Last Sunday was International Topless Day, the day when all other worthy causes fall by the wayside and everything’s all about boobs. A bunch of protesters turned out in Vancouver, and a blogger who was interviewing Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray pulled her top down in his office and showed him her breasts. Talk about tacky behaviour.
No wonder women have a hard time being taken seriously by men when it comes to real issues of inequality. When a bunch of women parade up and down and make it all about undressing, they discredit all women. They leave the impression that we have nothing more substantial on our minds than a goofy desire to go topless in public. Actually, they leave the impression that we don’t have minds.
The reason these women want to bare their breasts in public? Because, according to what one woman told CTV News, “we’ve all been created equal.” Yes, we have been. And that is why we should receive equal pay for equal work, not why women should expose their breasts. And that is actually why, if we’re truly talking equality here, then the Kelowna woman should be charged with indecent exposure, just as would any man who flashed a sexual part of his anatomy.
But this really isn’t about misdemeanours. It’s about being ditzy. Whose life is so empty that going topless is something worth thinking about, never mind fighting for?
The topless rallies, held annually in nearly 50 cities internationally, are scheduled to coincide with the Sunday that’s nearest to Women’s Equality Day, marking the day in 1920 when American women won the right to vote. It’s a great way to trivialize the accomplishments of suffragettes.
Susan B. Anthony, the Famous Five and other notable women who fought for equal rights, including the vote, never included on their list the right to walk around half-naked in public. Their fight was all about dignity — and dignity for women is incongruous with toplessness.
Covering up is really about society’s mores. Yes, women who belong to tribes that live in the Amazon rainforest, for example, go topless.
But we don’t live in the Amazon rainforest and our society has different rules from theirs. The rules are that we wear clothes. If we don’t want to wear clothes, we can always opt for the rainforest life.
“We’re doing this in order to help women free themselves from the taboo [of] the breasts as unhealthy and dirty and sexual,” the same protester who blathered about being “created equal” also said.
I’ve never met any women who wasted their time fretting about this so-called taboo, or for that matter, were even aware that they were in dire need of liberation from it.
And yes, men go without their shirts, but frankly, they shouldn’t either.
Lori Welbourne, who became a legend in her own mind when she flashed her breasts at Kelowna’s mayor, reported she “felt very exposed, yet liberated at the same time.” That’s great, Lori. Glad to hear you’re focused on what really matters in this world — your boobs. While you were busy feeling “exposed, yet liberated,” the rest of us saw you as exposed, yet silly.
There is a reason that a zillion articles out there warn women not to wear low-cut blouses to the office if they want to get ahead in their careers. It’s because if you want to gain the respect of others, then you need to dress in ways that contribute to earning that respect.
There are so many worthy causes in this world to which the women who protested Sunday could contribute their time, energy and resources, causes whose goal is to make this world a better place for women and girls to live in. Going topless isn’t among them.
If you’re obsessed with baring your breasts, then find a topless beach to hang out at, or join a nudist colony. But leave the public square alone, because the rules aren’t going to change there. Nor should they.
