Examine individual changes

'{{use dmy dates|date=May 2011}}{{use American English|date=May 2017}} {{Redirect|Topless}} [[File:Topless woman at the 2008 Oregon Country Fair.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Woman topless at the [[Oregon Country Fair]] (2008)]] '''Toplessness''' refers to the state in which a woman's [[torso]] is exposed above her waist or hips, or with at least her [[breast]]s, [[areola]], and [[nipple]]s being exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is '''barechestedness''', also commonly called '''shirtlessness'''. In the past and in some cases until the present, [[Norm (social)|social conventions]] and concepts of [[modesty]] in some cultures required females to completely cover their bodies below the neck, and sometimes above as well. Exposure of the torso, breasts, midriff and [[Navel in popular culture|navel]] were especially taboo. While exposed breasts were and are normal in many [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous societies]], most [[First World]] cultures today have formal or informal [[dress code]]s, legal statutes, or [[nudity in religion|religious teachings]] that require females to cover their breasts in public from adolescence onward. Contemporary [[Western world|Western cultures]] permit displays of [[Cleavage (breasts)|cleavage]] in appropriate social contexts, but exposing the [[areola]] and nipples is usually regarded as [[modesty|immodest]] and is sometimes prosecuted as [[indecent exposure]], [[Lascivious|lewd]], or even [[disorderly conduct]]. The [[topfreedom]] movement challenges laws that forbid females to go topless in places where males are permitted to be barechested, arguing that such restrictions amount to [[gender discrimination]]. Toplessness is more common and less controversial in the fields of entertainment, fashion, and the arts than it is in society as a whole, especially when it is perceived to have [[artistic merit]]. From early prehistoric art to the present day, women have been depicted topless in visual media from painting and sculpture to film and photography. In contemporary mainstream cinema, [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Academy Award–winning actresses]] such as [[Halle Berry]], [[Kate Winslet]], and [[Nicole Kidman]] have appeared topless in their films. [[Cabaret]] and [[burlesque]] shows, as well as [[haute couture]] fashion shows and pictorials, frequently include toplessness or [[see-through clothing]]. Societies tend to view more unfavourably exposure of women's breasts in public if the intent is [[sexual arousal]]. Toplessness in [[adult entertainment]], such as in [[strip club]]s or in [[softcore pornography]], is regarded by some as indecent and is subject to more stringent government regulation or prohibitions. Public toplessness may occasionally be considered acceptable, depending on location and context. Many jurisdictions legally protect women's right to [[breastfeeding in public|breastfeed in public]] or exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws. In many parts of Europe and Australia, as well as at many [[seaside resort|resort destinations]] around the world, it has become culturally and often legally acceptable for women to sunbathe topless on beaches. Topless sunbathing may also be permitted in non-beach areas, such as some European parks and lakes, designated areas on some cruise ships, and swimming pools at some hotels. == Usage and connotations == [[File:Paul Gauguin 145.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.5|''Two [[Tahiti]]an Women'' (1899) by [[Paul Gauguin]]]] The word "topless" usually refers to a woman who is naked above her waist or hips or, at least, whose breasts are exposed to public view, specifically including her areola and nipples. It can describe a woman who appears, poses, or performs with at least her breasts exposed, such as a "topless model" or "topless dancer", or to an activity undertaken while not wearing a top, such as "topless sunbathing". It may indicate a designated location where one might expect to find women not wearing tops, such as a "topless beach" or "topless bar". It can also be used to describe a garment that is specifically designed to reveal the breasts, such as the "topless swimsuit" (also known as the [[monokini]]) designed by [[Rudi Gernreich]] in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bbc.adactio.com/cult/ilove/years/1964/fashion1.shtml|title=Topless Swimsuits and Dresses|publisher=BBC}}</ref> The word "topless" may carry sexual or exhibitionist connotations. Because of this, advocates of women's legal right to uncover their breasts wherever men may go bare-chested have adopted the alternative term "[[topfree]]", which is not perceived to have these connotations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ethosmagonline.com/archives/6654 |title=Busting Out: The Right to Bare It All |publisher=Ethos Magazine |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815075239/http://ethosmagonline.com/archives/6654 |archivedate=15 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Staff||url=http://www.007b.com/topfreedom.php |title=What is Topfreedom? |publisher=007b.com |date=20 January 2013 |accessdate=12 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120232359/http://www.007b.com/topfreedom.php |archive-date=20 January 2013|dead-url=yes}}</ref> == Traditional societies == {{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | image1 = Himba lady preparing deodorant.jpg | width1 = 150 | image2 = Junge Hamer in Südäthiopien.jpg | width2 = 150 | footer = Among [[Himba people|Himba]] of northern [[Namibia]] (left) and [[Hamar people|Hamar]] (right) of southern [[Ethiopia]], it is a social norm for women to be bare-breasted. }} [[File:Noies wichita.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Two [[Wichita people|Wichita]] Native Americans in summer dress (1870)]] Attitudes towards toplessness have varied considerably across cultures and over time. The lack of clothing above the waist for both females and males was the norm in traditional cultures of North America, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands until the arrival of Christian missionaries, and it continues to be the norm in many indigenous cultures today. The practice was also the norm in various [[Culture of Asia|Asian cultures]] before Muslim expansion in the 13th and 14th centuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://livingheritage.org/toplessness.htm|title=The Garb of Innocence: A Time of Toplessness|first=Romesh|last=Fernando|date=15 November 1992|accessdate=14 January 2010}}</ref> ===India=== {{also|Breast Tax}} In many parts of northern India before the [[Muslim conquest of India]], upper-class women in Maharashtra and the Ganges basin were fully clothed, while lower-class women were topless.<ref>Hyecho. [[Wang ocheonchukguk jeon|"Wang ocheonchukguk jeon" of AD.727]]</ref><ref>A. L. Bhasham. [http://livingheritage.org/toplessness.htm "The Wonder That Was India"]</ref> Malayali people of [[Kerala]] required Hindu women other than [[Brahmin]]s , [[Kshatriya]] and [[Syrian Christian]] class to strip to waist in public until 1858 when the [[Kingdom of Travancore]] granted all women the right to cover their breasts in public.<ref>W. Crooke. "Nudity in India in Custom and Ritual", ''Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute''. 1919. p. 239f</ref> Toplessness was the norm for women among several indigenous peoples of South India until the 19th or early 20th century, including the [[Tamils]] along the [[Coromandel Coast]], Tiyan and other peoples on the [[Malabar Coast]], Kadar of Cochin Island, Toda, Nayar, Cheruman (Pulayar), Kuruba, Koraga, [[Nicobarese]], and the Uriya.<ref name="ReferenceA">Hans Peter Duerr. "Der Mythos vom Zivilisationsprozeß 4. Der erotische Leib"</ref> ===Thailand=== In [[Thailand]], the government of Field Marshal [[Plaek Pibulsonggram]] issued a series of [[Thai cultural mandates|cultural standards]] between 1939 and 1942. Mandate 10 issued on 8 September 1941 instructed Thai people to not appear in public places "without being appropriately dressed". Inappropriate dress included "wearing no shirt or wearing a wraparound cloth".