Chelsea Handler recently posted an Instagram image of herself riding horseback topless in the mode of a certain Russian president autocrat, only to see it taken down as a violation of Instagram’s no female nips policy.

I’ll leave it to readers to search for Handler’s tribute – It’s not safe for work … though you could argue the above image isn’t safe either.

The phobia of female nipple is a strange one. As Amanda Marcotte points out in this piece for Slate,

“The parts of the chest area that are woman-only—the non-nipple parts—are not only acceptable but welcome in public spaces. Cleavage is one of the longest-standing popular accessories a woman can employ. The only part of a woman’s chest that is considered too daring to display is the part that we share with men, the nipple.”

Indeed, it doesn’t take much searching on Instagram to turn up side-boob galore. Boobs are just fine apparently, but the only nipples fit for public consumption are those attached to guys, like Putin.

You have to wonder: Exactly who is being protected from the sight of female nipples, and from what harm?