Is it time for the female breast to be 'decriminalized?'

One politician, at least, is defending the breasts. State Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) joined the protesters and announced that she would introduce legislation that would decriminalize breast baring in public. "While it is legal for men to go shirtless in public in California," she said, "women risk being classified as sex offenders for baring the same body parts."


Is it fair that men get to walk around topless but everyone is shocked and angered when a woman does the same thing?


http://archive.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2005/11/08/breasts/index.html

http://breastsnotbombs.blogspot.com/

ETA: I screwed up the options. There might be too much subjectivity involved in determining what "appropriate" really means.

Personally I think nobody should ever, under any circumstances, remove even one article of clothing.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

particularly when those people need to poop.

nudity alone should not be seen as "evil" and I am sick of it.

:eyes:

I have no opinion on requiring people to put on clothes. I only am of the opinion that if you have put on an article of clothing you should not remove it. If you put on a codpiece, you should leave it on, but if you never put one on you don't have to wear one.

Bryant

you were five, right? :patriot:

Damn, those things must be getting cramped.

Do tell?

should be legally discriminated against? That's what you're saying. And, that's also the logic for veils, burqua, etc.

Even though I have no desire to go bare chested: if men can go bare chested, then women should be allowed to, also. It IS discrimination to say otherwise.

It's interesting to me that people seem to have largely bought off on the idea that I am literally arguing that nobody should be able to ever remove their clothes.

I am just saying that if you have any questions as to why some think that woman should be require to wear a top, that's why.

Bryant

I don't get it. please elaborate. men wear shirts too. and sometimes take them off on hot days.

are you saying if a woman leaves home with a shirt it should stay on, but if she leaves home topless that's ok? I must be slow on the uptake today.

there wre two parts to my previous statement

In the first part I answered the question of why it's different for a woman to walk around topless, compared to a male - or at least why some would see it as different.

In the second part I made a joke implying that I thought poeple should never remove their clothing at all, which is ap retty extreme position (and therein is the joke).

Bryant

Big breasted men who wear brazzieres, need to consider the sexual
impact on women before unveiling their huzzies. ;-)

I eagerly await the day when our sinful, fleshy bodies can be replaced with prosthetic bodies whose appearance does not spark flames of depraved lusts in the weak minds of the heathen. Until then, sewn-in burqas for all!

While we're at it, why don't we just forego clothes entirely?

Another point: Do women really want to walk around in public topless? Because I can think of a few reasons why that would be really annoying -- for example, you would never be able to look a man in the eyes again, because they'd alway be looking down. Then again, I guess we already tend to do that. :shrug:

fucked-up prudes. In Europe, it's a non-issue for women to go topless at the beach, which is what it should be here.

Anyway, "societal norms" are a really bad reason for legal discrimination.

Believe me, I'm perfectly happy with topless women. I'm just pointing out that current standards aren't likely to change anytime soon.

Especially at the beach, I don't see it as a big deal -- hell, here in South Florida, many of the beaches are already like that. Haulover Beach in Miami is completely clothing optional even.

Many moons ago I managed a topless bar and believe me, after the first couple hours (if that long), you don't even notice anymore.

If we were to forego the requirement of clothes entirely, it would absolutely shatter the entire advertising industry once people realized that everybody looks just as bad as they do and nobody looks like the commercial images that serve as our standard. Even the models used in the advertising don't look as good as their photos do.

what the anti-veil people have to say about this particular cultural double standard.

Well, no not really.

Wear a veil, don't wear a veil.

Show us your boobs, don't show us your boobs.

*That'll* confuse 'em.

Nobody needs to see the furry mantits and zitty back of some slob who desperately needs to take up jogging.

:hide:

But: IF men are allowed to do it, then women should be, too.

If the law says a man can't show his man-boobs. That doesn't mean his back is covered. Heck you might even have to look at his hairy cleavage.

