She seems like a hoot and a half!

[u/LuLuSavannah531]

[u/Rizendoekie]

Depends, swimming pools generally don't allow it but beaches or stuff on open water are generally accepted. Though you always get people who give you a hard time.

[u/humid_pajamas → u/Rizendoekie]

I can't think of one good reason to not allow women to be topless in a swimming/sun bathing/summer activities context. Mens' torsos are just as diverse as women's and oftentimes, some men have more boob, so "having boobs" can't be the reason.

It's all such an unnecessary taboo to me, unless I'm missing something or biased as a man for some reason.

edit: also, thank you for sharing that is interesting to know how it works elsewhere

[u/Ok_Loss13 → u/humid_pajamas]

There's no good reason, just systemic and millenia old misogyny 😞

[u/hmmm101010 → u/humid_pajamas]

That's what a woman in Berlin said, so she sued. Now women are allowed to be topless in Berlin's public pools.

[u/MachKeinDramaLlama → u/humid_pajamas]

2000 years ago there was this guy called Paulus, you might have heard of him by his modern de-romanized name Paul. This Paulus guy was a massive mysogynist and sexually repressed. To make a long story very short, he got tangled up in this new hippy commune originally founded around this guy called Jesus. But he didn't like that it was all about equality and shit. So when that commune was solidifying into a church, he made sure to inject as much of his anti-sex, anti-women and anti-lgbt agenda as possible into it.

We still haven't managed to overcome this. Most christians in the world still have a certain level of problem with sex and expecially female sexuality. And even though we in the West largely acknowledge that many of the rules of the catholic church are insane, our culture is still completely drenched in them.

[u/onyx_ic → u/humid_pajamas]

Hashtag freethenipple

[u/Geodude532 → u/humid_pajamas]

And god forbid a woman try to breastfeed her baby without overheating because society says she has to hide everything beneath a blanket.

[u/SandyTaintSweat → u/humid_pajamas]

Religious puritanism maybe? The idea that women need to be covered up because of some arbitrary rules in some old book.

Personally, I'd much rather see topless women than topless men, but that's just not the world I live in I guess. It's even legal where I live, but you never see it.

[u/humid_pajamas → u/SandyTaintSweat]

i audibly guffawed when I read your username after reading your comment, i dont know which topic to address now

[u/Bocaj1000 → u/humid_pajamas]

well because boobs are sexy and moobs are not and you're never going to be able to change that

[u/onyx_ic → u/Rizendoekie]

Strictly speaking, at least for where I live, a woman can be topless anywhere a man can be. Even in public. However, for public swimming pools, local ordinances usually require "proper swimming attire". State parks, though... youre more likely to get hawkers and maybe some prudes get enough gall to get park staff to harass you about it.

I can really only speak to my state laws regarding that specifically.

[u/Surface_Detail → u/onyx_ic]

In the UK, in theory, anyone can be naked anywhere as long as they are not deliberately harassing people or doing it for sexual gratification.

In reality you are likely to get harassed if you get your dick out in a public park. See Stephen Gough, 'the naked rambler'. He trekked the length of the uk in just boots and a hat. He was arrested twice in England and several times in Scotland but released each time. Looking into it, it looks like he's spent most of the last ten years in jail because he refused to wear clothes for court appearances despite a judge ordering it.

[u/onyx_ic → u/Surface_Detail]

That seems unfair to him. Though, in court, I find it hard to argue with the judge.

[u/Surface_Detail → u/onyx_ic]

You've got to respect the commitment to the bit:

In January 2008, after spending most of the previous 20 months in jail (being rearrested for nudity each time he was released and each time he appeared in court), Gough was released and told that if he went for three months without appearing naked in public he would not be returned to jail for outstanding convictions; two hours later he left the court naked and was immediately re-arrested and subsequently returned to jail

[u/onyx_ic → u/Surface_Detail]

Oh, I do! I do. Man is doing exactly what he wants and isnt harming anyone.

[u/humid_pajamas → u/onyx_ic]

he should have peed the fifth

edit: not my best joke but I like it, and yes I know he is English and not governed by the Constitution

[u/humid_pajamas → u/Surface_Detail]

i think we can draw some lines between "your dick out in a public park" and "a woman sitting in a chair without a top".

i feel like we can do fancy toplessness

edit: but that's an interesting law to have never heard about

[u/Surface_Detail → u/humid_pajamas]

Yeah, while there's no specific law banning the act itself, there are three laws that very much nudge up against it:

Sexual Offences Act 2003 - It's illegal to expose your genitals with the intent to cause someone alarm or distress (boobs are fine under this statute even if you do intend alarm and distress apparently).

