It's been 12 years since women won the right to go topless in Ontario, thanks to the Gwen Jacob decision of 1996. You'd never know it even happened.
It was hot out one day this summer, so I took my shirt off at the Beaches: not exactly a black tie dinner at the Imperial Tea Room. The worst harassment I endured came from other women, though men joined in also.
My tits scared the hell out of the whole neighbourhood.
First, three teenage girls followed me for fifteen minutes yelling: "Put a shirt on!" Finally, I turned around and snapped: "Gwen Jacob. 1996. Supreme Court of Ontario. Look it up." Another girl said: "You look like you've lost your shirt." On Queen Street, an old man informed me there was "a sale on shirts across the road." In both cases, I repeated my earlier mantra. After that, a trio of young boys muttered loudly at me to put a shirt on. I was getting protest fatigue. I ignored them.
One man offered moral support, opining that the hostile women were "jealous". I'm 42, with grey hair, and weigh 170 pounds. The girls harassing me were young, slim and conventionally pretty. His argument echoed the stereotype that women are constantly poised to gouge each other's eyes out competing for men's attention.
I'm afraid the likelier explanation for the female hostility is something called "internalized imperialism". The young women in question reacted as if they were men. They are conditioned to believe, just like their male counterparts, that only beautiful women must be allowed to disrobe - and then only for the enjoyment of men. It's as if we have to go back in the Barbie box, where nobody wants to play with us anymore, should we live for anything other than male approval. Meanwhile, men can do whatever they want.
A recent survey says 56 per cent of American women are concerned about diet and weight, while only 23 per cent express the same degree of concern about cancer.
I never applied for the job of being pretty. That isn't what I was going for when catching a breeze. It isn't what I do and I don't care. I have zero interest in shouting out to the world that "my booty is spectacular," as Unilever would have me do. I can't picture Ariel Sharon, or even Stéphane Dion, doing this in a crowded theatre. Why should I?
You would think that if every old fat ugly guy has the right to walk around topless without anyone yelling at him to put a shirt on, so do I. This isn't to say we should never wish to be beautiful. It's about beauty as a choice and a pleasure, rather than a constant obligation.
However right I feel I am, each time someone got hostile toward me and I responded in kind, my knees would feel like gelatin. I was shaking. It scared me to stand my ground. I did it anyway. It doesn't happen often.
Some will argue that, since freedom goes both ways, those people were free to express their opinion. Where is the line between harassment and freedom of speech?
Social conservatives argue that the only true constraint on freedom is state oppression. Others point out that non-state action and state failure to act can also violate human rights. Here's an example: if a particular state does not prosecute the "honour killing" of women with the same vigour as other types of murder, this is discrimination and, therefore, a violation of human rights - even if the killings are carried out by non-state actors.
Often, men complain they "can't say anything anymore" because of "those feminists." And what do "those feminists" do to, apparently, take away men's free speech? Why, they disagree with the men! They talk back! They even frown at them! Looks like a job for Amnesty International, no?
So: yes, freedom is, to a certain extent, a product of personal power. To what degree it may be hampered lies beyond receiving a frown, but far closer to this than the other extreme of state execution and torture.
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Go you! I think we need topless marches in Toronto. If I went topless, I'd feel like guys would think I was putting myself on display for them. Ugh. Women can't want to be topless because it's a hot summer day?
I wish my breasts had a chance to terrorize a neighborhood.
Seriously though, way to not cave to the pressure and it's awesome that you know your rights.
the Beaches is Mecca for annoying people during the summer.
Even though it's legal, you almost never see women topless, even at beaches. There has been no major effort to break the silly taboo.
I went topless on a beach on the island this summer, and it was so liberating! I don't think I would be brave enough to walk around somewhere busy like the Beach though. Kudos to you for standing your ground :)
HAHAHA! Great story! Often times I get jealous of topless men on a hot day.
I think it's great that you even have the self esteem to do this but in my opinion, if your on a beach and you wanna go topless, go for it, it's a relaxed environment, you wanna get a tan and get in the water but in crowded areas I just thinks it's a no-no. Just because a man can do it still doesnt mean he should. The female body is a beautiful thing and should be appreciated, just in the right situation, not while you're walking down the street.
Good for you! :)
I had the chance to meet Gwen Jacobs a few years ago when she addressed the Intro to Women's Studies class I was taking. She's a very neat humble person.
Anyway, while I think everyone should be free to walk around topless in the summer, being someone who works a retail job, I also believe that people should have to put a shirt on if they wish to enter a commercial establishment and buy something. I don't need anyone's sweaty torso, male or female, rubbing up against the display of chips or beef jerky or what have you. Just my opinion though. YMMV. Good for you though.
