being topless: just another double standard
Take a minute and think about how beautiful breasts are. They feed babies, they provide immense sexual pleasure, and look nice! And yet we see breasts as shameful and are socially and legally forced to cover them (there are actually only two states in which it is legal to expose your breasts publically). Women who do show their breasts are either shamed or sexualized. Others take it upon themselves to tell her to cover herself up or to try and sexually harass her. Is this really what we want for ourselves, our bodies and personal freedom?
I believe that women should be held to the same standards as men in all aspects of life, and breasts are no exception. Men are free to expose their chests in public without being subjected to any type of harassment or shame. Yet, if a woman was to do the same thing she would most definitely not face the same acceptance, and could even be arrested for indecent exposure. How is this not blatantly sexist?
We need to ask ourselves what we value: personal freedom and the ability to express ourselves or ignorance and hate. This isn’t just a matter of bodies, but is in fact a matter of politics. We have to remember that our constitution guarantees equal treatment and these laws definitely don’t live up to that standard. Even if you don’t agree that our bodies should be seen the same way, you have to remember that you are allowing sexism to take place from a legal standpoint.
So it’s time to ban together and demand equal treatment. If we don’t stop this madness now, who knows how far we’ll take these puritanical attitudes?