<ref>[http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2484/A/113.PDF The Royal Gazette] Vol. 58, Page 113. 21 January, [[Thai solar calendar|B.E.]] 2484 ([[Common Era|C.E.]] 1941). Retrieved 4 June 2010</ref><ref>M. Smith. ''Physician at the Court of Siam'' (1947) p. 79 cited in Note 3 of Chapter: Southeast Asia in "Der erotische Leib"</ref> Before the introduction of [[Western dress codes]], Thai women were depicted both fully clothed and topless in public. Until the early 20th century, women from northern Thailand wore a long tube-skirt (''Pha-Sin''), tied high above their waist and below their breasts, which were uncovered. In the late 19th century the influence of missionaries and modernization under King [[Chulalongkorn]] encouraged local women to cover their breasts with blouses.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.chiangmai1.com/chiang_mai/sub/traditional_dress.shtml |title=Traditional Dress|website=Window to Chiang Mai|accessdate=25 July 2017}}</ref> ===Laos=== In [[Laos]], [[Henri Mouhot]] took a picture in 1858 of Laotian women that depicted virgins with clothed breasts and married women with their entire breasts exposed in public, because the baring of breasts for breastfeeding was considered to be nonsexual.<ref>M.H.Mouhot, "Travels in the Central parts of Indo-China, Cambodia and Laos" (1864)</ref> [[File:Sea dayak women corset rings.jpg|thumb|left|287px|[[Dayak people|Sea Dayaks]] (Iban) women from Rejang, Sarawak, Indonesia circa 1910.]] ===Indonesia=== In the [[Indonesia]]n region, toplessness was the [[Norm (social)|norm]] among the [[Dayak people|Dayak]], [[Javanese people|Javanese]], and the [[Balinese people]] of Indonesia before [[Spread of Islam in Indonesia|the introduction of Islam]] and contact with Western cultures. In Javanese and Balinese societies, women had gone topless to work or rest comfortably. Among the [[Dayak people|Dayak]], only big breasted women or married women with [[Ptosis (breasts)|sagging]] breasts covered their breasts because their breasts interfered with their work.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{clarify|date=February 2012}} ===Middle East=== {{further|Intimate parts in Islam|Sexual taboo in the Middle East}} In most Middle Eastern countries, toplessness has not been socially accepted since at least the beginning of Islam (7th century), because of Islamic standards for [[Purdah|female modesty]]. However, [[Women in pre-Islamic Arabia|toplessness was the norm in some pre-Islamic cultures]] in [[Arabia#Ancient history|Arabia]], Egypt, [[Assyria]] and [[Mesopotamia]]. Tunisia and Egypt are an exception among Arabic states, allowing foreign tourists to swim topless on private beaches.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.habiba.org/culture.html|title=Culture and Tradition in the Arab Countries: American Returns Touched by the Land and the People| publisher=The Habiba Chaouch Foundation|first=Elizabeth|last=Rovere|accessdate=2013-07-28}}</ref> ===Africa=== Among [[Himba people|Himba]] women of northern [[Namibia]] and [[Hamar people|Hamar]] of southern [[Ethiopia]], besides other traditional groups in Africa, the social norm is for women to be bare-breasted. Female toplessness can also constitute an important aspect of indigenous cultural celebrations. For example, in the annual [[Umhlanga (ceremony)|Reed Dance festival]] mature girls between the ages of 16 and 20 dance topless before the Zulu king.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kzn-media.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Reed-Dance-festival-2011/G0000PpNh1jfxpew/I0000elXHH3U_CEw |title=Image of dancers at the Reed Dance festival 2011 |publisher=Kzn-media.photoshelter.com |date=2011-09-10 |accessdate=2012-08-01 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116151210/http://kzn-media.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Reed-Dance-festival-2011/G0000PpNh1jfxpew/I0000elXHH3U_CEw |archivedate=16 January 2013 }}</ref> ===Australia=== Traditional topless practices can lead to cross-cultural and legal conflict. In 2004, Australian police banned members of the [[Papunya]] community from using a public park in the city of [[Alice Springs]] to practice a traditional [[Australian Aborigines|Aboriginal]] dance that included topless women.<ref name="news">{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3493408.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=Aborigines' fury over topless ban|date=27 February 2004}}</ref>{{clear left}} ===South Pacific=== In the South Pacific, toplessness was common prior to contact with Western missionaries, but is less common today. On the French territory of [[Moorea]], toplessness is common.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Moorea Island|url=http://mooreaisland.com/about.html|publisher=Tahiti Sun Travel|accessdate=9 March 2012}}</ref> In the [[Marshall Islands]], women were traditionally topless before contact with Western missionaries and still do not [[Sexual objectification|sexually objectify]] female breasts as is common in much of [[Western world|Western society]].<ref name=briand >{{cite journal |title=Community Perspectives on Cultural Considerations for Breast and Cervical Cancer Education among Marshallese Women in Orange County, California |url=http://www.cjhp.org/Volume8_2010/IssueSE/84-89briand.pdf|last1=Briand |first1=Greta |last2=Peters |first2= Ruth |journal=Californian Journal of Health Promotion |year=2010 |pages=84–89 |accessdate=25 August 2013 |issue=8}}</ref> Marshall Island women typically swim in their [[muumuu]]s which today are made of a fine polyester that dries quickly.<ref name=encyclopedia>{{cite web|title=Marshall Islands |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Marshall_Islands.aspx |publisher=Encyclopedia.com|accessdate=25 August 2013}}</ref> Wearing of bikinis and one-piece, breast-covering swimsuits in the Marshall Islands is mainly seen at Western, restricted-access beaches and swimming pools like those at private resorts or on United States government facilities on the [[Kwajalein Atoll]] within the [[Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site]].<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.safaritheglobe.com/culture_marshall_islands.aspx |title=Marshallese Culture |publisher=Safaritheglobe.com |accessdate=18 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Marshall_Islands.aspx |title=Marshall Islands Facts, information, pictures |publisher=Encyclopedia.com |accessdate=18 July 2013}}</ref> == In Western culture == In much of contemporary [[Western world|Western society]], it is not [[social norm|culturally acceptable]] for women to expose their nipples and areola in public. In most Western societies, once girls enter [[adolescence]], it is the [[Norm (sociology)|social norm]] for them to behave [[modesty|modestly]] and cover their breasts in public. Until recent times, women who went topless were cited for [[indecent exposure]] or [[Lascivious|lewd]]. Women and the law in most western countries generally do not regard breasts as indecent. However, wearing a top in public is a social norm and most women are reluctant to go against it. The strictness of the etiquette varies depending on the social context. For example, at specific cultural events the norm may be relaxed, such as at [[Fantasy Fest]], at [[Mardi Gras]] in [[New Orleans]] and at the [[Brazilian Carnival|Carnaval]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]]. The same may also apply at designated topless beaches. [[File:Fouquet Madonna.jpg|left|thumb|225px|[[Agnès Sorel]], known to appear topless in the French court, was the model for ''Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels'', by [[Jean Fouquet]] (c. 1450)]] === Public breast-baring fashions === In many European societies between the [[Renaissance]] and the 19th century, exposed breasts were acceptable while a woman's bared legs, ankles or shoulders were considered risqué.