Topfreedom is a cultural and political movement seeking to advance gender equality by the recognition of the right of women and girls to be topless in public on the same basis that men and boys are permitted to be barechested. In addition, topfreedom advocates seek recognition of the right of nursing mothers to openly breastfeed in public, and of women to sun bathe topless. The Topfree Equal Rights Association (TERA) also assists women in Canada who have been charged for being topless, while GoTopless organizes demonstrations in the United States to protest against the legal and public attitude to the inequality. In Sweden, Bara Bröst is active in advancing topfreedom, as is Topless Front in Denmark.
Legally, many jurisdictions treat the public display of women's breasts as indecent exposure or as public indecency. However, in about 2000, the Topfree Equal Rights Association was formed in Canada to challenge the legality of prosecutions in that country. TERA does not itself promote toplessness, but endeavors to help women who are prosecuted merely for being topless in public, and seeks to change public attitudes to the exposure of women's breasts. TERA seeks the recognition of the right of women to be bare chested on an equal basis, should they individually choose to exercise it. TERA claims several successes in persuading courts in North America to overturn prosecutions on the basis of sex discrimination, arguing that a woman should be free to expose her chest in any context in which a man can expose his. Successful cases include the District of Columbia in 1986, New York State in 1992, Columbus, Ohio in 1995, Ontario, Canada in 1996, Moscow, Idaho in 1998, and Maine in 1998.[1]
GoTopless.org was formed in 2007 in the United States, and claims that women have a constitutional right in the United States to be bare chested in public places on the same basis as men. Unlike TERA, which does not organise demonstrations, GoTopless organises protests in favor of recognition of women's top freedom rights.[2] GoTopless is affiliated with Raëlism; TERA is not affiliated with any other organization.[3]
In several countries in Europe non-sexual toplessness is not illegal. However, private or public establishments can establish a dress code which requires women to wear tops, and deny access or remove individuals who breach these standards. Topless swimming and sunbathing on beaches have become common in many parts of Europe, though the practice remains controversial in many places, and not common in most places. Many public swimming pools are owned by municipalities, which are treated as private organisations.
In many countries around the world, breastfeeding in public is not unusual. During 2006–2010 and earlier, a number of news reports in the United States cited incidents where women were refused service or harassed for breastfeeding in public. In response, a majority of U.S. states have passed laws explicitly permitting nursing in public.[4][5][6] The United States federal government enacted a law in 1999[7] which specifically provides that "a woman may breastfeed her child at any location in a Federal building or on Federal property, if the woman and her child are otherwise authorized to be present at the location." However, these laws generally do not apply to rules imposed by private organizations or on private property, such as restaurants, airlines, or shopping malls.
Attitudes to topfreedom
A society's attitude to toplessness depends to some extent on the context in which it appears. It may be more readily accepted, for example, in the context of topless sunbathing than, say, walking down the street.
Europe
Topless body-painted female football fans at World Cup in Germany, 24 June 2006
In several countries in Europe non-sexual toplessness is not illegal. However, private or public establishments can establish a dress code which requires women to wear tops, and deny access or remove individuals who breach these standards.
Topless swimming and sunbathing on beaches have become common in many parts of Europe, though the practice remains controversial in many places, and not common in most places.
Sweden
In Sweden, toplessness is not illegal. However, private or public establishments are permitted to establish dress codes which may require women to wear tops, and deny access or remove individuals who breach these standards. In September 2007, "Bara Bröst" (a pun meaning both "Just Breasts" and "Bare Breasts") appeared to promote topless equality in these semi-public facilities. The group staged several events in public swim baths in September and October 2007, starting in Uppsala from which they were evicted several times, before succeeding in Sundsvall.[8][9]
The group scored a victory in June 2009 when the Malmö city's sports and recreation committee approved new rules that, while requiring everybody to wear bathing suits at indoor public swimming pools, did not require women to cover their breasts.[10][11] "We don't define what bathing suits men should wear so it doesn't make much sense to do it for women. And besides, it's not unusual for men to have large breasts that resemble women's breasts", said a council spokesman.[12]
Denmark
In Denmark, toplessness is not illegal; however, private or public establishments can establish a dress code which requires women to wear tops, and deny access or remove individuals who breach these standards. In December 2007, a group of women and men swam topless in public swim baths to promote topless equality.[13]
In March 2008, after a year-long campaign by Topless Front, Copenhagen's Culture and Leisure Committee voted to allow topless bathing in its swimming pools.[14]
In the United Kingdom, topless sunbathing is legally permitted in some locations, while in others toplessness has become accepted by custom. At the Kenwood Ladies' Bathing Pond in London's Hampstead Heath, the Greater London Council has permitted topless sunbathing and swimming since 1976, although men are not permitted to enter the bathing area.[15] International hotel chains with properties in multiple locations have evolved a tolerant policy.[16] Many resort hotels and condominium complexes[citation needed] now allow topless sunbathing at their swimming pools, and some cruise ships have adults-only decks on which women may remove their tops.