I live in the Beach too, but I have never been brave enough to take my top off though it is my legal right for fear of judgment and rude remarks, so I definitely respect your ability to brave the shitstorm people inevitably cause when they see a simple pair of breasts!
Klarisse666 - men walk around shirtless all the time. There was a reason that this law was passed over 10 years ago - women wanted this right as well. We can have our opinions about topless men, topless women, etc, but it's in law - they can go topless if they choose.
Wow! Brave! My husband and I were just down in the Beaches on Saturday. I can't imagine going topless, much less even in a bikini top (I'm overweight) because of harassment.
If there ever is a group of women that want to go topless as a form of protest, I would love to be apart of it. In fact, if a group of women wanted to get together and protest pretty much anything, I would SO be on board.
Klarrisse666: There are a lot of things wrong with what you said. I hope that you can figure out what they are someday.
Questions to think about by anyone objecting to female toplessness: 1) When a woman is breastfeeding, is she being sexually provocative? No. There are cases in which breasts are not sexual. There are cases in which nudity in general is not sexual. Like when you're bathing. 2) Are other body parts not also potentially arousing? Like bare legs on a woman wearing a bikini? Do we, here in the Western world, ban the wearing of bikinis? No. 3) I swoon at handsome men's hairy bare chests. Does this mean they should cover up, because they're distracting me? Are these guys automatically asking for me to stalk them, drooling, and follow them home? No.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing your story. I'm definitely going to go look up Gwen Jacob. This particular double-standard has bothered me for years, and I'm so impressed that you took a stand, despite the hostile environment.
Go you! I don't think I'd have the nerve to do that... But I wish I did.
I'm wondering whether part of the reason women were so much more hostile is because... Well, I feel like a lot of women I know are not very in touch with their bodies, and are in fact very uncomfortable with them. And perhaps seeing you brought up some of that discomfort, since you weren't acknowledging that same discomfort. It kind of ties into your point about internalized imperialism in that there's so much pressure on women to BE beautiful, to give in to these unwritten laws that the only women with a right to self-confidence about their persons are those who have been granted that right by a man.
I have no idea if I've made any sense (in my defense, I'm kind of sick right now) but I hope I did.
I don't think that people were objecting to you being topless because you aren't some perfect barbie doll or because they only see your body as something that can be naked for a sex object. They object because toplessness for women is a taboo. They would treat you the same if you were younger (except maybe some of the guys). This isn't to say I don't think that the lack of bodily perfection doesn't play into it, but the thing is that men who dare to walk around topless without perfect abs also have people who whisper and giggle behind their hands. I'm not trying to make this an "OH WHAT ABOUT THE MENZ" thing, but I feel that contextually, this is about people being uncomfortable rather than it is about being hostile. For many people it's the same as if a man were walking around bottomless. The sexism in this situation isn't in those who reacted to you but in the fact that the double-standard has been perpetuated for so long that it now makes people uncomfortable to see a topless woman.
Bravo for you!
The most I've done here in the heat of a Texas summer is to drive around in my bra, hoping that others would just think it was my swimsuit top. But that was when I was still in high school, at the beginning of my gender rebellion. Now a good skinny dipping from time to time cools me off in the most satisfying way. It's like what bald men say the first time they shave it all off: "Whoa, there's a pleasurable breeze up there." That what it feels like to have the freedom to go topless.
The female body is a beautiful thing and should be appreciated, just in the right situation, not while you're walking down the street.
Klarrisse666, way to completely miss the point. It's about not being held to the 'female body is a beautiful thing' standard, and exercising our rights whether others appreciate it or not.
So, basically, the exact opposite of what you said.
Men undergo similar restrictions regarding Speedos. I despise the feeling of dripping wet trunks when I get out of the water after swimming. Speedos are just more comfortable. And hey, if you think I look ridiculous, consider it a comedy show, gratis. Some people pay good money to go see Eddie Murphy in a fat suit.
Seriously, I don't remember getting paid to look good for you. I'm not here for your entertainment. If you don't like how I look, look somewhere else.
I fantasize about walking out of my bedroom and around the house without a shirt on because all the guys I live with do it all the time. Technically, NONE of us are supposed to do it, but if they do...why can't I? Not that they would mind, they would just consider it a free show, which is exactly why I don't do it.
just be sure to wear sunscreen :)
To A Female Marine:
I get the same feeling a lot. My partner walks around in his boxers in front of females all the time, and doesn't consider it a big deal, but good lord would it be a fight if I did the same thing. It all ties into the whole women are sex objects, everything we do is somehow meant to tease, tempt or pleasure men. It's a very frustrating double standard. Especially because of the mentality that it would just be looked at like a free show.
