Frequency Annual Organized by GoTopless | Location(s) Various | |
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Date(s) Sunday nearest August 26 (Women's Equality Day) Inaugurated 2007; 10 years ago (2007) (established)2008; 9 years ago (2008) (first observance) Similar Hadaka Matsuri, Naked Pumpkin Run, Nudes A Poppin' | ||
Go Topless Day (variously known as National Go Topless Day, International Go Topless Day) is an annual event held to support the right of women to go topless in public on gender-equality grounds. On this day is celebrated topless freedom laws or are held protests in states where it is prohibited that women could walk, run or be topless like men can do.
Contents
History
The annual event was established in 2007 by American organization founded in Nevada, Go Topless. To promote gender equality, the event encourages women to go topless in public, and men to cover their chests by wearing brassieres or bikinis.
Go Topless Day is scheduled for the Sunday nearest August 26, Women's Equality Day, since on that day in 1920 women's suffrage was approved (in 1971 the U.S. Congress declared the day to be Women's Equality Day).
Organizer
The event is sponsored by GoTopless, a group formed in the American state of Nevada by former French auto-racing journalist Claude Vorilhon, currently known as Rael, spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement, a UFO religion. GoTopless has supported events and chapters in other countries.
Events
The first Go Topless Day was organized in 2008. In 2009, National Go Topless Day was celebrated on August 23 in the United States.
2011 observances
The 2011 Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 24. Protesters, both men and women, participated in rallies held in twelve U.S. states, including California, New York and North Carolina. Women who participated in the celebration used either fake latex nipples or pasties to cover their nipples and avoid arrest due to laws in some states that prohibit women from showing their areola and nipples in public. The protesters displayed signs that read "Men and women have nipples. Why should women hide theirs?" and "Equal topless rights for all or none". Many men who joined the demonstration wore bras and bikinis to protest against the double standard where men are allowed to go barechested, but women are prohibited to go topless in public.
In Canada, Go Topless Day was celebrated for the first time in 2011. The 2011 Canadian Go Topless Day rally was held in Toronto, Ontario, on August 28. Nearly twenty women went topless going from Queen Street East to Kew Beach on a pick-up truck sounding loudly the song "Revolution" by The Beatles. According to Diane Brisbois, the spokesperson for Go Topless Canada, "This is not a beauty contest. It is about freedom. We have support; there are many men who come to our events too." As reported by CBC online: "Women in Canada won the right to bare their breasts in public in 1996 when the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the 1991 conviction of Gwen Jacob, saying "there was nothing degrading or dehumanizing" about her decision to take off her shirt in public."
Later
Topless women congregated in Bryant Park in New York City on Go Topless Day in 2012, while men mostly observed. 30 cities held demonstrations in the US.
The 2013 Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 25 and marked the 6th anniversary of the event. There were demonstrations in 40 cities. Men who support the group's mission were asked to cover their own man-boobs with pasties or bras.
The 2014 Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 24. It was the 7th annual Go Topless Day.
The 2015 Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 23. It was the 8th annual Go Topless Day.
The 2016 Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 28. It was the 9th annual Go Topless Day.
States where Go Topless Day is celebrated
The majority of states in the U.S. have approved laws that do not discriminate against women being topless. Locations in these states where Go Topless Day is celebrated are:
States where toplessness is prohibited
States where topless activities of women are prohibited and where protests were held on this day in the U.S. are:
Go Topless Day celebrations around the world
Next Go Topless Day
The next Go Topless Day will be celebrated on Saturday August 26, 2017.