<ref>C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington, ''The History of Underclothes''. London: Faber & Faber, 1981. {{ISBN|978-0-486-27124-8}}</ref> During the Renaissance, many artists were strongly influenced by [[Ancient Greece|classical Greek]] styles and culture,<ref name="Nigel Llewellyn 1660">Lucy Gent and Nigel Llewellyn, eds., Renaissance Bodies: The Human Figure in English Culture c. 1540–1660. London: Reaktion Books, 1990.</ref> and images of nude and semi-nude subjects in many forms proliferated in art, sculpture and architecture of the period.<ref name="Nigel Llewellyn 1660"/> In [[aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] and upper-class circles the display of breasts also invoked associations with classical Greek nude sculptures and art and a classic breast shape was at times regarded as a [[status symbol]], as a sign of beauty, wealth or social position. To maintain youthful-looking bosoms women could employ [[wet nurse]]s to breastfeed their children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/artifacts/caricatures/fr6-wetnursing.cfm |title=French Caricature |accessdate=13 January 2010 |publisher=University of Virginia Health System |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601211316/http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/artifacts/caricatures/fr6-wetnursing.cfm |archivedate=1 June 2010 }}</ref> Breast-baring female fashions have been traced to 15th-century courtesan [[Agnès Sorel]], mistress to [[Charles VII of France]], whose gowns in the French court sometimes exposed one or both of her breasts. ([[Jean Fouquet]]'s portrayal of the [[Virgin Mary]] with her left breast uncovered is believed to have taken Sorel as a model.) Aristocratic women sought to immortalise their breasts in paint, as in the case of [[Simonetta Vespucci]], whose [[Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci (Piero di Cosimo)|portrait with exposed breasts]] was painted by [[Piero di Cosimo]] in c.1480. During the 16th century, women's fashions displaying their breasts were common in society, from Queens to common prostitutes, and emulated by all classes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsandevents.warwick.ac.uk/index.cfm?page=pressrelease&id=1858 |title=Historian Reveals Janet Jackson's 'Accidental' Exposing of Her Breast was the Height of Fashion in the 1600s|date=5 May 2004|publisher=University of Warwick |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20040803155530/http://www.newsandevents.warwick.ac.uk/index.cfm?page=pressrelease&id=1858 |archivedate = 3 August 2004}}</ref> Similar fashions became popular in England during the 17th century when they were worn by [[Mary II of England|Queen Mary II]] and by [[Henrietta Maria of France|Henrietta Maria]], wife of [[Charles I of England]], for whom architect [[Inigo Jones]] designed a [[masque]] costume that fully revealed both of her breasts.<ref name="Nigel Llewellyn 1660"/> In a survey of 190 different societies, researches found that very few associated exposed breasts with sexuality, but that there was an insistence that women conceal their breasts.<ref name=herold/> Different standards apply to art, with one example being the dome of the [[United States Capitol]] featuring [[The Apotheosis of Washington|an 1865 fresco]] depicting goddesses with their breasts exposed.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}{{clear left}} === Social attitudes === Although some social attitudes to increased body exposure began to soften during the late 1960s, contemporary Western societies still generally view toplessness unfavorably. During a short period in 1964, "topless" dress designs appeared at fashion shows, but those who wore the dresses in public found themselves arrested on indecency charges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sixtiescity.com/Fashion/Fashion.shtm |title=Sixties City – Bringing on back the good times |accessdate=2010-01-14 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104085440/http://sixtiescity.com/Fashion/Fashion.shtm |archivedate=4 January 2010 }}</ref> However, toplessness has come to be a feature in contemporary [[haute couture]] fashion shows. [[File:Imitation of Christ 2 by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|right|275px|The ''[[Imitation of Christ (designs)|Imitation of Christ]]'' fashion line incorporated toplessness in its 2002 fashion show, which brought comparisons to [[Vanessa Beecroft]]'s art.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/S2003RTW/review/IMTATION | title=Imitation of Christ Runway Review | first=Laird | last=Borelli | publisher=Style.com | date=17 September 2002}}</ref>]] A wide-ranging review of 190 different societies during 1951 found that few insisted that women conceal their breasts. In Europe, topless swimming and sunbathing on public beaches has become socially acceptable. In 1994-95, Australian researchers asked 118 college-age students to rate the behavior of women who go topless on an 8-point scale, ranging from "Women should have the same right to topless as men" to "Topless women are exhibitionists". They found that 88% of Australian university students of either gender considered it acceptable for women to go topless on public beaches, although they felt that women exposing their breasts in other contexts, such as public parks, was inappropriate.<ref name=herold>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/00224499409551740|last=Herold|first= E.S.|last2=Corbesi|first2=Bruna|last3=Collins|first3=John|others=Corbesi, B., & Collins, J. |year=1994|title=Psychosocial aspects of female topless behavior on Australian beaches|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499409551740#preview |journal=Journal of Sex Research|volume=31|pages=133–142|issue=2 }}</ref><ref name=herold2>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/00224499409551740|last=Herold|first= E.S.|last2=Corbesi|first2=Bruna|last3=Collins|first3=John|others=Corbesi, B., & Collins, J. |year=1994|title=Psychosocial aspects of female topless behavior on Australian beaches|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFPs55zfAKcC&lpg=PA483&dq=topless%20attitudes&pg=PA483#v=onepage&q=topless%20attitudes&f=false |journal=Journal of Sex Research |volume=31 |pages=133–142 |issue=2 |isbn=9781412913362 }}</ref> They did not find a correlation between exposed breasts and sexuality in social situations. A more recent study of 116 college-age women in Australia found that those who had gone topless were more accepting of toplessness generally, more sexual, and had higher self-esteem and higher body image.<ref name=herold/> In contemporary society, the extent to which a woman may expose her breasts depends on social and cultural context. Women's [[swimsuit]]s and [[bikini]]s commonly reveal the tops and sides of the breasts. Displaying [[Cleavage (breasts)|cleavage]] is considered permissible in many settings, and is even a sign of elegance and sophistication on many formal social occasions, but it may be prohibited by [[dress code]]s in settings such as workplaces and schools, where sexualized displays of the female breast may be considered inappropriate. In a number of cultures, including Europe and other Westernized countries outside the United States, there are fewer social restrictions against [[suntanning|sunbathing]] or swimming topless.<ref name="Marks ">{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/topless-wars-reignited-on-australias-beaches-1218251.html |title=Topless wars reignited on Australia's beaches|last=Marks |first=Kathy |date=31 December 2008|accessdate=14 September 2009 | location=London | work=The Independent}}</ref> An online poll found that 99% of Germans and 93% of Britons were accepting of toplessness on a beach, compared to 92% of Swedes, 91% of Italians, and 67% of Russians.<ref name=essential>{{cite web|title=UK travelers' attitudes to being topless on holiday |url=http://www.essentialtravel.co.uk/news/travel-news-article7945.asp |date=19 July 2010 |accessdate=9 March 2012 |publisher=Essential Travel }}{{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In Canada, a poll in 1992 found that 38% favored general female public toplessness. Following that survey, several legal rulings in Canadian courts from 1996 to 2000 made public toplessness legal, but very few women go topless in public.