have my old username back. My banning was a woops.

So I have to put my advisor hat on for this on. Just because it is a private page doesn't necessarily matter. We hold our active members to standards and rules and many chapters (mine included) monitor members pages. Nude pictures or a sex video could be on a private page or account but a member involved in that situation would be called in for a meeting. I am not saying that the tacky top is the same but private is not the same as when I went to school when it comes to kids that now have to worry about technology. And the fact that it is a conservative school could make some difference. We also know nothing about the member and her relationship to the chapter. Perhaps she is constantly called in for questionable behavior and actions? Revocation of membership is a big deal. It won't happen over one incident with a tacky bikini top. Those of us who are or have been standards and personnel advisors know that there is most likely much more to this story...

It's pure speculation, but the same thought did occur to me.

I got a slight sniff of fame whore after reading this article again. It's not like Phi Mu ran to People. It says she voluntarily resigned. What I surmise from that is that rather than go to a standards conference when school is back in session, she resigned. I don't know, but I'm sure that Phi Mu operates similarly to my org in that getting called into standards doesn't always equal consequences.

Yes, it was set to private, but most of my collegiate girls have friends/followers in the hundreds if not thousands. Questionable pics get shared around campus like the bird flu.

I think this whole stupid thing (and it is stupid and tacky) could have been handled differently, but I would have advised my VPS to call her in to have a chat about it if women in the chapter were concerned about it.

Personally, I needed a gas mask, but YMMV.

Tbh: there has to be more to this story than "wear a bathing suit -> told to go to standards board -> resign" people just don't resign over things like that. Although then again I'm surprised when people threaten to resign for any sort of things that aren't epic levels of sisterhood betrayal or a serious conflict in beliefs/values.

I think Phi Mu would consider that a problem from their statement to Cosmo.

If the problem was appearing topless (even though she wasn't) then wouldn't being topless also be a problem? It wouldn't fit with their standards of conduct.

Would a tasteless instagram pic like this be problematic for a PNM going through recruitment? Probably. See stickies.

Especially at a small southern Christian college? Yes.

Why should she expect a pass on the other side as an active?

Stupid hill to die on for 5 minutes of attention, IMO, especially for someone who has never even breastfed a child. But hey, now she is free to accomplish great things freeing nipples everywhere. Perhaps she should start with her own by ditching the tacky top.

Yup, nobody should ever stand up for anything that doesn't personally affect them. That has always worked out well for society.

So you are equating the Free the Nipple movement with what? Civil rights? Gender equality? Are women being discriminated against because their nipples are imprisoned? :eek:

Don't worry. Miley Cyrus has it covered. Or uncovered, as it turns out.

Some causes are worth a sacrifice, but this girl wasn't even committed enough to present her case to the chapter. She just ditched in favor of 5 minutes of fame.

I think you're wrong.

Guessing she could tell where the wind was blowing and approx how the meeting was gonna go. And that it was prolly going to end in them telling her to take the picture down...which she didn't wanna to do because she believes in it.

Well, that wasn't my point at all, but yes, it is indeed an argument for gender equality, unless we stop allowing men to show nipples in public.

This reminded me of a situation at Bama around 35 years ago. Anyone else remember this?

Playboy published a pictorial, featuring coeds from around the SEC, and three (there may have been others) were (or had been) affiliated with Bama sororities. The Alpha Chi was photographed in regular street clothes, so nothing happened to her as far as her chapter membership was concerned (her daughter is currently at Bama but pledged a different chapter). The KD and the Alpha Gam were photographed showing breasts (plus a little more for one, actually). The KD used a different last name in the magazine, but had disaffiliated from her chapter a while before the pictorial anyway – so no chapter consequences there either. The Alpha Gam was either not very active or graduated, but supposedly her pin was lifted following the Playboy pics.

Interestingly, at the time, women who identified as feminists spoke out against Playboy and these women who posed for the SEC feature. I don’t know what perspective feminists would have on this today, but it made me wonder.