History Main / NippleAndDimed

See also: ThongOfShielding, GodivaHair, SeashellBra, and BarbieDollAnatomy.

* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' once has an [[GenderBender originally male]] {{Doppelganger}} masquerade as the [[BuxomIsBetter extremely well-endowed]] Kurumu, and he flashes Tsukune and the readers in mid-battle. Though in the American release the {{Doppelganger}} [[DigitalBikini inexplicably acquires a bra]].

* An urban legend claims Creator/OliviaHussey was forbidden to attend the premiere of ''Film/{{Romeo and Juliet|1968}}'' (1968) wherein she played the female lead, because of the nude scene. This was brought on by papers mistakenly reporting her as being only fifteen at the time. But she had turned sixteen, which meant she would have been allowed in. What's more is that she could legally have viewed the film while underage if a parent or guardian accompanied her. The whole idea was especially dumb considering that it's ''her'' nude scene in the movie - she was somehow going to be corrupted by herself.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' subverts the trope only for prepubescent females such as Lily Loud, Lana Loud and Lynn Loud Jr.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' subverts the trope only for infant females such as Lily Loud.

Although media can [[{{Sideboob}} safely]] [[{{Underboobs}} display]] [[NavelDeepNeckline 99%]] of the [[ImpossiblyLowNeckline female]] [[CleavageWindow breast]][[note]]though probably not at the same time[[/note]] and ''every'' part of the male breast, female nipples[[note]]That is, the areola and the actual mammary opening[[/note]] almost guarantee an [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications R rating]] from the [=MPAA=]. The sight of it is so HarmfulToMinors that you must click a release to see it on the Internet. (Never mind that mammalian nipples actually help nurture minor children instead of harming them.) The United States Supreme Court upheld an ordinance requiring strippers to [[http://supreme.justia.com/us/529/277/case.html cover it]] under a pastie. [[note]]As in a patch which is glued to a nipple, [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage not an Irish pie or a Cornish pastry]].[[/note]] Indeed, the very sight of the female nipple is so damaging to the male psyche that the cost of healing their psychological damage is $550,000 if [[Music/JanetJackson you]] [[WardrobeMalfunction let one slip at halftime]] during the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl.

* ''Anime/QueensBlade'' generally has no shame about nipple exposure (getting attacked often leads to the fighters' tops coming off, just for starters), but then there are also times where they go out of the way to avoid it for some reason. Melona, for instance, toys with GodivaHair by having her hair morph into hands which generally keep her nipples covered, or are used for her acidic lactation attacks. Pirate Queen Lilliana from ''Rebellion'' has tiny starfish on her nipples that only come off in a bath scene. And Menace generally just has {{Underboobs}} with her short metal necklace, but the DVD release of one of the ending themes actually has her nipples visible [[{{Gainaxing}} every time she takes a step]].

* The boss monster of Chapter 3 in ''VideoGame/IcewindDale'', a [[SnakePeople Maralith demon]] is completely topless during her fight (technically she's completely naked, but below the waist she's a giant snake). You can barely see that yes, she has nipples. And [[{{Gainaxing}} quite a bit of jiggling]] when she makes a melee attack.

* Music/CarpenterBrut music videos displaying [[{{Gorn}} violent sequences]] and female nudity are almost a CreatorThumbprint, but these clips usually need an edit to match Website/YouTube censorship policies (so they can remain on the platform, even in age-restricted). The video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiwSm6QgZM8 Hairspray Hurricane]] [[TakeThat gives them a middle-finger]] by applying this trope in a hilarious way: the gory scenes (including the one where a man gets his feet ''crushed by an escalator'') remain unchanged, but the female naked bodies are covered by [[StylisticSuck badly inserted]] [[{{Eagland}} weapons]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': In "Beefsquatch", [[spoiler: Linda delibately invokes this InUniverse when she flashes her beasts for two minutes straight to get Chuck and Pam's show cancelled]].

* ''LightNovel/TorturePrincessFremdTorturchen'':

Though media can [[{{Sideboob}} safely]] [[{{Underboobs}} display]] [[NavelDeepNeckline 99%]] of the [[ImpossiblyLowNeckline female]] [[CleavageWindow breast]][[note]]though probably not at the same time[[/note]] and ''every'' part of the male breast, female nipples[[note]]That is, the areola and the actual mammary opening[[/note]] almost guarantee an [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications R rating]] from the [=MPAA=]. The sight of it is so HarmfulToMinors that you must click a release to see it on the Internet. (Never mind that mammalian nipples actually help nurture minor children instead of harming them.) The United States Supreme Court upheld an ordinance requiring strippers to [[http://supreme.justia.com/us/529/277/case.html cover it]] under a pastie. [[note]]As in a patch which is glued to a nipple, [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage not an Irish pie or a Cornish pastry]].[[/note]] Indeed, the very sight of the female nipple is so damaging to the male psyche that the cost of healing their psychological damage is $550,000 if [[Music/JanetJackson you]] [[WardrobeMalfunction let one slip at halftime]] during the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl.

