A cow-orker just returned from a two week vacation. He and his wife travelled to various beaches in Ontario, Wasaga, Grand Bend, others. He sadly reported to those of us at work that at no beach did he witness topless sunbathing.
In Ontario (and in other jursidictions, I’m sure) women can legally go topless. Why do more women not take advantage of their hard-earned rights? Are our hard won liberties fought for in vain?
You can change the law all you like, but most women in Canada just don’t want to go around with their pongles hanging out. Societal pressure.
I thought legally topless was across Canada - my co-worker came back from BC (the Okanagan area, I think) and said he was at topless beaches there. With his eight-year-old grandson, no less. 
I think Ontarians are conditioned out of going topless by winter. And the fact that most of us feel that we are ugly blobs. I mean, I think the last time I went topless in the street was… when I was a kid?
It’s a strange thing. It’s legal in Britain, yet rare (even when the weather permits). But the very same ladies will spend a fortnight getting burnt nipples on the beaches of the Balearics. Go figure.
Yep, if one of us were to go topless here, you can bet there would be instant ogling and harassment from men and boys. I’ve lived in Ontario all my life and have not once seen a woman go topless in any public place. The closest I’ve ever seen is the changeroom at the Y.
I’m curious, now. What states, provinces, or countries is it legal to be topless in? Does it have to be only beaches/designated areas, or can a woman legally just walk out her front door and take a stroll down main street topless?
I wonder what would happen if I tried it*? (if it were legal, I mean.) Would people freak out? Stare? Politely look away? Not realise it’s legal and scold me? Hmmm.
it depends where you go. for example, i was at hanlan’s point (toronto islands) today, and i saw more than just topless. to be fair, part of the beach is clothing optional. but there were a few topless women on the non-c.o side of the beach.
on lake erie, i have seen topless women on the beaches at port stanley & port burwell - though again port burwell has a c.o beach.
i’ve never seen any women go topless on lake huron. i’m sure it has happened, but when i’ve been around.
^^ that should finish but not when i’ve been around.
It’s legal in New York for a woman to go topless anywhere a man can. I don’t recall ever seeing a woman stroll down the streets topless in New York, however.
I’m not certain what the laws are in San Francisco, but seeing a totally naked person in that city is pretty much just another day in SF. Especially during street fairs like Folsom or Pride or the race Bay to Breakers. Naked people everywhere!
featherlou: You’re probably right that it’s legal across Canada. The Guelph case just got more media coverage here in ON so it’s the one I’m familiar with. When I searched for a cite it’s the one I found.
I fully understand why any one woman would feel uncomfortable exercising her right to, say, mow the lawn exposed. But isn’t it time to lift and separate our inhibitions from our liberties? Shouldn’t we hold fast to the bosom of freedom, and drink from the cup of equality?
Kidding and lechery aside (just for a sec): Ladies, have any of you considered it? I know Mrs. Call has gone shopping with me sans bra - but only asking me first if I could tell. Would it be more comfortable if you knew you’d be safe and not the centre of attention? Maybe it’s time to form groups that stage topless events, and keep doing it until it’s no longer news? Or (more likely) it’s just not that big of a deal.
We can’t let our rights sag by apathy! We all should give a hoot. Yes, all of us should become hooters!
[semi-serious-mode]Sadly, you’re likely right. I have a hunch though that anyone brave enough to try it - in a very public place - would be surprised at how much nonchalance there would be - how many averted stares - the occassional catcalls, but likely from a distance and likely not threatening. The few times I’ve been on beaches where women did feel free to be free (e.g. the Caribbean), there were no incidents at all - it was rather ho hum.[/semi-serious-mode]
(Bolding mine)
PONGLES???
Pongles?
When did this become the term?
[whisper] Honey, your pongles are starting to show[/whisper]
BA-Da-BOOM – All Pongles, All the Time!
Review: “Latest Teen comedy a P&A Fest”
A number of years ago, when they first passed the law allowing women to go topless in public, a couple of enterprising 16 yr old girls set up business washing windshields at stoplights for tips. Topless. They were eventually run off because the traffic whenever they set up was so heavy, it was almost impossible to travel anywhere in the area.
Anyone else remember this story?
Olive
On Long Island:
At Robert Moses State Park, Field 5 east end, it appears to be a nude beach and no one gets hassled.
I have a vague memory of something like that as well. Make sense that it was shut down: no business license, blocking a public road, etc. If they’d had some more preparation and an agreement to use a parking lot, they’d be still going strong.
:: nods in agreement ::
I’ve been to nudist places, and after the first ten munites of getting used to it, there’s no big deal. You quickly realise that most people are blobby and ill-proportioned, yet still somehow decent, and that this doesn’t matter. You have the same problems in relating to or connecting with those people you find attractive as you did before*.
And even for toplessness, we have all the mechanisms in place to handle it. There still are the regulations: “no shoes, no shirt, no service”, etc.
One would think that if the last few weeks of hot weather in Ontario didn’t break down the taboo, nothing would.
[sub]* Except that the male semaphore code is now now more visible, so to speak.[/sub]
There was a great cartoon when going topless was legalized in Ontario. It shows a parka-clad man and woman loading skis onto their car in a howling blizzard, and the woman is saying, “Yes, but the point is I could go topless if I wanted to.”
There are two situations where I’ve seen topless women in Ontario (not counting the aforementioned Hanlan’s Point): Pride Week, and hippie festivals (Om, Hillside, etc).
I’d go topless on those occasions (and have, along with a little sunbathing on my somewhat-private deck) but not beyond.
I think it’s a critical mass thing. The first woman to take off her top will get a whole lot of attention; subsequent women, increasingly less so. Do I want to remove this restrictive and uncomfortable garment*? Yes. Do I want a bunch of people staring at my tits? Not really. If everyone else is topped, then I really can’t have one without the other.
If I was on a beach in Europe, surrounded by unencumbered tits of every shape, size and condition, then I’d strip in a second.
A couple of summers back a young woman walked along the sidewalk on one of the main roads in Thunder Bay wihtout a top on, while accompanied by a couple of lads who also did not htave their tops on. No big deal.