GoTopless : News http://www.gotopless.org/ en-gb Copyright 2011 GoTopless Inc. info@nospam.com (admin) info@nospam.com (admin) Thu, 17 May 2012 02:48:06 -0500 Thu, 17 May 2012 02:48:06 -0500 http://backend.userland.com/rss e107 (http://e107.org) hourly 1 60 GoTopless : News http://gotopless.org/e107_images/gotopless.png http://www.gotopless.org/ 88 31 Female nipple banned at US art festivals! http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.26.1
What surprised them was hearing that the art festival does not allow any female nipple shown on any art pieces, including the classical masterpieces (the artwork must be altered to comply with the censorship!) to allow the event to remain "family friendly". Have we lost our minds??? During the Renaissance, nipples were family friendly, church friendly... and in the 21st century they have suddenly lost their noble status, at least in America since this female nipple banning rule seems to apply to all Art festivals around the country.

This nipple censorship at festivals is not only ridiculous, it is unconstitutional since the nipple of men can be freely featured in art pieces at Art festivals. Artists must stand up for their right! Visual artists ARE WELCOME to join our festivities on Go-Topless Day Aug 26, 2012 and display the female nipple on their art pieces. It is their constitutional right!

No matter how much we kick and scream and use children to falsely justify our inner repression, our constitution will always have the last word over "morality".

Please note that the Art Piece displayed is called Time Unveiling Truth by Tiepolo 1743.

This Art piece carries a controversy in Italy because in 2008, the staff of Italian President, Silvio Berlusconi, covered the nipple of the women portrayed in the piece. Note that the woman represents Truth... the naked Truth?. Gotopless loves this symbol all around!

Buzzle.com writes the following about the incident in 8/3/08: "So it was with something approaching incredulity that it emerged yesterday that Berlusconi's staff had perpetrated an act of censorship worthy of the Victorians who fitted skirts to table legs. Over the table at which Berlusconi holds press conferences in Palazzo Chigi, Italy's equivalent of No 10 Downing Street, hangs a huge copy of a painting by the 18th-century Venetian master Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. It was selected by Berlusconi himself. Slap in the middle of the painting is a neat, round female breast. During press conferences, as a commentator writing for the daily La Stampa noted, the breast floats above the prime minister's head "like a halo". This, it was felt, was too much for the sensibilities of a nation that - long before Berlusconi came along - had been feasting its eyes on half-naked Magdalenes and Minervas, not to mention the blatantly erotic statuary of Antonio Canova. Tiepolo's breast, with attendant nipple, had to go."

]]> Misc admin Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:45:04 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.26.1 French Police arrests GoTopless women about to exercise their topless right http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.58.1
The report you are about to read will seem surreal. It relates a case of blatant French police repression that occurred just before a GoTopless March in Paris on Saturday Aug. 27, 2011. Such repressive treatment may be expected of a dictatorship . But in France? The cradle of Democracy? How could the French police arrest pacific French citizens during a peaceful march authorized by the city's Prefect and detain them for no given reasons ? Furthermore, why was the arrest focused on female citizens only when the march counted both male and female fully clothed individuals?

On Saturday Aug 27, the GoTopless Parisian group staged a march to encourage the women of the French Capital to exercise their topless right since Paris, like NYC or Toronto is top free.

Some members of the group had recently attended an annual Raelian Happiness Academy seminar in Slovenia where Spiritual leader Rael, founder of Gotopless.org had recommended that a Gotopless event take place in Paris. Though France holds a reputation for topless freedom throughout the world, their double standard laws on gender topless equality had to be exposed.

Indeed, appearances can be very misleading as this story will show.

The leaders of Gotopless Paris had met with the Prefect of the city to ask an authorization for the march two weeks prior to the event as it is required. Together with the Prefect, they also discussed the itinerary the march would follow. When the group leader mentioned to the Prefect that the women would be topless in accordance with the topless law in effect in the city, the Prefect responded that the women maybe arrested for "sexual provocation". The GoTopless leaders added « what if they cover their nipples? » The Prefect warned them that they may be arrested anyway. The Prefect went on requesting them to sign a document swearing that no woman would be topless during the march to promote topless gender equality. The GoTopless leaders refused.

The difference between French police and the US Or Canadian Police during the GoTopless protests is notable. In ALL of the 14 North American cities that participated on Aug 21 and Aug 27, 11, the US and Canadian police duly respected and protected the participants who were exercising their unalienable constitutional right (the same right exists for Europeans in the European Constitution)

The French police, on the other hand, grossly violated human rights and must be brought to justice

The following report was written on Aug 28, 2011 by Lisiane Fricotté, Public Liberty and Human Rights Jurist, GoTopless.org spokesperson for the Paris event (she was one of the 6 GoTopless women arrested)

Yesterday, at 3PM, we were 6 women and 3 men(and many passerby’s), waiting for the rain to stop pouring at the bottom the stairs of the metro station near the St.Michel Fountain in Paris, France. We were getting ready to start the GoTopless March. One of the participating groups, made up of 6 women and 3 men was suddenly surrounded by the police without any given reason. The only thing the police said was : « our Chief Officer is coming and will tell you what this is about ». The women were still covered on top and so were the men.