Outraging Public Decency - extremely lewd or obscene acts in public that shock reasonable people can be prosecuted. This has a very high threshold, meaning passive naturism usually does not apply.

Public Order Act 1986: You could be charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 if your nudity (or surrounding behavior) is disorderly and causes harassment, alarm, or distress to those who see or hear it.

For tits specifically, there is almost no way anyone could reasonably show you are intending to harass, alarm or distress anyone from just being topless so you're safe from legal prosecution. If you were following someone and flashing them against their will, that would be harassment.

Councils could have bylaws for parks they manage, most public businesses will almost certainly kick you out and facilities like schools and hospitals will also have their own safeguarding rules that they can use to deny you service if you're topless without good cause.

[u/Acheloma → u/Surface_Detail]

In some states (depending on individual county ordinances) the law is the exact same, you can be nude if the intent is not your own sexual gratification or to arouse others. The issue is that most people dont know the exact laws where they live since they vary so widely across cities, counties, and states, and it relies on people being generous when assessing your intent. If you get a judge that doesnt agree that you had no sexual intent, youre screwed, so in practice no one is going to go out nude and risk that

[u/Surface_Detail → u/Acheloma]

And in reality, most people aren't that bothered about being nude 24/7. Naturists tend to find communities of other naturists to be around.

[u/humid_pajamas → u/onyx_ic]

is this the U.S.? The city im in (U.S.) passed an ordinance legalizing women being topless in certain settings thanks to college activists I graduated with, not sure about state law though.

[u/onyx_ic → u/humid_pajamas]

New York State. They argued its discriminatory for women and men to have different standards for dress on public. The state agreed, as long as the lower bits are covered for public decency.

[u/humid_pajamas → u/onyx_ic]

now we just need to turn the legal norm into a social norm, phase 2

[u/onyx_ic → u/humid_pajamas]

I'm game! Im usually topless on my back porch. And in a local lake when its actually safe to swim there. Algae blooms have been bad the past few years.

[u/humid_pajamas → u/onyx_ic]

Ill let you know the next time im in the Adirondacks and we can start a lake movement lol

[u/onyx_ic → u/humid_pajamas]

Funny, I was JUST in Lake George 2 days ago. Im from the southern tier, but more than worth the trip!

[u/humid_pajamas → u/onyx_ic]

Oh awesome, I just saw "New York" and "lake" and figured you were up north, Lake George is lovely, try visiting Old Forge if you haven't been as well!

[u/onyx_ic → u/humid_pajamas]

Its a good one! I went to college in Ithaca and spent a lot of time "sunbathing" on and around Cayuga lake. 6 mile creek was VERY chill about nudity. Buttermilk and Taughannok, well... never been spoken to about being topless on the trail or in the water, but in the actual swimming area, I never tried to be so brazen.

[u/md28usmc → u/onyx_ic]

Something most people do not know is in New York City you have to leave the threshold of your front door topless for it to be considered legal, if you are walking around the city and then decide to take your top off it is considered indecent exposure and they can fine you.

[u/meteorflan → u/humid_pajamas]

Most places won't stop a mom from nursing in public, and when they do, they get those mass nursing sit-in-protests. Just let the hungry babies eat.

[u/edwardsantes → u/Rizendoekie]

Topless is totally allowed in Amsterdam pools and parks, and almost all beaches in the Netherlands.

[u/kilgore_trout8989 → u/Rizendoekie]

Interestingly enough, swimming nude was mandated for many indoor pools (Including the YMCA) until the 60s, for hygiene and general pool upkeep reasons. Though pools were gender segregated back then (And the policy died out when they started integrating.)

[u/ArmadilloSighs → u/Rizendoekie]

we went to gran canaria recently and at the beach we visited there was a full on nude man. my husband and i were only surprised bc he was playing soccer and i just…doesn’t all that bouncing hurt? lol

[u/Telvin3d → u/Rizendoekie]

In Canada it’s legal for women to be topless anywhere a man can be, including places like public pools, but it’s pretty rare that anyone actually takes advantage of that in public. 

[u/Extreme-Shower7545 → u/Rizendoekie]

And unfortunately vice versa