# It's perfectly legal for women to walk around New York City topless. Yet so few do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272 "2011-06-13T01:27:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/21 "2011-06-13T04:07:15Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Women will start going topless in Manhattan (hmm… movie title?) when the reaction to them is the stereotypical NYC “What, you expect me to be impressed? Get out of my way” equivalent to the reaction to a dude w/o a shirt. When the 1992 decision was made, some magazine (maybe the Village Voice?) had a model walk topless down an avenue in Manhattan and asked people on the street what they thought. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/22 "2011-06-13T04:33:51Z")
I’m perfectly fine with women not walking around topless because a good portion should have clothes on. Same with any nude beaches that may be out there. Most people need to be clothed. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/23 "2011-06-13T04:46:39Z")
[http://www.nydailynews.com/ny\_local/2011/06/12/2011-06-12\_cop\_said\_my\_outfit\_was\_wheely\_too\_hot\_to\_ride.html](http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/06/12/2011-06-12_cop_said_my_outfit_was_wheely_too_hot_to_ride.html) “He said it’s very disturbing, and it’s distracting the cars and it’s dangerous,” Rijcken told the Daily News. “I thought he was joking around but he got angry and asked me for ID.” Seems to me that cops like this would go a lot farther in harassing topless women. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/24 "2011-06-13T15:59:20Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Isn’t it rather cold in New York? Everyone I see there is always wearing layers. In New York they have these things called “seasons.” Yeah. I know. CRAZY. But what are you gonna do, it’s New York. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/25 "2011-06-13T16:18:45Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Possibly I’m mis-reading, but per the references in the article it appears to be a State Court ruling not specific to just one city. That’s right, the whole state of New York. I understand that female toplessness is also legal throughout Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Ohio and Texas. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/26 "2011-06-13T16:28:10Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Please note that this says Rochester, New York, which is far removed from New York City … By all means, put the chesters back in Rochester. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/27 "2011-06-13T16:46:34Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Women, empower yourselves by turning me on! > > Doesn’t seem right somehow. 😃 I’m with you 100%. “Women! Do not empower yourself by turning on **Nobody**!” Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/28 "2011-06-13T17:37:25Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Sometimes a breast is just a breast, a floppy, sweaty, fat filled meat sack that could do with some sun and fresh air. Think about how good it feels to take off your faded ironic band T-shirt and run giggling through the backyard lawn sprinkler feeling the cool water spraying on your hairy man boobs. > > Don’t deny that visceral pleasure to women. Eschew the oppressive patriarchal conventions. Let them be free too. I think that women cover up because even when they ARE covered up, they get [hollered at](http://hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/). And told that sexual assault and rape are their fault, for dressing in a sexy manner. Change men’s behavior, and you’ll find the women are more willing to change theirs. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/29 "2011-06-13T18:07:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > When the 1992 decision was made, some magazine (maybe the Village Voice?) had a model walk topless down an avenue in Manhattan and asked people on the street what they thought. …and? Y’know, on second thought, the tourists may be the bigger issue. Regular Noo Yawk people would probably go “meh” and move along but the tourists would probably stop to stare… and get trampled. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/30 "2011-06-13T18:48:24Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I think that women cover up because even when they ARE covered up, they get [hollered at](http://hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/). And told that sexual assault and rape are their fault, for dressing in a sexy manner. > > Change men’s behavior, and you’ll find the women are more willing to change theirs. Ah, that’s a relief. For a few posts there I was worried that this thread might _not_ derail into SDMB Rape Debate #78,327,916! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/31 "2011-06-13T18:57:49Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > That’s right, the whole state of New York. I understand that female toplessness is also legal throughout Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Ohio and Texas. And the District of Columbia, where bare-breasted antiwar protests are fairly routine. And then there’s the Dyke March… oh yes. It never fails to occur at the Dyke March. I’ve been to many such events, and never seen a single catcall or police harassment. The cops in DC are long inured to wild-ass protest marches and are completely blasé about many things more raucous than a few tits. As for the common layabout miscreants who harass women on the streets, I’m talking about events comprising teeming masses of humanity, where safety in numbers comes into effect. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/32 "2011-06-13T19:10:14Z")
