Appropriate Attire

March 15, 2007

Originally uploaded by ilkeryoldas.

Ilkeryoldas has posted a (sadly inappropriate for workplace viewing) lengthy series of photos on Flickr celebrating the right of women to go topless in New York. The pictures are fascinating, of course, but so are some of the comments, which are appreciative, insulting, accusatory, and scandalized. I’m particularly amused by angry rebuttals that these pictures are not about sex but personal freedom, which smacks of “art” appreciation — we’re not supposed to notice the nude, but the “play of light.”

Incidentally, the rainstorm picture is my favorite and the cop picture is my second favorite.

I did a (tiny bit) of researching into the decision that makes this legal. The court took no position on whether or not nudity might be offensive or inappropriate, but whether or not allowing men to go shirtless and not allowing the same of women constitutes a breach of equal protection laws:

Appellants and the five other women who were arrested with them were prosecuted for doing something that would have been permissible, or at least not punishable under the penal laws, if they had been men–they removed their tops in a public park, exposing their breasts in a manner that all agree was neither lewd nor intended to annoy or harass. As a result of this conduct, which was apparently part of an effort to dramatize their opposition to the law, appellants were prosecuted under Penal Law § 245.01, which provides that a person is guilty of the petty offense of “exposure” when he or she “appears in a public place in such a manner that the private or intimate parts of his [or her] body are unclothed or exposed.” The statute goes on to state that, for purposes of this prohibition, “the private or intimate parts of a female person shall include that portion of the breast which is below the top of the areola.” The statute thus creates a clear gender-based classification, triggering scrutiny under equal protection principles…

I think seeing a topless woman on the subway would be a little discomfiting. The provocation to stare would be great — for a number of reasons, not the least of which would be the novelty of the situation. I’d have to think anyone who chose to expose herself this way would have to understanding of other people’s startled looks, double-takes, and difficulty maintaining eye-contact. If it became commonplace we’d all get used to it and it would become less titillating.

However, you’ll notice that it’s still not commonplace despite years of legality. I am sure this is due in large part to fears that the extra attention would be too great. So let’s make a pact: leers, rude suggestions and comments, and insults should spark an immediate beat-down by all passersby. You folks are ruining it for the rest of us.

Posted in Diary, Politics, Sex