International Go Topless Day is coming up on Sunday, August 25th. I’m not kidding; it’s a real holiday aimed at bringing awareness to gender inequality when it comes to how much of your torso you have to have covered when you walk out of the house.
In every state in the U.S., men can walk around in public without wearing a shirt. The same is generally not true for women. Every state has a law against showing at least part of the female breast in public. In Arizona, women must keep their areolas covered so women can go shirtless in public as long as their wearing at least a pair of pasties, band-aids, or pieces of electrical tape. Other states, like California, are weird and require women to cover not only their areolas but also the bottom half of their breasts at all times. (Who would have thought that California would be more closed-minded than Arizona on this issue?)
There are a handful of cities that have passed local laws that allow men and women to be topless in public – like New York, Washington D.C., and Austin. (I wish I knew that when I was at SXSW.) These laws are technically unconstitutional but the states have bigger fish to fry than to go after a handful of topless women.
To bring awareness to the inequality between men and women under these indecent exposure laws, Go Topless protests have been organized in a handful of cities. At these events, if it’s illegal for women to be topless in public in that city, men and women are encouraged to dress within the limits of the law for women by wearing pasties, body paint, bikini tops, or the like. If the city law allows both genders to be topless in public, it’s more of a celebration and everyone’s encouraged to bare their chest. (If you want to wear pasties, I strongly recommend Nippies – they’re high quality and have an excellent adhesive.)
Please check out this map to see if there is a Go Topless event being organized in your community on August 25th. If you go, please make sure you act within in the limits of your state and city’s laws and wear sunblock! For my Phoenix people, there will be a Go Topless protest in Tempe starting at 10 a.m. where people will be walking down Mill Ave. sans shirts but with their areolas covered.
If you want more information about decency laws and these types of events, I talk about indecent exposure in relationship to the annual No Pants Ride in my new book Flash Mob Law: The Legal Side of Planning and Participating in Pillow Fights, No Pants Rides, and Other Shenanigans or contact a First Amendment attorney in your community.
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9 responses to “Go Topless Day 2013”
[…] 6. Go Topless Day 2013 […]
No problem on getting the update info to you, and thank you for your posting in the first place.
Yes there is a facebook page for Arizona listed as “Topless AZ” at the following;
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Topless-AZ/411866535599698
And the Event is listed as “AZ Topless Day” at the following;
https://www.facebook.com/events/695951423817500/
We would greatly appreciate anything you can or would do to help us out.
You can us the email address of; ‘ gotoplessaz@gmail.com ‘ as well in any posting, listing, et cetera. We have phone call voice mail box set up as well, that number is 623-755-6031.
As you have found out the GT Website was just updated a few days ago. But it now does have the current info.
Thanks Again,
Go Topless Arizona
Justin
Thanks for this! Have any elected officials or candidates ever openly supported this event?
If you can use the information to help our cause then it is our pleasure, and I am glade to help you.
Getting someone from the state capital to even say hello to us is all but pulling teeth. No one from the legislation has the time to sit down and even listen to what we are trying to say. Much less to even think about backing or supporting our cause. It has been as if we do not exist.
I personally have been trying for four years to contact Senators, Representatives, Governor, Attorney general, etc. about the laws. Of course; As a man asking about the rights of women, strange looks is just the start, and then it goes from there. Do you have ideas? Phone calls, emails, letters, and trying to catch them at the capital has not worked.
Thanks
Justin
New York State did not pass a law allowing everyone to be topless. It was the result of the 1992 court decision. Very few places have laws allowing it. It is mostly due to the first amendment court cases.
Thanks for that clarification.
The national Go Topless Day is back again for the third year in the Phoenix metro area.
This year it is on Sunday the 24th of August 2014 at 10 am.
Location the Steele Indian School Park on Indian School Road at 3rd Street in Phoenix, Arizona.
All are welcome to attend this Legal and Open to the public free event, your Toplessness is not required.
For more information e-mail; gotoplessaz@gmail.com:
Thanks for the update! I’ve been wondering about the 2014 event. Will there be a Facebook event so I can help promote this?
The website, http://gotopless.org/gotopless-day, says this year’s event is in Tempe. Are there two events in the Phoenix area?
Hello All,
Thank you for your interest in the Go Topless movement.
Go Topless Day is an international day of action for gender equality. People of all genders come together to highlight the inequality that still exists in our society and in our laws.
In many places, including Arizona, we have laws that blatantly discriminate based on gender.
One such law is that which criminalizes toplessness based on gender (ARS 13-1402). While cisgender males are perfectly within their legal rights to be topless in public, women and transgender people can be convicted of Indecent Exposure (a sex crime) for the same act.
We are marching for equal topless rights for all. It is unjust to treat our bodies differently, to label our bodies “indecent”.
These laws are based on heteronormative, sexist assumptions and they must go!
This year’s march is on Sunday the 28th of August at 10am. We are meeting up at Steele Indian School Park and marching from there.
This is the fifth year in a row now Go-Topless has been in the State of Arizona. Please join us for a fun, empowering, and liberating march.
Please remember to wear sunscreen and comfortable shoes for the march! This year’s event may include a Topless Light Rail Ride (free) so stay tuned! If you’re on Facebook, please RSVP to the event to get updates. Feel free to email us back here with any questions.
Go Topless Day – March for Gender Equality
https://www.facebook.com/events/1111899965540082/?ti=cl
For further information:
Web site; http://www.GoTopless.org
Email; gotoplessaz@gmail.com
Facebook; GoTopless.org, or Topless AZ
Telephone 623-755-6031
Breast wishes,
Go Topless AZ