<ref name=fischtein>{{cite journal|last=Fischtein|first=Dayna S.|author2=Edward S. Herold |author3=Serge Desmarais |title=Canadian attitudes toward female topless behaviour: a national survey|journal=The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality|date=Fall–Winter 2005}}</ref> Some cultures have even begun to expand social prohibitions on female toplessness to prepubescent and even infant girls. This trend toward covering the female nipple from infancy onward is particularly noticeable in the United States, Eastern Asia and the Middle East, but is much less common in Europe.<ref name=heinonline>{{cite web | last = Allen | first = Anita L. | title = Disrobed: The Constitution of Modesty | publisher=HeinOnline | year = 2006 | url = http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/vllalr51&div=41&id=&page= | quote = American laws compel sexually modest behavior... By contrast to Western Europe, topless sunbathing is rarely permitted in the United States | accessdate =11 September 2009}}</ref> === Legality === {{Main|Topfreedom}} Around the world, it is common for women to [[Breastfeeding in public|breastfeed in public]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200615,00.html |publisher=Fox News |title=Indecent Exposure |first=Lis |last=Wiehl |date=22 June 2006 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223104515/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200615,00.html |archivedate=23 December 2011 }}</ref> In the United States during the 1990s and later, there were a number of legal incidents where women were harassed or cited for exposing their breasts while breastfeeding in public. A public backlash spurred legislators in some jurisdictions to specifically legalize public breastfeeding. The federal government passed a law in 1999 that 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glin.gov/download.action?fulltextId=170184&documentId=67358&glinID=67358 |title=Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000 |accessdate=14 January 2010 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} section 647.</ref> Some women have engaged in acts of "lactivism", or acts of politically motivated public breastfeeding, to assert these rights.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lunceford|first=Brett|title=Naked politics : nudity, political action, and the rhetoric of the body&#124;chapter 3|year=2012|publisher=Lexington Books|location=Lanham, Md.|isbn=073916709X}}</ref> In many [[indigenous people|indigenous]], non-Western cultures it is generally acceptable for both men and women to go without clothing that covers the torso. Female toplessness can also be a traditional aspect in indigenous cultural celebrations. However, this can lead to cross-cultural and legal conflict. During 2004, Australian police banned female members of the [[Papunya]] community from using a public park in the city of [[Alice Springs]] to practice a traditional [[Australian Aborigines|Aboriginal]] dance while topless.<ref name="news" /> Many societies consider women who expose their nipples and areola as [[modesty|immodest]] and contrary to [[social norms]]. Most jurisdictions do not have laws prohibiting toplessness directly, but in many jurisdictions a topless woman may be socially or officially harassed or cited for [[Lascivious|public lewdness]], [[indecent exposure]], [[public indecency]] or [[disorderly conduct]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/toplessness004.html |title=Topfreedom: The Fundamental Right of Women |author=MacNevin, Suzanne |publisher=Feministezine.com |accessdate=2013-03-14}}</ref> Enforcement of such standards is subject to community standards, which are subject to change over time. Most prosecutions commence with a complaint being made to the police by a member of the public, and a judge would be required to adjudicate as to the indecency etc. of the exposure. In the United States, GoTopless.org claims that women have the same constitutional right to be bare chested in public places as men. They further claim constitutional equality between men and women on being topless in public. They have successfully joined in legal challenges that have resulted in laws permitting women to expose their breasts just as men do in New York State and in Ontario, Canada. In 2009, they used 26 August ([[Women's Equality Day]]), as a day of [[Go Topless Day|national protest]].<ref name="gotopless ">{{cite web |last= |authorlink= |title= National GoTopless Protest day |url= http://www.gotopless.org |work=|publisher=Gotopless.org |trans-title=|pages= |doi= |quote= |accessdate=26 August 2009}}</ref> The [[topfreedom]] movement has claimed success in a few instances in persuading federal courts in the United States to overturn some state laws on the basis of [[sex discrimination]], arguing that a woman should be free to expose her chest in any context in which a man can expose his. In March 2008, after a year-long campaign by a pressure group, the Topless Front, [[Copenhagen]]'s Culture and Leisure Committee concluded that there were no regulations against topless bathing by women in public swimbaths, thus no reason to specifically allow it.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/article977650.ece |title= Victory for topless bathers |newspaper=The Sun |date= 29 March 2008|accessdate=14 June 2010 |location=London}}</ref> Also in 2008, the city council in Vancouver, [[British Columbia]], location of the [[World Naked Bike Ride]], gave women the right to go topless in public, not solely at swimming pools and beaches.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.straight.com/article-150165/nudity-new-normal |title=Is nudity the new normal? |newspaper=The Sun |accessdate=14 June 2010}}</ref> In 2009, members of the Swedish feminist organization Bara Bröst (Just Breast or Bare Breast) went topless at the city pools in [[Malmö]], Sweden. This triggered a vote by the city's sports and recreation committee, which backed away from requiring women to wear a top, only stipulating that everyone must wear a swimsuit. Their ruling allows women in Sweden to swim topless in Malmö's public swimming pools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/20250/ |title=Malmö win for topless Swedish bathers – The Local |publisher=Thelocal.se |accessdate=23 July 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627020908/http://www.thelocal.se/20250 |archivedate=27 June 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/8557/20070920/ |title=Women fight for right to bare breasts – The Local |publisher=Thelocal.se |date=29 March 2008 |accessdate=14 June 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312023052/http://www.thelocal.se/8557/20070920 |archivedate=12 March 2010 }}</ref> "We don't decide what men should do with their torso, why then do women have to listen to the men. Moreover, many men have larger breasts than women", the committee chair said.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inquisitr.com/27519/swedish-city-legalizes-topless-bathingat-public-swimming-pools/ |title=Swedish city legalizes topless bathing....at public swimming pools |publisher=Inquisitr.com |date=27 June 2009 |accessdate=23 July 2009}}</ref> [[File:Bare breasts are our weapons crop.jpg|thumb|[[FEMEN]] rally, 18 September 2012]] === As a form of liberation === While an exposed breast in public can have many associated connotations, some women in America today argue the exposed breast is a symbol of liberation. They speak against the proposed notion that their rightful place was below their male counterparts. Throughout the late 20th Century, more and more women began to link the struggle for female equality and the repossession of the female body. This can be especially seen in the work of [[Second-wave feminism|Second Wave Feminists]] beginning in the early 1960s.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} The reaction to exposed breast as a symbol of liberation was two-sided. Women who took part in the movement expressed their desire to turn attention away from the excessive eroticization of the female body in American popular culture to more essential societal needs.