Poland
In Poland, two women, including topless model Dorota Krzysztofek, were reprimanded by city guards and fined for sunbathing topless. The women refused to pay the fine and decided to go to the court, which canceled the fine. Later both guards said that "the whole of Poland was laughing at them".[17][18][19] In contrast to that case many other Polish Baltic resorts do not object to topless bathing, for example Ustka, Gdynia, Mielno or Szczecin.[20][21]
Southern and Eastern Europe
File:Two women sunbathing in Ibiza, Spain - 20060922.jpgSunbathers in Ibiza
Female topless bathing and sunbathing is acceptable, tolerated and very common on beaches all over Spain,[22]Italy and Greece.[23] Virtually every beach on the Adriatic coast of Croatia[24][25] and along Europe's Mediterranean coast permits topless bathing,[26] as well as on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.
Toplessness is very common at beaches in France. In France, the feminist collective Les Tumultueuses organized a topfree protest in Paris in May 2009. The objective of the demonstration is indicated by their slogan: "My body if I want, when I want, like it is".[27][28]
North America
United States
Female toplessness in public is illegal in most of the United States, on the basis that it is indecent exposure,[29] or as a public nuisance or disorderly conduct.[30] Some states have state laws prohibiting toplessness while others permit local governments to set local standards. A large majority as of March 2010 have legislation that explicitly allows women to breastfeed in public and/or exempting them from public indecency laws.[31] These laws are still in effect.[32]
Seven women who picnicked topless were charged in 1986 by police in Rochester, New York with baring "that portion of the breast which is below the top of the areola". That law had originally been enacted to discourage 'topless' waitresses.[33] The women were initially convicted, but on appeal two of the women's charges were reversed by the New York State Court of Appeals.[2] In December 2007, 50 residents of Pittsfield, Massachusetts petitioned the City Council requesting a segregated beach for topless sunbathing by both men and women. The petition was rejected by the council, with the Mayor calling it "unacceptable and unnecessary". Proponents of topless sunbathing vowed to continue their fight.[34][35][36][37] In 2010, 200 residents of Pittsfield, Massachusetts placed a question on the November ballot asking whether State Laws should be clarified to allow topless sunbathing equally for both men and women.[38]
Daytona Beach, Florida, which is known for its "most famous beach in the world" status, has tolerated varying levels of nudity during Spring Break events and at other times.[citation needed] In 2007, a Florida court acquitted a woman of indecent exposure for being topless on Daytona Beach because of the political nature of her stand, under the First Amendment right of free speech.[39]
A few places in the United States permit females to be topless in public on an equal basis to males, and limit indecent exposure laws to exposure of genitals. States which permit toplessness for both sexes include Colorado,[40]Hawaii,[41]Maine,[42]New York,[43]Ohio[44] and Texas.[45]
Even where toplessness is legal or tolerated, police might still arrest those practicing it for disorderly conduct or similar charges.[50]
Canada
Ontario
On July 19, 1991, a very hot and humid day, Gwen Jacob, a University of Guelph student, was arrested, after walking in a street in Guelph, Ontario while topless after removing her shirt when the temperature was 33 C , and was charged with indecency under part 173(1)(a) of the Criminal Code (Indecent acts173. (1) Every one who wilfully does an indecent act (a) in a public place in the presence of one or more persons...is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction). Police stated that they acted following a complaint from a woman who was upset that one of her children had seen Gwen Jacob. Jacob stated she did it because men were doing it and she wanted to draw attention to the double standard. She was found guilty and fined $75. In her defence she argued that breasts were merely fatty tissue. In finding her guilty the judge stated that breasts were "part of the female body that is sexually stimulating to men both by sight and touch," and therefore should not be exposed. She appealed.
