Big news from the New York TIMES. They published a nipple on their front page today. Twitter quickly called it a “nip slip” and other media publications reacted in kind.

It brings a few things up in my mind. First off, have they gone ‘unfit to print’ with this? Nah.. Really.. they only show a slight portion of the nipple, in all honesty.

Why are we see infatuated with the nipple? On TV, you can see an entire breast as long as there is a pasty overtop of the areola?  And really, this whole prudish indignation we have about nipples is only made more ridiculous when you realize that 80% of the people ‘offended’ by the public display of a crescent nipple are probably involved with some nefarious sexual proclivities themselves.

And would a nipple be as offensive as, say, it was on a foot?

This is also a little reminiscent of the TIME magazine cover story on breasfeeding in 2012.

Let’s be perfectly honest. Sex sells. If a nipple gets a little attention to someone, and forces a story about breast cancer screening to get some more traction, so be it. Newspapers and magazine are left with few ideas to sell their paper. 

If someone is reading the NY TIMES online, chances are they are doing it either before or after looking at porn. Real porn with full nipples uncovered. 

Finally, America, we can be thankful of one thing: At least the TIMES chose not to put the old gray lady’s nipple front and center.