I love NYC but I wouldn’t walk around topless here. At least a few times a year I accidentally brush against a subway train and get a black smudge on my skin or clothes. I end up smooshed against other people to ride the train or the bus or just get through parts of the city a few times a month and it is nice to know that the girls aren’t out and about for that. It is also really hot for part of the summer and very cold through much of the winter. I enjoy the snowy winters very much but they aren’t very nipple friendly and I’m not a fan of the heat, in part because I burn so easily, which is also not a nipple friendly experience. Humans started wearing clothes for a reason, to protect themselves from the elements and occasional sharp/sticky/etc. things that could damage your skin and cause pain. Those reasons are all still there even though the law says that I technically don’t have to wear a shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/33 "2011-06-13T19:18:52Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Ah, horny guys on the dope trying to veil their hornyness in terms of freedom and liberty. Makes me chuckle every time a thread like this pops up. 🆒 Huh. Huh. **Nobody** said “Pops up.” ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/34 "2011-06-13T19:30:22Z")
From [nerve.com](http://nerve.com) [I did it for science: Topless in the Park](http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/i-did-it-for-science/i-did-it-for-science-topless-in-the-park) It’s even in NYC, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/35 "2011-06-13T19:47:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > In New York they have these things called “seasons.” > > Yeah. I know. CRAZY. But what are you gonna do, it’s New York. Yeah, yeah. 😛 My point is that every picture I’ve ever seen of New York always seems to be set in the colder seasons. I’ve never seen a pic of people wearing summer clothes, walking around in a bathing suit top or anything. In fact, in a quick google, I rarely even see people wearing shorts. I’m just proposing that NYC is rarely hot enough that the desire to be cool overrides the desire not to be ogled. I mean, apparently 99°F is a record high temperature for you guys. We’re going to hit two degrees shy of that just this month. And people around here still wear more clothing than you would expect at those temperatures. Then again, apparently New York does have some [nude beaches](http://www.newyorklogue.com/new-york-nude-beaches-2.html). So maybe I’m totally off-base. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/36 "2011-06-13T19:59:22Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’m just proposing that NYC is rarely hot enough that the desire to be cool overrides the desire not to be ogled. I mean, apparently 99°F is a record high temperature for you guys. We’re going to hit two degrees shy of that just this month. And people around here still wear more clothing than you would expect at those temperatures. I’m in Boston which is a tad cooler than New York. We can have sustained temperatures in the high 90s, and summer here goes for about 4 months. We hit 99 last week (or were supposed to, it never did quite get there). And I’ve seen it over 100 a number of times. During a heat wave, reminding one’s self that in 6 months we’re going to be socked with snow doesn’t really provide relief. And we’re not as used to the heat as you southerners. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/37 "2011-06-13T20:01:14Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > From [nerve.com](http://nerve.com) > > [I did it for science: Topless in the Park](http://www.nerve.com/love-sex/i-did-it-for-science/i-did-it-for-science-topless-in-the-park) If she put her name in the title, would that make her the titular character? ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/38 "2011-06-13T20:02:59Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > [Why Can’t We Live In Enlightened Topless Europe?](http://www.theonion.com/articles/why-cant-we-live-in-enlightened-topless-europe,10721/) Walking through the Faellenparken in Copenhagen on one nice summer afternoon, all the woman were sunning themselves topless. An American man’s dream come true. After 15 minutes, it all looked the same … Be careful what you wish for. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/39 "2011-06-14T00:08:23Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [http://www.nydailynews.com/ny\_local/2011/06/12/2011-06-12\_cop\_said\_my\_outfit\_was\_wheely\_too\_hot\_to\_ride.html](http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/06/12/2011-06-12_cop_said_my_outfit_was_wheely_too_hot_to_ride.html) > > “He said it’s very disturbing, and it’s distracting the cars and it’s dangerous,” Rijcken told the Daily News. “I thought he was joking around but he got angry and asked me for ID.” > > Seems to me that cops like this would go a lot farther in harassing topless women. As long as female victims of assault have to justify what they were wearing, and New Yorkers can count on being catcalled while walking the dog in sweats, I can’t imagine how many would want to go topless. > [@](#): > > The leggy Dutch tourist said she was pulled over by an NYPD cop for flashing too much skin while on two wheels. > > “He said it’s very disturbing, and it’s distracting the cars and it’s dangerous,” Rijcken told the Daily News. “I thought he was joking around but he got angry and asked me for ID.” If this is true, I hope that guy was handing out tickets to bare-chested, lycra-clad male cyclists. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272/40 "2011-06-14T01:45:54Z")
When a similar court decision found that it was legal for Canadian women to go topless (the decision was brought down in November, IIRC), an excellent political cartoon featured a parka-clad man and woman digging their car out of a snowdrift, and the woman is explaining, “Yes, but the point is that I _could_ go topless if I wanted to.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-perfectly-legal-for-women-to-walk-around-new-york-city-topless-yet-so-few-do/585272.md?page=3)