<ref name="Yalom, Marilyn 1997">Yalom, Marilyn. A History of the Breast. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1997. Print.</ref> Opposition to the braless movement ironically viewed it as an attack to American morals and [[public decency]]. The bralessness movement evolved into a bare-breasted movement, which became another way for women to "thumb one's nose at society".<ref name="Yalom, Marilyn 1997"/> While some women exposed their breasts individually, there was also an upsurge in topless demonstrations used to gather public attention for women's issues such as pornography and sexism.<ref name="Yalom, Marilyn 1997"/> The sexualization of the breast is found only in a few Western nations, and this, many women argue, causes women to turn to [[plastic surgery]] and view their breasts as determinants of beauty rather than potentially nourishing life forces.<ref>Latteier, Carolyn. ''Breasts: The Women's Perspective on an American Obsession'' New York, 1998.</ref> Because of this, women are able to liberate their breasts as a way to gain attention, make political statements, and combat breast exposure laws' reinforcement of the supposed uncontrollable seductive nature of women's breasts.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} === As a form of protest === {{see also|Nudity and protest}} In Western countries, toplessness in public often generates media coverage, leading some female [[nudity and protest|political demonstrators]] to deliberately expose their breasts in public to draw media and public attention to their cause. For example, in January 2012, three members of the Ukrainian protest group [[FEMEN]] attracted worldwide media attention after they staged a topless protest at the [[World Economic Forum]] in [[Davos, Switzerland]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/9046442/Feminist-group-take-topless-protest-to-Davos.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |title=Feminist group take topless protest to Davos | date=28 January 2012}}</ref> {{multiple image | align = left | direction = horizontal | image1 = Topless Swimmer at Devon Beach.jpg | width1 = 189 | caption1 = Topless swimmer on a secluded beach at East Devon, UK | image2 = Jiriruzek net 2010 Vinohrady.jpg | width2 = 170 | caption2 = Woman wearing [[Rudi Gernreich]]'s original monokini design }} == Topless swimwear == Toplessness in a public place is most commonly practised or encountered near water, either as part of a swimming activity or [[sunbathing]]. The introduction of the [[bikini]] in 1946 and increasingly common [[glamour photography|glamour shots]] of popular actresses and models on either side of the Atlantic wearing the minimal swimsuit design played a large part in bringing the bikini and sunbathing into the mainstream.<ref name=MMOA>{{cite web|last=Charleston|first=Beth Duncuff|title=The Bikini|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/biki/hd_biki.htm|work=Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History|publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|accessdate=August 15, 2013|location=New York|date=October 2004}}</ref><ref name=ArtCent>James Kitchling, [http://www.articles-central.info/Art/22681/48/Short-History-of-Bikinis-and-Swimsuits.html "Short History of Bikinis and Swimsuits"], Articles Central, August 2, 2008 {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 1964, fashion designer [[Rudi Gernreich]] went further and designed and produced a topless swimsuit, which he called the "[[monokini]]" in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gernreich.steirischerbst.at/pages/bio1.htm |title=bio...Rudi Gernreich|accessdate=14 January 2010|language=German}}</ref> Gernreich's monokini consisted primarily of a brief, close-fitting bottom that "extended from the midriff to the upper thigh"<ref name="everything">{{cite web|url=http://www.everythingbikini.com/monokini.html|title=Bikini Styles: Monokini|publisher=Everything Bikini|accessdate=14 January 2010}}</ref> and was "held up by shoestring laces that make a halter around the neck".<ref name=nangle>{{cite news|last1=Nangle|first1=Eleanore|title=Topless Swimsuit Causes Commotion|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1964/06/10/page/65/article/topless-swimsuit-causes-commotion|accessdate=20 August 2015|newspaper=Chicago Tribute|date=10 June 1964}}</ref> It first appeared in print in ''[[Look (American magazine)|Look]]'' magazine, introducing the concept of a topless swimsuit into commercial fashion.<ref name=Shteir>{{cite book|first=Rachel|last=Shteir|title=Striptease|pages=318–321 |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=0-19-512750-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Monokini|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Topless+swimsuit|publisher=Free Dictionary|accessdate=20 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Rosebush|first1=Judson|title=Peggy Moffitt Topless Maillot in Studio|url=http://www.bikiniscience.com/chronology/1960-1965_SS/PM6410_S/PM6410.html|website=Bikini Science|accessdate=22 August 2015|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923185207/http://www.bikiniscience.com/chronology/1960-1965_SS/PM6410_S/PM6410.html|archivedate=23 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He later said he didn't really mean for the swimsuit to be popular as it was, but rather as a fantastical concept and prediction of the future.<ref name=bay/> "[Women] drop their bikini tops already," he said, "so it seemed like the natural next step."<ref name=bay>{{cite web|first=Cody|last=Bay|title=The Story Behind the Lines|url=http://onthisdayinfashion.com/?p=1076|date=June 16, 2010|accessdate=22 January 2013|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704181947/http://onthisdayinfashion.com/?p=1076|archivedate=4 July 2013|df=}}</ref> A photograph of [[Peggy Moffitt]], the famous model for the suit, appeared in ''[[Women's Wear Daily]]'', ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' and numerous other publications.<ref>{{cite book|authorlink=Jeannette Walls|first=Jeannette|last=Walls|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fOkCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21&dq=peggy+moffitt |title=High Fashion's Lowest Neckline|work=New York Magazine|date=14 January 1991}}</ref> Despite the negative reaction of fashion critics and church officials, shoppers purchased about 3000 of his swimsuit design at $24 each that summer, though the only woman reported as having worn it to a beach in the United States was arrested.<ref name=starnews>{{cite web|title=Model arrested for wearing topless swimsuit |page=11 |volume=7|issue =209|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19640623&id=jERjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O3QNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4769,3849426&hl=en|newspaper=Wilmington Morning Star|accessdate=23 August 2015|date=23 June 1964}}</ref> The novelty of the design caught significant attention. ''Life'' writer Shana Alexander noted in an article about the introduction of the monokini in July 1964, "One funny thing about toplessness is that it really doesn't have much to do with breasts. Breasts of course are not absurd; topless swimsuits are. Lately people keep getting the two things mixed up."<ref name=alexander>{{cite journal|last1=Alexander|first1=Shana|title=Me? In That!|journal=Life|date=10 July 1964|volume=57|issue=2|pages=55–61|accessdate=23 August 2015}}</ref> [[File:Cannes beach 1980 6.jpg|thumb|right|287px|[[Cannes]] beach, 1980]] The topless swimsuit failed to catch on in the United States.<ref name=menkes>{{cite news|first=Suzy|last=Menkes|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7D81430F93BA25754C0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 |title=Runways: Remembrance of Thongs Past|work=The New York Times|date=18 July 1993}}</ref> The [[Government of the Soviet Union|Soviet government]] called it "barbarism" and a sign of social "decay". The [[New York City Police Department]] was strictly instructed to arrest any woman wearing a swimsuit by the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|commissioner of parks]].