topless

It's legal to go topless in Ontario & BC.
Haven't noticed anyone topless here in Ontario, however I know of one women who rides topless in BC (Maple Ridge I believe)

 

A few years ago my husband and I were on vacation in the south of France and I went topless on the beaches there and I thought it was quite pleasant. (Of course in my college days I spent a lot of time in the nude at a clothing optional lake so this was not the first time my boobs had seen daylight in public.)

I think things are slowly changing in the U.S. -- I do see young women sunbathing at beaches with their tops off and although they are mostly lying face down they do not go out of their way to hide their breasts when removing their top or putting it back on. I have also seen open toplessness at a few U.S. beaches (in Florida and in Hawaii) but they were a mostly young minority and not knowing the law in those places I opted to leave my top on.

Eventually I think toplessness will be fully accepted in most of the U.S. -- I just wish it would happen soon rather than later. I would be quite happy to be topless at beaches but I am not willing to be a trend-setter in that direction.

 

I have been topfree in many areas of course. I grew up in South Texas on the Gulf of Mexico and South Padre was ok with it, especially north of town to the Naturist beach and wilderness, accessible only by 4 wheel drive -- unless one wanted to risk getting stuck in the sand.

There are a few states in the U.S. which permit it but mostly they aren't people taking advantage of the law. I think its the fact we ARE equal and have the rights that boys and guys do, that it being recognized was all we wanted. Time and place, so to speak.

I am not of the opinion that the U.S. will eventually catch up with logic and attitudes of Europeans or some other countries though. Too much Right Wing Mentality going on here and we have a couple of thousand years to catch up on, as far as social development. Saying that, I have gone topfree at Haulover and other legal areas in Florida and also up where we live, if one walks far enough north of the pier, and don't promote it, one can take off their top and relax.

-D

 

Knowing the tea party movement I expect the US is less likely to be accepting, not more. The use of video cameras on mobile phones may also reduce the number of women topless for fear of ending up on a video sharing site.

 

Absolutely true, unfortunately. We're on the doorstep of the biggest conservative backlash yet - the tea party will be hijacked by the ultra-right wing in the nearest future, and Bush terms will seem like eight years of continuous Woodstock by comparison.

Plus, as you said, there are technology concerns, body image concerns, and changes in feminist attitudes... It's not just the US either; late last year I ran across an article titled "France falls out of love with topless sunbathing" - women are covering up all over the world, sadly.

 

Attitudes vary by location. Even if it's the law, it ain't always enforced.