Toplessness 1243208 226123165 2008-07-16T22:32:51Z 86.45.223.118 /* Cultural attitudes towards toplessness */ {{redirect|Topless|the [[Miles Tredinnick]] play|Topless (stage play)}} :''This article deals only with female toplessness. For male toplessness, see [[barechestedness]]. '''Toplessness''' refers to the state in which a [[woman]] or postpubescent [[girl]] has her [[breasts]] uncovered, with her [[areolae]] and [[nipples]] visible, usually in a [[public space]]. The [[adjective]] '''topless''' may refer to a woman who appears, poses, or performs with her breasts exposed (a "topless model"); to an activity or performance that involves exposing the breasts (a "topless dance"); to a graphic, photographic, or filmic depiction of a woman with her breasts uncovered (a "topless photograph"); to a place where female toplessness is tolerated or expected (a "topless beach"); or to a garment designed to reveal the breasts (a "[[monokini|topless swimsuit]]"). ==Cultural attitudes towards toplessness== [[Image:Junge Hamer in Südäthiopien.jpg|thumb|In Southern [[Ethiopia]], women's traditional clothing does not conceal the breasts]] Attitudes towards female breast exposure have varied widely throughout history and across cultures. In [[Europe]] between the [[Renaissance]] and the [[nineteenth century]], women's breasts were not necessarily considered overtly sexual. Upper-class women maintained youthful-looking breasts by having their children breastfed by [[wet nurse]]s, and often displayed their breasts openly as a sign of virtue, beauty, or wealth.<ref>http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20040517/breasts.html</ref> Images of the nude breast proliferated in art and sculpture during this period. In the contemporary Western world, cultural [[Norm (sociology)|norms]] of female [[modesty]] dictate that girls should begin to conceal their nipples and areolae before the onset of [[puberty]] and that the lower portion of the breasts should remain covered in public thereafter. Although displays of [[cleavage]] are considered acceptable, toplessness is generally regarded as partial [[nudity]], and the very term "topless" often carries the connotation of sexual licentiousness or deliberate defiance of cultural [[taboo]]s. Although female toplessness is accepted in appropriate gender-segregated areas such as women's [[changing room]]s or [[communal shower]]s, or in certain specific zones such as topless beaches (see below), it is now rare in the Western world for women to expose their breasts publicly. Toplessness is mostly confined to occasional acts of [[exhibitionism]] or [[nudity and protest|nude protest]]. By contrast, many indigenous, non-Western cultures do not regard female breast exposure as indecent, and some consider it culturally normative for both males and females to go without clothing on their torsos. Female toplessness can also be an important aspect of indigenous communities' cultural celebrations. Cross-cultural conflict has taken place on the issue, such as when [[Australia]]n police banned members of the [[Papunya]] community in 2004 from using a public park in the city of [[Alice Springs]] to practice a traditional [[Aboriginal]] dance that featured topless women.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3493408.stm</ref> ==Legal issues in the Western world== Some Western jurisdictions consider the public display of women's breasts to be [[indecent exposure]]. However, in response to campaigns promoting the health benefits of [[breast milk]], many jurisdictions now expressly permit public [[breastfeeding]].<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200615,00.html</ref> In the United States, [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ058.106 U.S. Public Law 106-58 Sec. 647.] enacted in 1999, specifically provides that "a woman may breastfeed her child at any location in a Federal building or on Federal property, if the woman and her child are otherwise authorized to be present at the location." In the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], a small [[topfree]] equality movement has grown to protest legal proscriptions on female toplessness, arguing that such laws are [[sexism|sexually discriminatory]] since they allow men to expose their chests and nipples while denying women the same privilege. In some cases, these protesters have managed to overturn legal prohibitions on female toplessness, such as when activist Gwen Jacob was acquitted in 1996 by the [[Ontario]] Court of Appeals after she had been arrested for walking topless on a street in [[Guelph, Ontario]]. While images of topless women are increasingly prevalent in Western magazines and film, images of topless girls under the age of eighteen years are controversial, and are potentially considered [[child pornography]] in some jurisdictions. Photographers such as [[Jock Sturges]] and [[Bill Henson]], whose work regularly features images of topless adolescent girls, have been prosecuted or been embroiled in controversy because of these depictions.