The obvious goal seemed to simply prevent us from demonstrating and to join the rest of the group that the police surrounded as well.

When the Police Chief arrived, Marilyne attempted to explain that we had an authorization but it did not make a difference.

They never gave us a reason for surrounding us. They took all of our ID’s (men and women). It was impossible to cross the police barrier made of 13 police officers plus a few in civilian clothing). Yaelle tried to break through the police barrier but was pushed back against the wall.

They made us wait like that for 45 minutes, until a police officer took the women one by one inside the "meat wagon". The men were allowed to join the rest of the group.

We felt deep inside us the extent to which our action was important and revolutionary.

We began to prepare ourselves for a possible police questioning even if we thought that the only goal was to hold us long enough so we could not be in the march.

After a touristic tour aboard the "meat wagon", with some stops, we were offered a visit of the 5th District police station. We walked in, one by one and sat on the police station's benches, waiting. We were joyful, so happy that our action may awaken other minds.

Then one by one, we met with a judiciary police officer. It took a long time. When one of the women asked why she had been arrested, for what crime, the police officer answered: "you are going to tell me!" When another woman asked the police officer interrogating her to state what her rights were, he answered: "what rights? You have no rights!"

And finally when my turn came, the officer decided to give me back my ID without asking me any questions. At that point, I asked to make a plea, stating that only the women had been brought to the police station, that no reason had been given, and that our citizen’s freedom had been taken away since 3PM.

At 5PM, we were free (at least, we thought so) and were ready to join the rest of the group to finish the march that was due to end at 5 :30PM.

But in fact, we were escorted by 2 women police officers, and then we were surrounded again!!! The goal was to prevent us from joining the group too fast and maybe to prevent us from marching in the street in front of Notre Dame’s Cathedral a major point of concern raised by the Prefect during our appointment with him 2 weeks prior to request the authorization.

We were finally able to join our brothers again but the legal time for the march had lapsed.

Why was such an extensive police force deployed for this? As many as 13 police officers escorted 6 peaceful women (and to this, we must add the officers who followed our brothers during the march and those dressed in civilian clothing.) To what length the French Government went to prevent us from exercising our gender equality right to be topless! As in the US and Canada, the police should have been there to protect us.

And the women, let’s not forget, were arrested before they even took off their tops !

The 6 women are suing for discrimination. The suit has been brought to the French Justice Department in charge of discrimination cases. GoTopless, based in the United States is also looking at an international legal recourse.

Communique de presse:

6 femmes arretees a Paris alors qu'elles s'appretaient a exercer leur droit d'etre topless.


Ce samedi 27 août, 6 femmes militantes qui s'appretaient a rejoindre la marche GoTopless prévues au centre de Paris, ont été encerclées par la police, puis arrêtées et conduites au commissariat ou elles ont ete detenues plusieurs heures sans qu'aucune expliquation ne leur soit donnee.

L'association GoTopless.org, basée aux Etats-Unis, organisait pour la premiere fois a Paris, une marche de sensibilisation afin que les femmes usent de leur droit constitutionnel à être « topless » en public. “Ce droit qui apparait evident pour les hommes est extremement conteste pour les femmes, comme on l'a constate a Paris ce samedi alors que 6 d'entre nous se sont vues arretees alors qu'elles etaient couvertes et n'avaient pas encore rejoint la marche” explique Clémence Linard, coordinatrice de l'organisation GoToples.org en Europe. “

La discrimination evidente pratiquee par les autorites prefectorale et policiere envers les femmes comme le montre cet evenement est inacceptable et en totale opposition à la Constitution française et aux Droits de l'Homme. Des membres de l'association Gotopless ont decide de porter plainte" .