* Music/CarpenterBrut music videos displaying [[{{Gorn}} violent sequences]] and female nudity are almost a CreatorThumbprint, but these clips usually have to be edited to match Website/YouTube censorship policies (so they can stil be on the platform even in age-restricted). The video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiwSm6QgZM8 Hairspray Hurricane]] gives them a [[TakeThat funny middle-finger]] by applying this trope in a hilarious way: the gory scenes (including the one where a man gets his feet ''crushed by an escalator'') remain unchanged, but the female naked bodies are covered by [[StylisticSuck badly inserted weapons]].

** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' plays this straight, and similar to ''Fallout 3'' above, actually covers up some characters more when their clothes are off; Morrigan's default outfit comes with the works; NavelDeepNeckline, {{Underboobs}} and {{Sideboob}}, but when her clothes are off during romance scenes, she has a bra on that covers more than her robes do. [[HornyDevils Desire demons]] appear with metal bikinis that cover only their nipples, and the Lady of the Forest has strategically placed hair. However, it seems to follow the same mindset that dungeons and dragons does; going beyond FanDisservice, the broodmother's breasts are fully exposed. All eight of them.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims 2'', if the censor blur is removed without any other mods installed the women don't have nipples, however men do. Of course this has been corrected in various [[VideoGamePerversityPotential game mods.]]

What exposure counts as indecent is [[OurNudityIsDifferent a product of a society's mindset]] more than any underlying human cause. Different cultures certainly have different nudity taboos, and one sometimes gets the feeling in the United States that people from other regions are laughing at the prudery behind our backs, especially {{Europe|ansAreKinky}}. This works the other way round as well; in the western world, a woman can [[ShesGotLegs show her legs]] without legal problems, [[ValuesDissonance but in some other cultures this is as taboo as the nipple is for the US]] (and it used to be taboo in the Anglosphere too--see the OldTimeyAnkleTaboo).

* Creator/LinaEsco's film ''Free The Nipple'' tackles this trope head-on, which is about feminist activists protesting the {{double standard}} at hand with going topless in public.

* In May 2021, transgender actor Creator/ElliotPage [[note]]formerly Ellen Page[[/note]] posted a picture of himself to his Twitter account prefaced as his very first set of swim trunks, which was simply a picture of himself posing with no shirt and men's swim shorts. As this was post-operative (with the preexisting female fat and tissue removed from the breasts and leaving them with a typical male level of volume), there was nothing scintillating about it. However, news outlets took an unusual amount of glee in spreading the picture much farther than expected in celebrity reporting, simply for their audience's fascination in seeing seeing a "topless" picture of someone who was once considered an attractive female actress.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** The [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] Azura has played with this significantly in her appearances throughout the series. In ''Daggerfall'', her appearance is actually topless and anatomically correct (pixelated though it may be). In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', her statues are topless but lacking detail, playing this trope straight with some BarbieDollAnatomy. (Her avatars, which appear in both ''Morrowind'' and its ''Tribunal'' expansion are much more modestly dressed.) In ''Skyrim'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline Online]]'', her statue has a NavelDeepNeckline instead.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' has no real issue showing nipples in some sprites. Azura (as mentioned) and the sprites for Nymphs are both topless with nipples depicted.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', statues of Dibella (one of the [[SaintlyChurch Nine Divines]] and [[LoveGod goddess of art, beauty and sexuality]]) are nude, with visible nipples and an artfully draped cloth covering the lower region. This one probably gets a pass, as it's considered artistic nudity InUniverse.
* The statues in ''Wizards and Warriors'' for the PC were topless but had nippleless breasts. However, the lake nymphs (who looked like female satyrs) and mermaids had completely exposed breasts, and these breasts had realistic nipples. Also the female vampyres had such breasts, but they wore a top made out of a black see-through fabric. It's possible that it went under the radar because the game was frustratingly buggy, making it impossible for the censors to reach the point where these characters appear.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' plays this straight, and similar to ''Fallout 3'' above, actually covers up some characters more when their clothes are off; Morrigan's default outfit comes with the works; NavelDeepNeckline, {{Underboobs}} and {{Sideboob}}, but when her clothes are off during romance scenes, she has a bra on that covers more than her robes do. [[HornyDevils Desire demons]] appear with metal bikinis that cover only their nipples, and the Lady of the Forest has strategically placed hair. However, it seems to follow the same mindset that dungeons and dragons does; going beyond FanDisservice, the broodmother's breasts are fully exposed. All eight of them.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' averts this with some of the romances. [[ButchLesbian Sera's]] is especially notable, as it features Sera and the female Inquisitor naked from the waist up and facing the camera with absolutely everything visible.