Burqas for anyone who deosn't look like an underwear model.

"Oooo! Titty!"

That said, there are several separate issues here, some of which overlap. There is the need for breastfeeding moms to be able to feed their babies when the babies need to eat, whether or not that happens to knock other folks' noses out of joint. There is the sexualization of breasts in non-breastfeeding situations. There is our society's general uptightness when it comes to sex, nudity, and the physicality of the human animal (and other animals) in general -- as witnessed by the fact that they took some anatomically correct lion statues out of some park recently as linked in another DU thread. (What's next? Little speedos for all the animals at the zoo, so little Timmy and Molly Q. Jeebusfundy won't have to see any "ungodly" organs or behavior there?)

Frankly, anything that gets Merkins to lighten the fuck up around sex and nudity is, in my mind, a potential good thing.

I give Boobs two big thumbs up.

I want to share with some friends.

:D

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2456220

Right on the heels of the art teacher in Texas who got fired because she took her class to an exhibit with a nude statue. Holy Michelangelo, Batman!

Only perky breasts can be exposed in public.

If anyone has been to a beach in Florida, they would appreciate how this law would impact on both sexes.

Kidding aside, women should have the option.

IMO, the world would be a better place if more people of both genders kept some of their bits covered. There can be such a thing as too much confidence! I have lost my appetite for days before...

Now, if we want to pass a law requiring all those with rock hard bodies/sexy curves/underwear models to remove at least one piece of clothing at all times in public, I might be able to get behind that! :evilgrin:

:rofl:

topless at some beaches or semi-private swimming pools, like perhaps hotels or country clubs, would be a start in desensitizing the population. I have lived in very conservative countries that dictate modest clothing for women, yet no one bats an eyelash when a woman bares her breast in public to nurse a baby. I think western society needs to relax a bit about this.

Get naked you American prude!!!!

No!!!!!

Quite the reality.:crazy:

Though the criminalization of the human body in general is kind of stupid.

I don't have a problem morally with people walking around naked.

Though in all honestly if it caught on with the general populace it would be kind of gross.

the health of a society is inversely related to the amount of clothing people have to wear to be considered decent.

So, lets have a healthy society. I'm all for it.

As long a middle-aged men can be legally seen in skimpy Speedo's, it should nbe legal to see women's breasts!

Some of us "middle aged men" (middle-aged women too) look better naked than the average 20-something, with their lack of muscle tone, sagging flab, plus they have zits. :rofl:

They "decriminalized" the female breast in New York in 1992.

I've lived here for 4 years (in NYC, no less), and I've never seen a topless woman (who wasn't protesting something) in public.

Don't mess with the natural order.

Women should be able to do it too. Wherever and whenever men do and men need to get over the breast fetish,and see breasts as no different than a nose an elbow or ear. Men need to stop seeing women as parts and see them as people equal to themselves and deserving of the same privileges

I think its more important to keep the eye on the prize of equality and nondiscrimination and not venture into thought policing.

Good luck with the trying to convince men (and some women) that breasts should not be sexy to them. :crazy:

Over in countries and in tribes where women go topless all the time, an oogling boob obsessed male would find out real fast how stupid breast fetishization is,and how asinine it looks to people that can handle seeing other peoples body parts without fantasy fetishes intruding into reality.A woman is not resposible for men's problems with other peoples boobs. Men need to grow up.

Many men never evolve beyond an adolescent stage. Like retrievers. ;)

I'm a lesbian who can't stand retrievers. Retarded, hyper puppies until they die. I'll take a dog with a brain, such as a German Shepherd or a Pit Bull.

They'd better be specific...most restaurants have a "shoes and shirt required policy." They could foob up and accidentally overrule eating establishments' rules. Then you could potentially have saggy boobs everywhere when you're trying to eat.

...Which might solve part of the nation's obesity problem.

It really depends. Breastfeeding is not criminal activity, but if regular baring of breasts in public was not unusual, Mardi Gras would be a lot less fun.