Lisiane Fricotté, juriste des Droits de l'Homme et libertés publiques, et porte parole de GoTopless.org lors de l'événement à Paris faisait partie du groupe de femmes arretees et detenues par la police et rappelle les faits: "Ce samedi, à 15h, près de la Place St-Michel à Paris, un groupe composé de 6 femmes et 3 hommes a été subitement encerclé par des policiers, leur ordonnant de ne plus circuler. Il y avait plus de policiers que de personnes encerclées.
Apres 45 minutes d'encerclement, la police refusant toujours de donner une explication et raison de cette arrestation, a decide d'emmener les femmes, une à une, dans le fourgon de police, tandis que les hommes pouvaient librement rejoindre la marche GoTopless. Entendues au commissariat, nous n'avons eu aucune explication sur les raisons de cette intervention, alors que nous ne faisions que faire respecter nos droits.
Lorsque l'une d'entre nous a demandé pourquoi elle se trouvait là, pour quel contrôle ou quelle infraction, l'officier a répondu : « c'est vous qui allez me le dire ! ». Lorsqu'une autre a demandé à connaître ses droits au policier qui l’interrogeait, il a répondu : « quels droits ? Vous n’avez pas de droits ! ».
“Ce policier ne pouvait pas mieux decrire la situation, les femmes n'ont pas de droits car, meme s'il n'existe pas de loi qui interdit aux femmes d'etre seins nus, la morale judeo chretienne qui semble etre au dessus des lois, a declare nos seins objets sexuels et le fait de les denuder une exposition sexuelle.” denonce Clemence Linard.

Elle précise que les autorités n’en sont pas restées là et qu'à la sortie du commissariat, les femmes qui se sont mises en marche pour rejoindre le groupe ont de nouveau été encerclées et elles ont dû de nouveau rester immobilisées, sans raison.

"Autre point montrant la volonté d’interdire aux femmes de participer à cette marche : sur les trois organisateurs de cette marche, officiellement déclarés à la Préfecture, seule la femme a été arrêtée ! C’est le règne de l’arbitraire le plus absolu et de la discrimination poussée à son paroxysme, dès lors que le tabou de la nudité est pointé." poursuit Lisiane Fricotté.

Interviewée suite à son arrestation, samedi, la juriste a commenté: «Cette formule d'encerclement et de detention est la nouvelle manière d'interdire les manifestations à Paris, sans dire ouvertement qu'il s'agit d'une interdiction de manifester. Quel motif pouvait-il d’ailleurs être invoqué, alors qu’en amont, les démarches administratives d’autorisation à manifester avaient été faites ? L’absence d’autorisation ? Cela n’a aucun sens puisque les hommes ont pu suivre le parcours en toute liberté ? Comment une autorisation peut être valable pour les hommes et non valable pour les femmes ? C’est la parfaite illustration de l’état des libertés en France et de la discrimination anti constitutionnelle au regard du principe d’égalité des sexes »

Rael, leader du Mouvement Raelien et initiateur de l'association Gotopless rappelait cet ete lors de l'Universite du Bonheur qu'il conduit devant des centaines de Francais chaque annee, que Paris etait probablement tres en retard sur New York ou il est possible maintenant d'etre seins nus.

L'association Gotopless organise en effet depuis 4 ans, des marches topless dans de nombreuses villes des Etats Unis sans aucun probleme, sous la protection de la police qui veille a ce que leurs marches se deroulent sans encombres.

“ Alors que les Francais aiment se moquer de la pudibonderie americaine, la France n'est meme pas capable de parler de seins ou meme de demander a 'cacher ce sein que je ne saurais voir', au lieu de cela, elle use des pratiques totalitaires en privant des femmes de liberte, sans expliquation, pendant plusieurs heures pour s'assurer qu'elles ne devoilent rien et ne derangent pas la morale et l'ordre etabli” commente Clémence Linard.

D'apres l'une des membres de Gotopless qui avait fait les demarches d'autorisation aupres de la prefecture, le souci emis par la prefecture venait du fait que la marche allait passer dans le quartier de Notre Dame. “Pour preserver la sensibilite chretienne, le prefet enferme des femmes pendant plusieurs heures! Voila qui est digne de la pire dictature religieuse! D'autant plus que ces femmes ont été arrêtées alors qu’elles n’étaient pas encore "topless".
Autrement dit, ces 6 femmes ont ete arretees pour 'intention de non-delit'.

Lisiane Fricotté a décidé de porter plainte auprès du Défenseur des droits, qui a pour mission de lutter contre les discriminations et de défendre l’égalité.
D’autres actions juridiques sont egalement prevues par les membres de l'association Gotopless afin de dénoncer ces faits et agissements de la France devant les instances internationales.





