Topfreedom refers to a movement that seeks to change laws and social perceptions so that women would be able to publicly expose their areolas and nipples in any place that a man can. There is an organization, the “Topfree Equal Rights Association” (TERA). Their Statement of Purpose and Principles in part states TERA “. . . helps women who encounter difficulty going without tops in public places in Canada and the USA, and informs the public on this issue.” It is also stated that “It [COLOR=“Black”][their website] should interest women (and men) who understand — or want to understand — that women’s breasts are just fine, and in no way indecent, obscene, dangerous, or some other version of bad, any more than men’s are.[/COLOR]” The term “topfree” is distinguished from “topless” as “topfree” refers only to women who are not paid to go without a top on in public.
In 1992 the New York State Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York State, ruled that the state law which made it illegal for women to expose their areolas and nipples in public only applied to women who were paid to do so, so it is now legal for women to expose their areolas and nipples in public, as long as they are not paid to do so, in New York State, at least as long as there is no local ordinance prohibiting it. There is no such ordinance in New York City. For the last couple of years there seems to have been an increase in the number of women who go in public without a top on in New York City. See Moira Johnston and the “The Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society” for examples.
Tom,