:rofl:

As well as, wherever it might be necessary to nurse a baby.

ok, bad joke! ;)

Do not be offended if I have a hard time looking you in the eye if we speak. ;)

:blush:

way too many men sexualize breasts like slobbering dogs to the point of ridiculousness.
Maybe if it were legal to bare-all, then they would finally get over it
and the coveted naked breasts wouldn't be such a big deal after all lol!

That's because I'm a bit of a voyeur. ;)

However, I will maintain my responsbility to keep my body out of sight. There are some who should remain clothed. I count myself among them.

For starters, we should dump all of the crap laws against breast feeding. That's just silly. Most women I've seen cover themselves anyway, although they shouldn't have to go to the trouble.

It's far past time to break the Puritan headlock on our society.

while spending as much on defense as the next 10 countries together.

:crazy: :silly: :wtf:

I have yet to see a killer boob. I don't consider them criminal. SO they should be decriminalised. I'm sure it won't matter much as personal sense of decency will keep most from doing anything with such new liberties.

But if it shoots Ashcroft's soaring eagle down I'm fine with decriminalising. And men and women should be equal in what they can show. I see no big difference between a male and a female chest. Both can be sexy, bot can be offending to some (not to me).

I'm happy to be in Europe.

I'm not sure why that was necessary, but I voted for it anyway.

Honestly, is the human body something to be ashamed of and afraid of?

laughing equally hard at the US. The Janet Jackson incident really had us all ROFL.

Very strange, twisted morality. Not you of course. :-)

The Onion ran a piece about how all of our children were traumatized by the sight of Jackson's breast... but, then it ended with, "strangely, children outside the United States were unaffected by Jackson's breast." Or something like that.

I'm small in that department. And I wore a back brace for 8 years, which makes me now uncomfortable with anything wrapped tight around my torso. So, I don't wear a bra. I don't need to, not much to support and the muscles God intended to do that work just fine. But when I first gave up wearing one, I was astounded at how often men felt free to make some comment about me being cold or nervous, or otherwise letting me know they were aware of my *gasp* breasts. So, now I wear camisoles under everything. Not because I need to. But so the men around me can actually get on with whatever it is they're supposed to be doing.

Jerks.

I'll volunteer to be the jailer. Ahem.

:rofl:

Bake

They're breasts. Sorry that everyone thinks this is the 1900s, where everybody should still be ashamed of their bodies and nudity should be condemned. Men can do it, so can women.

For those of you interested in an explanation of why we are what we are that goes beyond the usual "its society's fault".

http://www.unm.edu/~psych/faculty/mate_choice.htm

:eyes:

Most other branches of psychology left armchair theorizing in the dust long ago, in favor of experimental work. But no, EP's content to stick with the tools that brought us "penis envy" and "infant sexuality".

Evolutionary psych has nothing to "penis envy" or "infant sexuality".

I suggest taking an Introduction to Psychology course.

Out! All of you!

That the idea the kids are "traumitized" by nudity and sex is considered a respectable position is proof enough to convince me that much of Sociology and a lot of Psycology is a Western-centric farce designed to rationalize our cultural biases as "scientific."

male toplessness should be criminalized. As we all know from watching "Cops," only 1-2% of this country's felons and miscreants wear shirts. Issuing t-shirts to males of the criminal class would go far toward the cause of crime prevention.

(Please, tell me you can tell I'm joking without this disclaimer.)

for everyone to post the same cliche response about the rather obivous superifical yet inconsiquential hypocrisy about man boobs...

the articles.
GMAB.

The plasticky airbrushed girls do nothing for me (I like the suicidegirls type). But there are usually a few examples of really good liberal journalism and sometimes a decent short story.

going around shirtless. I don't see why mine have to be covered, but theirs don't.

Maybe then men would get over it.

...and how bad a pick up line that is.