<ref>http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23745396-2702,00.html</ref> Even insinuated toplessness by minors can cause controversy. ==Topless beaches== [[Image:Two_topless_women.JPG|thumb|Two women on a topless beach]] In the mid-1960s, led by movie starlets and models in [[Cannes]] and [[Saint-Tropez]], women began to remove their [[bikini]] tops while sunbathing on the beaches of the [[French Riviera]]. The practice slowly gained acceptance throughout liberal societies in the West, many of which now permit topless sunbathing on some or all of their beaches, either through legal statute or through established precedent. A topless beach differs from a [[nude beach]] or [[naturist beach]] in that beachgoers of both sexes will keep their genitalia strictly covered. Additionally, there is no obligation for a woman to remove her top if she does not feel comfortable doing so. Women who sunbathe topless generally do not consider themselves to be [[naturism|nudists]]. Topless beaches are especially common in [[Europe]] and [[Australia]], where they are mostly considered uncontroversial. An academic study conducted in the mid-1990s found that 88 percent of Australian university students, of both genders, considered it socially acceptable for women to remove their tops on public beaches, even though the majority disapproved of female toplessness in other contexts such as public parks.<ref>Herold, E.S., Corbesi, B., & Collins, J. (1994). Psychosocial aspects of female topless behavior on Australian beaches. ''Journal of Sex Research,'' 31, 133–142.</ref> In the United States, which is generally more disapproving of female toplessness than Europe or Australia, topless sunbathing is permitted at specific beaches such as [[South Beach]] in [[Florida]] and [[Black's Beach]] in [[San Diego]]. Topless sunbathing is sometimes permitted in contexts other than beaches. Many resort hotels now permit topless sunbathing at their swimming pools, and some [[cruise ship]]s offer adult-only decks on which women may remove their tops. At the Kenwood Ladies' Bathing Pond in London's [[Hampstead Heath]], the Greater London Council has permitted topless sunbathing and swimming since 1976, although men are not permitted to enter the bathing area.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/dec/10/gender.london</ref> Western women can find themselves in legal trouble for sunbathing topless in countries with traditionally conservative values. In July 2008, police in the [[Muslim]] city-state of [[Dubai]] arrested 79 Western tourists for offenses including topless sunbathing. The arrests were part of a police crackdown on indecent behavior after two British tourists were allegedly found to have engaged in public [[sexual intercourse]] on the Jumeirah beach.<ref>http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5itc8uBBEUG40G8mtKigE5QAPzYHQD91TR4600</ref> Signs have now been erected in English, Arabic, and other languages warning women not to remove their tops or to change clothes in public on Dubai's beaches. Police have warned that violators could face criminal prosecution.<ref>http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,24023147-5014090,00.html</ref> ==Entertainment and media== In many Western cultures, female toplessness is regularly featured in magazines, calendars, and other print media. In the [[United Kingdom]], following a tradition established by ''[[The Sun]]'' in 1970, several mainstream tabloid newspapers feature topless female models on their third page, known as [[Page Three girl]]s. Female toplessness is also often featured in mainstream film. Many popular and acclaimed actresses, such as [[Gwyneth Paltrow]], [[Keira Knightley]], and [[Nicole Kidman]], have appeared topless in their films. Adult-only venues may employ women to perform or pose topless as a form of commercial erotic entertainment. These can range from downmarket [[strip clubs]] to upmarket [[cabarets]], such as the [[Moulin Rouge]]. == See also == {{Commonscat|Toplessness}} * [[Handbra]] * [[Sociology of clothing]] ==References== {{reflist}} {{nudity}} [[Category:Breast]] [[Category:Nudity]] [[da:Topløs]] [[de:Oben ohne]] [[es:Topless]] [[fr:Seins nus]] [[it:Topless]] [[nl:Topless]] [[ja:上半身の性の問題]] [[pl:Topless]] [[pt:Topless]] [[ru:Топлес]] [[simple:Toplessness]] [[fi:Yläosattomuus]] [[sv:Topless]] [[vi:Cởi trần]]