[51]
She was acquitted on December 9, 1996 by the Ontario Court of Appeal on the basis that the act of being topless is not in itself a sexual act or indecent. The court held that "there was nothing degrading or dehumanizing in what the appellant did. The scope of her activity was limited and was entirely non-commercial. No one who was offended was forced to continue looking at her" and that furthermore "the community standard of tolerance when all of the relevant circumstances are taken into account" was not exceeded. It is important to note that although Jacob claimed she had a constitutional right, the court did not address this. [52] The Ontario Government decided not to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, and thus it has remained the prevailing interpretation of the Criminal Code in Ontario. Since then, the court ruling has been tested and upheld several times. R. v. Jacob has been cited in similar decisions in other provinces and by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Labaye, and is taught in Criminal Law courses. [53] Saskatchewan made a similar ruling in 1998 and as did the courts in British Columbia in 2000.[54]
In Australia, where topless bathing has mostly become uncontroversial, conservative MPFred Nile submitted a bill in late 2008 that would have banned public toplessness to avoid offending visitors from Middle Eastern or Asian countries.[58] The suggestion has not been heard from since.
Asia
A Thai government poster from the Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram-era (1938–1945) encouraging Thai women to stop baring their breasts and adopt a "civilized" form of dress.
In many Asian and Southwest Asia countries with conservative social norms, topfreedom for women is denied. However, they sometimes make exceptions for Western visitors at locations like Phuket, Samui, and Samet, Thailand.[59][60] In China, a female visitor from Bulgaria caused a commotion in August, 2009 when she went topless at Number 1 Seaside Bathing Club in Qingdao. While local citizens were upset, no law prohibiting toplessness existed, and the woman was allowed to continue sunbathing topless.[61][62]
In July 2008, police in the Muslim city-state of Dubai cracked down on foreign visitors who were "indecent" at local beaches, detaining 79 people during the arrests. While tourists in Dubai can wear bikinis on the emirate's beaches and walk its streets in shorts, toplessness is not permitted.[63] In Tunisia, where 80% of the population is Muslim, European tourists may sunbathe topless at the hotel's private beaches and pools, while traditional Muslim women wear full chadorah at public beaches.[64] Multilingual signs have now been erected on Dubai's beaches warning that women who remove their tops can face criminal prosecution and sentences of up to six months imprisonment.[65]
Organizations
Topfree Equal Rights Association
The Canadian Topfree Equal Rights Association (TERA) assists women in both Canada and the United States who are prosecuted for being topless in situations whereas men are not.[66] It does not advocate toplessness, but promotes the concept of freedom of choice of the individual woman, and the de-sexualisation of breasts.[67]
GoTopless.org, sponsors of the annual "Go Topless Day" (also known as "National GoTopless Day", "International Go-Topless Day", etc.) protests in the United States in advocacy for women's right to go topless on gender equality grounds. The movement is sponsored by Raëlian believers. Founded in 2007, GoTopless.org has organized Go Topless Day to occur on August 23, 2008,[68] August 23, 2009,[69] August 22, 2010, and August 21, 2011, and plans August 26, 2012 to coincide with Women's Equality Day.
People
Judy E. Williams: NAC board member, chief advisor of TERA, chair of Wreck Beach Preservation Society (WBPS) in Vancouver, BC
Gwen Jacob: test case for equal rights who won in Ontario, Canada.[52]
Linda Meyer: test case for topless rights for British Columbia. On June 8, 2000, she won in court against Maple Ridge, British Columbia. She had been arrested at the District of Maple Ridge's indoor public swimming pool. That was after she had provoked arrests for many years, and had gone to jail, in order to win in court and thereby stop official harassment for her public activities.
Paul Rapoport: activist, writer, editor of Going Natural, a publication of FCN.
Sue Richards: Publisher of the breast health calendar Breast of Canada.
^"10 successful court cases". Gotopless.org. Retrieved 26 August 2009. ((cite web)): Cite has empty unknown parameters: |trans_title=, |month=, and |coauthors= (help)
^ ab"National GoTopless Protest day". Gotopless.org. Retrieved 26 August 2009. ((cite web)): Cite has empty unknown parameters: |trans_title=, |month=, and |coauthors= (help)Cite error: The named reference "gotopless" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^Duvallon v. District of Columbia, 515 A.2d 724, 728 (D.C.,1986), which held that indecent exposure statute found at DC Code § 22-1312 is limited in application to exposure of human genitalia.
^Fischtein, Dayna S. (Fall-Winter, 2005). "Canadian attitudes toward female topless behaviour: a national survey". The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. ((cite journal)): |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |year= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^Cummings, Joe (2003-07-01). Lonely Planet Thailand (10 ed.). Lonely Planet. p. 808. ISBN1-74059-356-1. Toplessness among visitors at a few resorts is accepted, but is not legally permitted.
GoTopless.org, sponsors of the annual August national "GoTopless Day" protests in the United States and around the world to promote gender equality & equal rights.
