How an exposed nipple forced us to think about safe spaces and censorship – The Guardian

Lawless describes how her femme presentation, queer identity and sex work inhibit her access to spaces designated as safe for any one of these intersecting parts of her identity. Photograph: Byron Spencer/Archer Magazine

The cover for Archer Magazines new issue was released this week. We commissioned photographer Byron Spencer to shoot Tilly Lawless, a Sydney-based sex worker and activist, who penned a piece for this issue. Of the images, the one that most encapsulated Archer Magazine and everything we stand for individuality, empowerment, fluidity, authenticity and attitude happened to show one of Lawlesss nipples.

We knew wed have to cover the nipple. Even if we could somehow bypass the censorship laws around visibility on newsstands, which would impact our stockists across Australia, USA, UK and Germany, we would still have the issue of social media. There was no way Facebook, Instagram or Twitter would allow the un-censored cover image to last on their interfaces for long.

So we did what any good editorial team would do: we placed a political message Uncensor me! on a removable sticker over the nipple, giving our readers agency to free Lawlesss nipple. We incorporated a bright-pink sticker into a cover design that was frankly in need of some colour anyway, and then we wrote to a couple of news outlets with a piece about the situation, giving us a larger platform for our message.

We made the best of a bad situation. But the real irony of this enforced censorship lies in Lawlesss article content. Extrapolating on the spaces theme, Lawless describes how her femme presentation, queer identity and sex work inhibit her access to spaces designated as safe for any one of these intersecting parts of her identity. In spaces designated for sex workers, her queer identity is not always welcome. In queer spaces, her line of work can be stigmatised, or else she is excluded for appearing too femme to be a lesbian.

I have given up my search for the perfect space. Instead, Ive moulded my own, with the rage and frustration of being unwelcome in others. Ive smoothed it with my tears of rejection, and then stepped inside it: the one place I can be safe.

Now, our society has dictated that Lawlesss feminine body must be censored before she can grace the cover of a progressive, inclusive and independently-published magazine. Now that, Alanis, is irony. (Im just kidding, Alanis, I love you and I never cared about the song.)

At Archer Magazine, we dont make a lot of compromises on content, but there are rules we need to follow to effectively share the voices we work so hard to amplify.

In a way, these roadblocks offer opportunities to illustrate or interrogate our flawed social system, and the many ideologies that restrict our behaviour, and the decisions we make as members of this society.

Its a reminder to stay vigilant to the stringent guidelines were expected to adhere to, the incessant conditioning that slips beneath our awareness until something shakes us and were awoken to it.

Lawless is one individual who shakes and tears at the binds society uses to contain us. At this roadblock, Im considering where else these binds hold us.

How would we behave, if we were allowed to look and act like any mesh of genders, ages, sexualities, life situations and cultures, without the guidebook were threatened with, day after day? How would women behave if we werent conditioned from birth to stay hyper-aware of how were perceived by the male gaze?

Crucially, how would our creative pursuits differ if we had freedom to express our message, as long as it was respectful and thoughtful?

Archer Magazine aims to do all these things, and even we are bound occasionally. That doesnt mean we wont put up a fight. We need to keep battling, and use restriction and censorship as a platform for argument and dissent.

As Lawless writes in her piece for Archer Magazine #8: Im used to having to build my own spaces, by tooth and nail, stiletto and pen. A small space clawed out of an unforgiving, formidable cli.

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How an exposed nipple forced us to think about safe spaces and censorship - The Guardian