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Nipples are boring or erotic, normal or scandalous, everyday or a matter for the courts. What makes the fine difference is the gender of the person to whom the nipple belongs. And it is this fine difference that continually turns the nipple into a political issue. When Gabrielle Lebreton wanted to sunbathe topless at a water playground in 2021 next to similarly half-naked men, she was reprimanded, the police were called, and she subsequently lost in court – at least in the first instance. In the same year, activists in Göttingen fought for the right for all genders to swim topless in pools – but not on weekends. And while social media companies struggle to curb hate speech and fake news, female nipples must be carefully censored. What is the fear actually about? Julia Fritzsche looks back at the history of the covering and revealing of human bodies to draw conclusions about a political struggle in the present. When did the female breast become erotic, when did shame historically dominate, and when did the urge for liberation arise? What makes Femen's protest a scandal, what is the concern behind #freethenipple, and what do feminist discourses about "topless" and headscarves have in common? The outcome of the current struggles is uncertain. However, it is clear: the treatment of nipples is political – and it is about more than just swimming regulations.