<ref name=Allyn/> In Chicago, a 19-year-old female beachgoer was fined US$100 for wearing a topless swimsuit on a public beach.<ref name=Allyn/> Copious coverage of the event helped to send the image of exposed breasts across the world. Women's clubs and the church were particularly active in their condemnation.<ref name=Allyn/> In Italy and Spain, the Catholic Church warned against the topless fashion.<ref name=Thesander>{{cite book|first=Marianne|last=Thesander|title=The Feminine Ideal|page=187|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=1997|isbn=1-86189-004-4}}</ref> In France in 1964, [[Roger Frey]] led the prosecution of the use of the monokini, describing it as "a public offense against the sense of decency, punishable according to article 330 of the penal code. Consequently, the police chiefs must employ the services of the police so that the women who wear this bathing suit in public places are prosecuted."<ref name="SI9Moral">[[Situationist International]], ''[http://www.cddc.vt.edu/SIOnline/si/sketch.html Sketch of a Morality without Obligation or Sanction]'', Issue No 9, August 1964 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709132013/http://www.cddc.vt.edu/SIOnline/si/sketch.html |date=9 July 2013 }}</ref><ref name="LeMonde">[[Le Monde]], 25 July 1964</ref> At [[Saint-Tropez|St. Tropez]] on the [[French Riviera]], where toplessness later became the norm, the mayor ordered police to ban toplessness and to watch over the beach via helicopter.<ref name=Allyn/> [[Jean-Luc Godard]], a founding mover of [[French New Wave]] cinema, incorporated a shot of a woman in a topless swimsuit on the Riviera into his film ''[[A Married Woman]]'', but it was edited out by the censors.<ref>{{cite book|first=James|last=Monaco|title=The New Wave|page=157|publisher=UNET 2 Corporation|year=2003|isbn=0-9707039-5-3}}</ref> A number of Caribbean locations, especially those that were formerly French and Dutch colonies, permit nude and topless sunbathing, like the [[French West Indies]] islands of [[Saint Barthélemy|St. Barths]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]], and [[Sint Maarten|St. Maarten]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Curley |first=Robert |title=Best Topless and Nude Beaches in the Caribbean |url=http://gocaribbean.about.com/od/bestcaribbeanbeaches/tp/Caribnudebeaches.htm |publisher=About.com |accessdate=9 March 2012}}</ref> Topless sunbathing slowly spread to other Western countries throughout Europe and Australia, many of which now allow topless sunbathing on some or all of their beaches, either through legal statute or by generally accepted practice, and beaches were designated for nude or topless bathers. A topless, or top-optional, beach differs from a [[nude beach]] in that beach goers of both sexes are required to keep their [[genital area]] covered, although females have the option to remove their tops without fearing legal prosecution or official harassment.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} However, media reports in recent years note that the number of women sunbathing topless on French beaches has markedly declined, and that younger French women have become more disapproving of exposing breasts in public.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1912685,00.html |title=In France, a New Generation of Women Says Non to Topless Sunbathing |first=Bruce |last=Crumley|date=30 July 2009|accessdate=23 January 2010 | work=Time}}</ref> Even in some parts of Europe generally considered to have a liberal attitude towards toplessness, such as Sweden, surveys show there is considerable resistance to its acceptance.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/resa/solobad/article7501762.ab |title=Topless är botten | work=Aftonbladet |accessdate=20 November 2010}}</ref> == In media and the arts == {{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | image1 = JosephineBakerBurlesque crop.JPG | width1 = 160 | caption1 = [[Josephine Baker]] topless (1927) | image2 = The Ladybirds opptrer i Bergen The Ladybirds performing in Bergen, Norway (1968) (6).jpg | width2 = 235 | caption2 = [[:es:The Ladybirds#The Ladybirds (Dinamarca)|The Ladybirds]] performing in [[Bergen, Norway]] (1968) | image3 = Nice Tattoo.jpg | width3 = 150 | caption3 = [[Neo-Burlesque]] dancer with [[pasties]] (2007)}} === Entertainment === The French have traditionally been relaxed with nudity and toplessness in entertainment, and dancers and actresses performed topless during the 1910s and beyond in musical theater and cinema. Toplessness in entertainment has survived to this day at the [[Folies Bergère]] and the [[Moulin Rouge]]. Some female groups have also performed topless, such as the two female groups called The Ladybirds (one in San Francisco ([[:es:The Ladybirds#The Ladybirds (Estados Unidos)|es]]) and another in Copenhagen ([[:es:The Ladybirds#The Ladybirds (Dinamarca)|es]])), which performed topless in the late 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.golfcentraldaily.com/2013/05/pics-ladybirds-ray-floyds-topless-band.html|title=Pics: The Ladybirds. Ray Floyds Topless 60's Girl Band|first=Donal|last=Hugues|date=|work=golfcentraldaily.com|accessdate=30 November 2016}}</ref> Women are also at times employed in adult-only venues to perform or pose topless in forms of commercial erotic entertainment. Such venues can range from downmarket [[strip clubs]] and topless bars to upmarket [[cabarets]], such as the Moulin Rouge. Topless entertainment may also include competitions such as [[wet T-shirt contest]]s, especially during [[Spring break]] in the United States, in which women display their breasts through translucent wet fabric—and may end up removing their T-shirts in front of the audience. Female toplessness has also become somewhat common during [[Mardi Gras]] in New Orleans<ref>{{cite web| url=http://blog.nola.com/mardi_gras_faq/index.html |title=Mardi Gras FAQ |accessdate=17 June 2010 |work=The Times-Picayune}}</ref> during which women "flash" (briefly expose) their breasts in return for strings of plastic beads,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/quartermardi.html |title=Mardi Gras New Orleans |accessdate=17 June 2010 |work=The Times-Picayune}}</ref> and at [[Brazilian Carnival|Carnaval]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]], where floats occasionally feature topless women.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ipanema.com/carnival/parade.htm |title=The Samba Parade |accessdate=17 June 2010 |publisher=Ipacom travel}}</ref> [[Pasties]] are sometimes worn by [[Stripper|erotic dancers]] or [[burlesque]] entertainers to give the impression of toplessness while avoiding prosecution under local [[indecent exposure|public indecency]] laws which prohibit exposure of the nipple and areola. To stay within the law, liquid latex pasties may be used.<ref name="bikiniscience">{{cite web | url = http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/soutien-gorge_SS/pasties_S/pasties.html | title = Pasties | work = Bikini Science | date = | accessdate = 2009-04-11 | deadurl = yes | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090403164956/http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/soutien-gorge_SS/pasties_S/pasties.html | archivedate = 3 April 2009 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> Pasties may be worn by [[neo-burlesque]] performers and are also found in night clubs, fetish parties and parades, such as [[Pride Parade]]s. [[File:Michele Merkin 1.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Michele Merkin]] in a 2006 glamour shoot, using a "[[handbra]]"]] === Media and photography === In many Western cultures today, images of topless women are regularly featured in magazines, calendars, and other print media, often covering their breasts in a "[[handbra]]", that is, the use of the woman's hands or arms to cover their breasts, especially the nipples and [[areola]]e. In the United Kingdom, following a tradition established by the British newspaper ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' in 1970, several mainstream tabloid newspapers feature topless female models on their third page, known as ''[[Page 3]]'' girls. The subject of [[glamour photography]] is often a topless woman. Although 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.