Care about gender equality? Take your top off tomorrow
Posted at 10:02 AM Aug 22, 2008
By Bonnie Ruberg
Don't you hate it when you're walking down on the street on a hot day, and you see a man going shirtless. "Why can't we women do that?" you think to yourself. "It's just not fair. I want to expose my breasts in public. That will enhance and not detract from my sense of personal comfort."
Well, ladies, now someone hears the cries of our mistreated and repressed chests. Tomorrow is National Go Topless Protest Day. Starting at noon, women across America will be uniting for the cause. As our buddies at The Naughty American report it, it sounds kinda sketchy, like an excuse for late summer spring break: "America is supposed to be the land of the free, but can it be that way when millions of women are forced to wear tops to cover their breasts in public?" Probably their multiple photos of naked porn stars don't help. Check out GoTopless.org though, and things make a lot more sense. They remind us that "Currently, women who dare to be topless in public in the US are repeatedly being arrested, fined, humiliated, criminalized." Not cool.
As much as I enjoy clothing, it's true that creates a double standard. Even if you want to keep your shirt on, there are events in a number of different cities tomorrow in support of the cause, including L.A. and Miami. Says the Naughty American, "the Los Angeles rally, which will take place at Venice Beach, will feature performances by a topless opera singer and breast-baring acrobats, while the Miami protest will be more of a march." Boy am I glad I live closed to L.A., cause that one sounds like a lot more fun.
As an alternative, I suggest we make boys wear bras. Now that's equality!