There are just so many double standards, it's hard to keep tract. Koodoo's to the brave women who can bring those double standards to light and challenge them openly.
"One man offered moral support, opining that the hostile women were "jealous". I'm 42, with grey hair, and weigh 170 pounds. The girls harassing me were young, slim and conventionally pretty. His argument echoed the stereotype that women are constantly poised to gouge each other's eyes out competing for men's attention."
Obviously I wasn't there, but he could have also been suggesting that they were jealous not of your male attention, but of your confidence and comfort.
I personally suspect that is at least part of the reason those women reacted the way they did. People wish they could
I agree you have the right to go topless, but sometimes it is not the right time. Some tits are a beautiful and need to be shown, and we all enjoy looking and wishing we had a pair like that. Then there are the boobs that gravity, mother nature and stretch marks have taken there toll on.
I have to admire you to rip your top off in public.
You go girl.
Here in Vancouver, Wreck Beach is the usual assembling spot for nudists and curious alike. It is a clothing optional beach, and when I do go there, I go with the intention of taking my clothes off. I feel comfortable that way, I enjoy swimming naked, and it evens out my tanlines(!). And since I'm usually regulated as to where I can and cannot be naked, when I go a nudist beach I go with every intent of sunbathing naked.
Not quite.
This beach is located close to university campus, and every time I have been there I've seem to run into everybody who is there to fill their spank bank with young university girls. Wom by the way 99% of the time are in bikinis (not quite contributing to keeping this beach nudist-friendly, and we're already going through lots of legal trouble as it is to keep the area the way it is).
If I chose to undress, I get dirty looks from men AND womyn. I'm 23 years old, and look nothing like the cover of Maxim (thank you!), so I believe that it's the reason why every time I take my clothes off in public, it feels like I'm breaching some international law. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I have to be a stick. Just because I'm not a stick doesn't mean I don't have the right to govern my body the way I want, especially if it is in a fully lawful way.
The first step towards putting a stop to commercialization of the female body would be to first start acepting that there are 1001 different bodies and that it's that uniqueness that makes the world beautiful.
Roland Buckles:
Way to be an obvious troll...
Oh, and to the OP I agree with the topless thing (I also thing you all who keep referring to the culturally 'ideal' shape as the stick-shape are kidding yourselves -flat chests are not that widely appreciated believe me, it seems to me a boobs with a tummy are more widely accepted than a flat tummy with no boobs, but moving on now...). But I do art modeling, and I think seeing a variety of people naked totally breeds acceptance of a wider variety of body shapes. I think done right more nudity could be a very healthy thing for our culture.
I remember very clearly at age 4 thinking it was unfair that the boys on the playground got to take off their shirts, but the girls didn't. It didn't make sense to me. I am beyond glad for cases like Gwen Jacob and a New York ruling that says that men AND women can bare their chests.
All that being said, I do go around asking men to put on their shirts. I think it's inappropriate for anyone to be walking around a downtown area topless. Though, I doubt I would ask the same of a women. I wonder if that's me being sexist, or just trying to even the scales a little bit.
I've been to Wreck Beach too. In Toronto there's Hanlan's Point, which is known as (male) gay-positive. I actually feel safer there. When I was in Van, I got followed around by a guy who didn't officially flirt but wouldn't go away and would agree with everything I said (I finally said, I'm going away now.) In Toronto also, women wear their swimsuits. Though I don't blame them, I think nude beaches should be nude-mandatory instead of "clothing optional" because, yes, there are lots of creeps who go there, keep their clothes on, and stare at the naked people. However, I can see how enforcing nudity might feel weird, given that the core philosophy is about freedom.
In my view, nudity is a philosophy of removing all class barriers due to the labels that clothing places on us. When completely nude, we reflect no particular income. Differences between us are much less visual. Or should be.
And here's where toplessness, in men or women, becomes a difference of opinion rather than a prejudice (emphasis on "in men or women"): I don't have a problem with people exposing their "ugly naked bodies". To me it's liberating as long as it isn't done with creepy intentions (which become obvious depending on behaviour). The more places we can be free, the better. In this, I differ from several others.
However, I can assure you that on the beach, I crossed *several* topless men. As I was being harassed, I called out to one that "those girls are telling you to put a shirt on" and the girls in question specifically replied: "He's a guy! That's different!" (that's when I turned around and educated them about Gwen Jacob)