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} Photographers such as [[Jock Sturges]] and [[Bill Henson]], whose work regularly depicts topless and naked adolescent girls, have been prosecuted or been embroiled in controversy because of these images.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23745396-2702,00.html |title=PM says Henson photos have no artistic merit |work=The Australian|first=Matthew|last=Westwood|date=23 May 2008|accessdate=14 January 2010}}</ref> Even insinuated toplessness by minors can cause controversy.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} [[File:Era lui, sì, sì! (1951).jpg|thumb|325px|left|[[Sophia Loren]] (center) in the French release of the Italian film ''[[Era lui... sì! sì!]]'' (1951) in which the [[odalisque]]s were topless]] === Cinema === {{see also|Nudity in film}} In the 1920s, nudity, including toplessness, was featured in some Hollywood [[silent film]]s as well as on the stage, though not without objections from various groups, and several jurisdictions in the United States and elsewhere set up film censorship boards to censor films. In the 1930s, the [[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] brought an end in Hollywood films to nudity in all its forms. To remain within the censors' guidelines or community standards of decency and modesty, breasts of actresses in an otherwise topless scene would be covered, especially the nipples and areolae, with their hands (using a "[[handbra]]" stance), arms, towel, pasties, some other object, or the angle of the body in relation to the camera. Film making in other centres were not subject to the Hays Code, but were subject to various national censorship regimes. The Italian film ''[[Era lui... sì! sì!]]'' (1951), for example, also had a French version which included topless actresses in the harem scene. This version was especially made for the French market, where censorship was less rigorous than in Italy.<ref>{{cite book|language=it |first1=Stefano|last1=Masi|first2=Enrico|last2=Lancia|title=Sophia Loren|pages=28-29|place=|editor=Gremese Editor |year=2001|date=|pages total=|isbn=9788884400383|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B5oyUHzb-vQC&pg=PA1929|accessdate=2017-01-24}}</ref> Social and official attitudes to toplessness and nudity had eased by the 1960s and the Hays Code came under repeated challenge. For example, in ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'' (1962) all Tahitian girls were topless and there was a long native dance scene, though the topless female dancers' breasts were covered by [[Lei (garland)|leis]]. The historical epic film ''[[Hawaii (1966 film)|Hawaii]]'' (1966) also featured scenes of topless native girls, their breasts being strategically covered by leis. In 1968 the Hays Code was replaced by the [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|MPAA film rating system]]. Women now appear topless in mainstream cinema, although usually somewhat briefly. Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] argued that there was a double standard in relation to the toplessness of "native" women. He wrote that the producers of ''[[Rapa-Nui (film)|Rapa-Nui]]'' (1994), which featured repeated scenes of bare-breasted native women, got away with ongoing toplessness because of the women's brown skin: {{quote|''Rapa Nui'' slips through the ''National Geographic'' Loophole. This is the Hollywood convention which teaches us that brown breasts are not as sinful as white ones, and so while it may be evil to gaze upon a blond ''Playboy'' centerfold and feel lust in our hearts, it is educational to watch Polynesian maidens frolicking topless in the surf. This isn't sex; it's geography.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19940930/REVIEWS/409300301/1023|title=Rapa Nui |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=30 September 1994 |work=[[Chicago Sun Times]]|accessdate=6 October 2009}}</ref>}} Besides those actresses who have appeared nude or partially nude in films, it has also become increasingly common for actresses to appear topless in movies. Notable actresses who have appeared topless include <!-- DO NOT ADD ACTRESS WITHOUT CONSENSUS ON TALK PAGE. THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST. -->[[Jane Fonda]] (''[[Coming Home (1978 film)|Coming Home]]'', 1978), [[Julie Andrews]] (''[[S.O.B. (film)|S.O.B.]]'', 1981), [[Kate Winslet]] (''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'', 1997), [[Gwyneth Paltrow]] (''[[Shakespeare in Love]]'', 1998), [[Reese Witherspoon]] (''[[Twilight (1998 film)|Twilight]]'', 1998), [[Rene Russo]] (''[[The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)|The Thomas Crown Affair]]'', 1999), [[Katie Holmes]] (''[[The Gift (2000 film)|The Gift]]'', 2000), and [[Halle Berry]] (''[[Swordfish (film)|Swordfish]]'', 2001).<!-- DO NOT ADD ACTRESS WITHOUT CONSENSUS ON TALK PAGE. THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST. --> In an interview in March 2007, Halle Berry said that her toplessness in ''Swordfish'' was "gratuitous" to the movie, but that she needed to do the scene to get over her fear of nudity, and that it was the best thing she did for her career. Having overcome her inhibitions, she went on to a role in ''[[Monster's Ball]]'', which included a nude scene and which won her an [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Oscar for Best Actress]].<ref>Jam Showbiz Movies, 22 March 2007: [http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/B/Berry_Halle/2007/03/22/3804325.html Halle Berry bares her soul]</ref> Some actresses prefer not to expose their breasts and use a [[body double]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Harris | first = Richard Jackson | title = A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication | work=Lea's Communication Series | publisher=[[Lawrence Erlbaum]] | date = 1 April 1999 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=k9aK_znZpfsC&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44 | quote = ... the use of body doubles, even for attractive stars, is common. | isbn = 0-8058-3088-X | accessdate =11 September 2009}}</ref> Pasties were and may still be worn by some actresses while filming an otherwise apparently topless or nude scene, which is not caught by the camera angle. === Topless dancing === On 12 June 1964, the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' featured a woman wearing a monokini with her exposed breasts on its first page.<ref name=Allyn>David Smith Allyn, ''Make love, not war'', pages 23–29, Taylor & Francis, 2001, {{ISBN|0-415-92942-3}}</ref> Two weeks later on 22 June 1964, [[Carol Doda]] started dancing topless wearing a monokini (designed by [[Rudi Gernreich]]) at the [[Condor Club]] in [[San Francisco]]'s [[North Beach, San Francisco|North Beach]] district. Her debut as a topless dancer was featured in ''[[Playboy]]'' magazine in April 1965. Doda was the first modern topless dancer in the United States,<ref name=Allyn/>{{rp|25}} renewing the [[burlesque]] era of the early 20th Century in the U.S. [[Mayor of San Francisco|San Francisco Mayor]] [[John F. Shelley|John Shelley]] said, "topless is at the bottom of porn."<ref name=shteir/> Within a few days, women were baring their breasts in many of the clubs lining San Francisco's Broadway St., ushering in the era of the [[Strip club|topless bar]].<ref name=shteir>{{cite book |first=Rachel|last=Shteir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPwVfOUWAe0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show |pages=318–321|publisher=East Pakistan Police Co-operative Society|year=1964|isbn=0-19-512750-1}}</ref> San Francisco public officials tolerated the topless bars until 22 April 1965, when the [[San Francisco Police Department]] arrested Doda on indecency charges. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the police department, calling for release of both Doda and free speech activist [[Mario Savio]], held in the same station.