In keeping with Venice’s “anything and everything can happen” tradition, last Saturday a fearless cadre of men and women proudly de-shirted and marched down the Venice Beach Boardwalk to support a woman’s right to go topless in public on National Go Topless Day. Other cities involved in this eye-catching civic action included Washington DC, New York City, Miami, and Hawaii. In Venice 30 – 40 people participated in the beginning, but the numbers grew as they marched. They chanted slogans and waved signs that read “Free your breasts and free your mind,” “Women and men have nipples so why should women hide theirs,” “Breasts are not obscene,” and “I don’t have a penis so I can’t go topless.”
National Go Topless Day organizers and supporters take strenuous objection to women potentially being punished for appearing in public without a top while men are free to wander about shirtless. Presently women convicted of indecent exposure could find themselves listed as sex offenders under Megan’s Law, alongside rapists and child molesters. So how did the protesting ladies go topless? Pasties. As long as the areolas are covered, a woman is good to go. Their pasties, shapes as nipples, looked exactly like the real thing, so much so that on-camera and from certain distances they did indeed look topless.
Needless to say, all eyes were on this stalwart crew. It was quite a scene, with men’s and women’s breasts of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages being displayed in public. The consensus from everyone this reporter spoke to was, yes, if men can do it, women should be able to do it as well. Not one negative comment came across this reporter’s radar, and the event brought smiles to everyone’s faces. Our women’s voices were heard and their cause acknowledged on National Go Topless Day. An additional protest was held on Tuesday, August 25, in Denver on the doorstep of the Democratic National Convention. No word yet as to whether the topless advocates have managed to get a plank in the current Democratic Party platform.
If you would like to participate and support women’s right to go topless in public then visit myspace.com/gotoplessorg.
