Topless protesters gather in English Bay
Posted August 26, 2012 4:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A group of protesters were holding signs and chanting in English Bay today for the worldwide GoTopless movement.
The International organization GoTopless (link contains nudity) staged protests in 30 cities worldwide.
Protester Denise Belisle says there is a cultural double-standard when it comes to baring chests, and she hopes to change this.
“A lot of women are not aware they are allowed to be topless,” she explains. “The other day I was topless in the park, and [women were asking me], ‘Is it legal?'”
The group who gathered shouted “Free your breasts; free your mind” to curious passersby.
“In 1936 it was still illegal for men to be topless in public, and then some men in Long Beach decided they had enough with that, they went swimming without their tops on, and then shortly after the law [was] changed,” says Belisle.
GoTopless president Nadine Gary says despite their recent victory in Toronto, where their protest was officially welcomed after being forbidden last year, they still have a lot of ground to cover.
“Even with laws ensuring gender equality, women are still being arrested for going topless,” she says.
Gary adds that many people call the public exposure of female breasts “a degradation” or “a humiliation of the women body.”
The organization has been holding these protests for the past five years.
