The last time we had women parading around about equal rights, it was for their right to vote. Lately, more and more women have been coming out in support of another equal rights movement. This time, it’s about their right to go topless (without a shirt) in public where ever a man can. For those who may not have heard, women can legally go topless in all of New York where ever a man is allowed to. It’s been this way since 1992.
So far, New York is the only state in the Union to allow public, nonsexual displays of a woman’s breasts without risk of legal implications. However, that is not always the case. Women like Holly VanVoast and Ramona Santorelli suffered in jail just for women’s right to go topless. Santorelli is the woman who made it legal for women to go topless in New York, but the officers who arrested Van Voast (several times, even) had no clue what they were doing was against state law. Even after the NYPD made an official statement about toplessness, women are still getting arrested for it.
The video embedded above is a trailer for an upcoming documentary on the subject titled “Free The Nipple”. The documentary poses the question: Is a nipple really more obscene than violence? Unless I missed something, nobody faints at the sight of a nipple like they would at the sight of blood or a decapitated head rolling down the street (talking about decapitated heads makes me cringe, so I’ll stop). You can find the official website for the documentary by clicking here.
Update: Notable celebrities that have publicly supported the movement for equal topless rights include Miley Cyrus and Fred Durst. Their tweets are embedded below:
Fred Durst:
https://twitter.com/freddurst/status/411330197091516416
Miley Cyrus:
https://twitter.com/MileyCyrus/status/410651500541902848
What do you think? Post your thoughts below, thanks!
Joseph
It’s bullshit that Women can get arrest for being topless in NY or any other place in the US when Men can do it without getting a suspicious look towards them.