* [[https://www.theonion.com/u-s-children-still-traumatized-one-year-after-seeing-p-1819567718 This ''Onion'' article]] satirizes the whole Janet Jackson thing and the question raised here beautifully.

Though media can [[{{Sideboob}} safely]] [[{{Underboobs}} display]] [[AbsoluteCleavage 99%]] of the [[ImpossiblyLowNeckline female]] [[CleavageWindow breast]][[note]]though probably not at the same time[[/note]] and ''every'' part of the male breast, female nipples[[note]]That is, the areola and the actual mammary opening[[/note]] almost guarantee an [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications R rating]] from the [=MPAA=]. The sight of it is so HarmfulToMinors that you must click a release to see it on the Internet. (Never mind that mammalian nipples actually help nurture minor children instead of harming them.) The United States Supreme Court upheld an ordinance requiring strippers to [[http://supreme.justia.com/us/529/277/case.html cover it]] under a pastie. [[note]]As in a patch which is glued to a nipple, [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage not an Irish pie or a Cornish pastry]].[[/note]] Indeed, the very sight of the female nipple is so damaging to the male psyche that the cost of healing their psychological damage is $550,000 if [[Music/JanetJackson you]] [[WardrobeMalfunction let one slip at halftime]] during the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl.

** The [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] Azura has played with this significantly in her appearances throughout the series. In ''Daggerfall'', her appearance is actually topless and anatomically correct (pixelated though it may be). In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', her statues are topless but lacking detail, playing this trope straight with some BarbieDollAnatomy. (Her avatars, which appear in both ''Morrowind'' and its ''Tribunal'' expansion are much more modestly dressed.) In ''Skyrim'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline Online]]'', her statue has AbsoluteCleavage instead.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' plays this straight, and similar to ''Fallout 3'' above, actually covers up some characters more when their clothes are off; Morrigan's default outfit comes with the works; AbsoluteCleavage, {{Underboobs}} and {{Sideboob}}, but when her clothes are off during romance scenes, she has a bra on that covers more than her robes do. [[HornyDevils Desire demons]] appear with metal bikinis that cover only their nipples, and the Lady of the Forest has strategically placed hair. However, it seems to follow the same mindset that dungeons and dragons does; going beyond FanDisservice, the broodmother's breasts are fully exposed. All eight of them.

* The Sorceress Adel was ''topless'' in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', but they could get away with this in that her chest was ''completely'' flat, like a man's chest. Could be considered a rare worksafe female version of WalkingShirtlessScene.
** The trope has also been played straight a few times. Notably, Ultimecia's AbsoluteCleavage and more importantly, Siren is completely naked but strategically placed feather hide her nipples and crotch... though the crotch ones look exactly like pubes.

* Even though some female outfits in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' are clearly worn without undergarments (featuring AbsoluteCleavage, bare backs, high side slits, or a combination of this), when you take them off, the "naked" character will be wearing a bra and panties that couldn't possibly have fitted underneath her clothes.

* ''LightNovel/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': Oliver accidentally walks in on Nanao conducting a cleansing ritual early in volume 1--i.e. stripped to the waist and washing her upper body with water from a decorative fountain, and in full view of the boys' dorm no less (he hurriedly throws up a spell to block the view). The novel art places her in a BoobsAndButtPose angled just far enough away from the camera; the focus is more on Oliver's view of [[CoveredInScars her collection of battle scars]]. In the manga, we get a frontal view in a couple panels, but her nipples are whited out in one and left off in the other.

* Played with in Creator/PhilipKDick's ''The Zap Gun'': It's mentioned that in the future society, family-friendly media may freely display naked female breasts (and even animate them in titillating ways), as long as no more than one breast is visible at a time.

* The National Geographic Channel was criticized for this with their show "Taboo". When covering non-European cultures where nudity was socially acceptable, women were shown nude. However, [[UnfortunateImplications white women were always censored, even in contexts and societies where female nudity was not a taboo]], such as public beaches in certain European nations, European media, and nudist colonies.

** There's another striptease scene that's much more sexualised - and the stripper has her breasts covered with her NiceHat. She then leaves the stage through a beaded curtain that conveniently covers up the nipples.

** Played UpToEleven in the Adult Party Cartoon episode, ''[[Recap/RenandStimpyAPC1x04NakedBeachFrenzy Naked Beach Frenzy]]'' with the [[GagBoobs big breasted]] girl in the beginning taking off her top. It continues with two women taking a shower, tits shown and everything, and Ren & Stimpy are "shower attendants".