<ref name=shteir/> Doda rapidly became a symbol of sexual freedom, while topless restaurants, shoeshine parlors, ice-cream stands and girl bands proliferated in San Francisco and elsewhere. Journalist [[Earl Wilson (columnist)|Earl Wilson]] wrote in his syndicated column, "Are we ready for girls in topless gowns? Heck, we may not even notice them." English designers created topless evening gowns inspired by the idea.<ref name=Allyn/> The ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' published a real estate advertisement that promised "bare top swimsuits are possible here".<ref name=shteir/> === The arts === The artifacts in the [[Ancient Siam]] open-air museum near [[Bangkok]] depict Thai women topless. The Ramakien Mural representing the epic lives of the [[Thai people]] found at the [[Wat Phra Kaew|Wat Phra Kaew Temple]] depict women wearing only a skirt in public.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} As a result of the [[Renaissance]], in many European societies artists were strongly influenced by [[Ancient Greece|classical Greek]] styles and culture.<ref name="Nigel Llewellyn 1660"/> As a result, images of nude and semi-nude subjects in many forms proliferated in art and sculpture.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} During the Victorian era, French Orientalist painters such as [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]] presented an idealized depiction of female toplessness in Muslim harem baths,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/soutien-gorge_SS/topless_S/topless.html|title=Toplessness defined|publisher=Bikini Science|accessdate=14 January 2010|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108023628/http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/soutien-gorge_SS/topless_S/topless.html|archivedate=8 January 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref> while [[Eugène Delacroix]], a French [[romanticism|romantic]] artist, invoked images of liberty as a topless woman. <gallery class="center" widths="225px" heights="225px"> File:Piero di Cosimo - Portrait de femme dit de Simonetta Vespucci - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci (Piero di Cosimo)|''Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci'']]<br>(c.1480)<br>by [[Piero di Cosimo]] Image:Wildweibchen mit Einhorn.jpg|''Wild Women with Unicorn,''<br>c. 1500–1510 File:1520 Veneto Idealbildnis einer Kurtisane als Flora anagoria.JPG|''Portrait of a Woman''<br>by [[Bartolomeo Veneto]],<br>(traditionally assumed to be [[Lucrezia Borgia]]) Image:Eugène Delacroix - La liberté guidant le peuple.jpg|''[[Liberty Leading the People]]''<br>(1830)<br>by [[Eugène Delacroix]] Image:Manet, Edouard - Blonde Woman with Bare Breasts.jpg|''Blonde Woman with Bare Breasts''<br>(c.1878)<br>by [[Édouard Manet]] File:Gaston Casimir Saint-Pierre - Diana the Huntress.jpg|''Diana the Huntress''<br>by [[:fr:Gaston Casimir Saint-Pierre|Gaston Casimir Saint-Pierre]] Image:HaremPool.jpg|''Harem Pool''<br>by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]] File:Szathmáry-Pap Károly - Cigánylány 1870 körül.jpg|''Portrait of a Gipsy Maiden''<br>(1870)<br>by [[Carol Szathmari]] </gallery> == In cults and religion == [[File:Snake Goddess Crete 1600BC.jpg|thumb|187px|A "[[Snake Goddess]]" statuette of ancient [[Minoan Civilization]], c. 1600 BC.]] In European pre-historic societies, sculptures of female figures with pronounced or highly exaggerated breasts were common. A typical example is the so-called [[Venus of Willendorf]], one of many [[Venus figurines]] from the [[Paleolithic]] era with ample hips and bosom. Artifacts such as bowls, rock carvings and sacred statues with breasts have been recorded from 15,000 BC up to late antiquity all across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Many female deities representing love and fertility were associated with breasts and breast milk. Figures of the Phoenician goddess [[Astarte]] were represented as pillars studded with breasts. [[Isis]], an Egyptian goddess who represented, among many other things, ideal motherhood, was often portrayed as suckling [[pharaohs]], thereby confirming their divine status as rulers. Even certain male deities representing regeneration and fertility were occasionally depicted with breast-like appendices, such as the river god [[Hapy]] who was considered to be responsible for the annual overflowing of the [[Nile]]. Female breasts were also prominent in the [[Minoan civilization]] in the form of the famous [[Snake Goddess]] statuettes.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} In [[Ancient Greece]] there were several cults worshiping the "Kourotrophos", the suckling mother, represented by goddesses such as [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], [[Hera]] and [[Artemis]]. The worship of deities symbolized by the female breast in Greece became less common during the first millennium. The popular adoration of female goddesses decreased significantly during the rise of the Greek city states, a legacy which was passed on to the later [[Roman Empire]].<ref>Yalom (1998) pp. 9–16; see Eva Keuls (1993), ''Reign of the Phallus: Sexual Politics in Ancient Athens'' for a detailed study of male-dominant rule in ancient Greece.</ref> During the middle of the first millennium BC, Greek culture experienced a gradual change in the perception of female breasts. Women in art were covered in clothing from the neck down, including female goddesses like [[Athena]], the patron of Athens who represented heroic endeavor. There were exceptions: [[Aphrodite]], the goddess of love, was more frequently portrayed fully nude, though in postures that were intended to portray shyness or modesty, a portrayal that has been compared to modern [[pin-up]]s by historian [[Marilyn Yalom]].<ref>Yalom (1998), p. 18.</ref> Although nude men were depicted standing upright, most depictions of female nudity in Greek art occurred "usually with drapery near at hand and with a forward-bending, self-protecting posture".<ref>Hollander (1993), p. 6.</ref> A popular legend at the time was of the [[Amazons]], a tribe of fierce female warriors who socialized with men only for procreation and even removed one breast to become better warriors. The legend was a popular motif in art during Greek and Roman antiquity and served as an antithetical cautionary tale. ==Barechestedness== Barechestedness is the state of a man wearing no clothes above the waist, exposing the upper torso. Bare male chests are generally considered acceptable at beaches, swimming pools and sunbathing areas. However, some stores and restaurants have a "no shirt, no service" rule to prevent barechested men from coming inside. While going barechested at outdoor activities may be acceptable, it is taboo at office workplaces, churches and other settings. In most societies, barechestedness is much more common than toplessness, as exposure of the male pectoral muscles is often considered to be far less taboo than of the female breasts, despite some considering them equally erogenous. Male barechestedness is often due to practical reasons such as heat, or the ability to move the body without being restricted by an upper body garment. In several sports it is encouraged or even obligatory to be barechested. Barechestedness may also be used as a display of power, or to draw attention to oneself, especially if the upper body muscles are well-developed. == See also == {{portal|Nudity|Fashion}} {{col-begin}}{{col-break}} * [[Décolletage]] * [[FEMEN]] * [[Free the Nipple (campaign)|Free the Nipple]] * [[Gender equality]] * [[Go Topless Day]] * [[Naturism]] {{col-break|gap=8em}} * [[Nipple piercing]] * [[Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society]] * [[Pasties]] * [[Sex-positive feminism]] * [[Topfreedom]] * [[Women's Equality Day]] {{col-end}} == References == {{reflist|30em}} == External links == {{Commons category|female toplessness}} * [http://www.historytoday.com/angela-jones/revealing-mary "Revealing Mary"] essay in ''History Today'' on popular topless depictions of [[Mary II of England|Queen Mary II]] <!--spacing--> {{nudity|state=collapsed}} [[Category:Breast]] [[Category:Nudity]] [[Category:Sex laws]] [[Category:Thorax (human anatomy)]]'