]]> Misc nadine Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:48:14 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.58.1 2011 GoTopless News Coverage http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.57.1
  • Thousands join GoTopless protest in Asheville, NC - Raelianews.org
  • DSS rejects child abuse claims at Asheville topless rally - Citizen Times, Asheville, NC
  • Guest columnist: Asheville topless rally exposes threats from breasts - Citizen Times, Asheville, NC
  • Complaint about GoTopless rally justifies GoTopless rally - Mountain Express, NC
  • Topless protestors march in Toronto - CTV Toronto (video)
  • Topless protest in T.O. - Toronto Sun
  • Where and when you can go topless in Ontario, and what it has to do with UFOs - National Post, Canada
  • Women Should Have Right to Go Topless in Public - CafeMom, The Stir
  • Equal Topless Rights For All: Protesters Take Off Their Tops - Naxaf
  • America is the ‘land of the free’ but Canadians can go topless - Democracy Soup
  • Do you let your kids see you naked? - Cafe Mom
  • Grin and Bare It - KNBC Los Angeles
  • National Go Topless Day 2011 in Venice Beach, CA - Video Mumble About
  • National Go Topless Day Invades Canada Sunday, August 28, 2011 - Gather
  • Topless protest planned Sunday in T.O. - The Toronto Sun, Canada
  • Group denied permit to march topless - The Star, Toronto Canada
  • Police Accused at GoTopless Event - Fox Nation
  • Top Stories - Topless Rally
    Complaint     - ABC News 13 Western North Carolina
  • Go Topless Asheville - Rant - Hilarious video!
  • Nakedness, Morality, and Religion - Is Nakedness Evil? - Squidoo
  • Snapshot: GoTopless Day - GW Hatchet, Washington, DC
  • Women in US go bare-chested for 'Go Topless Day' - Times of India
  • Manifestantes demandan poder hacer 'topless' en EE UU - 20 Minutos, Spain
  • National GoTopless Day Protest at the Capital Reflecting Pool Metromix, Washington DC
  • Go Topless Day- women rally to decriminalize baring-chests wherever permissible for men - CNN iReport
  • Was Today’s Earthquake Another Boobquake? - Gawker
  • Couple Holds Topless Protest In Waikiki - KITV-Hawaii
  • Video from the GoTopless rally - Mountain Xpress Asheville, NC
  • Protesters bare beliefs in downtown Chico - Oroville MR, Chico, CA
  • Raelians Declares Aug. 21 'Go Topless Day,' But Men Must Wear Brassieres (VIDEO) - Huffington Post
  • Topless protest set for Asheville - Citizen Times
  • Online Dish: National Go Topless Day! This Sunday, August 21st, women across the nation will bring their "girls" out for equal rights. - FOX26
  • Just What It Sounds Like: 'Topless Day' Returns To Southern California On August 21 - LAist
  • GoTopless.org Is Possibly The Most Awesome Website EVER! - KFMX FM
  • Topless Protest To Be Held In Middle Of Air And Water Show - CBS Chicago
  • Topless Women
  • Protests demand equal topless rights - UPI
  • Women strip for 'Go Topless Day' - The Sun, UK



    • ]]>     Misc admin Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:01:00 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.57.1     Press release: GoTopless Aug 21 is National GoTopless Day http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.44.1 Aug. 21 is ‘National GoTopless Day!’

    With the slogan, “Topless equal rights for all or none,” GoTopless.org is summoning men across America to cover their chests on Aug. 21 in the name of equal rights.

    On that day, for the fourth consecutive year, the U.S.-based organization will stage a national GoTopless Day protest to proclaim a woman’s constitutional right to go bare-chested in public. During the protest, while participating women go bare, male participants will cover their chests with bikini tops or bras to proclaim equal rights for both genders.

    Sound ridiculous?

    “It’s no more ridiculous than women having to wear tops at all time in this double-standard, topless battle that’s being waged in public and in the courts,” said Nadine Gary, president of GoTopless.org.

    For Rael, spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement and founder of GoTopless.org, the equation is simple: "As long as men can go topless, either women should have the same constitutional right or men should also be forced to wear something that hides their chests.”

    “We will force men to legally cover up if women can’t go bare,” agreed Gary, who is also a Raelian priestess. “After 4 years, our national protests are starting to bear fruit, for a growing number of women across the country are reaching out to us. They’re beginning to feel empowered by our demonstrations and the constitutional message we bring.”

    Gary noted that women in more and more U.S. cities are starting to exercise their constitutional topless right. New York City is a prime example, but smaller cities are also joining in, she said.

    “On the legal side, we’re happy to report that Madison, WI just passed a city ordinance in favor of topless rights after several topless women were arrested during World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR). But our larger goal is to bring about legal change at the national level. As part of our national topless march in Washington, D.C., next year, we will submit petitions with thousands of signatures to President Obama.”

    Gary said a shift of mindset concerning topless rights is under way across North America.

    “Women are rejecting shameful, puritanical values about their bodies, nudity and breasts,” she said, adding that such sentiments have recently been echoed in other social protests, including “Slutwalk,” which GoTopless.org fully embraces.

    For the Raelian Movement that sponsors GoTopless.org, nudity has always been a non-issue.
    The Raelian philosophy states that life on Earth was the result of scientific creation by the Elohim, an advanced, extraterrestrial human civilization mistaken for gods in the Bible.
    “They created us in their image very scientifically, through genetic engineering,” Gary said. “So how can the human body, a masterpiece, be perceived with shame?”

    She said GoTopless Day is always held at the end of August to honor Women’s Equality Day, Aug. 26, which commemorates the American passage of women’s right to vote on Aug. 26, 1920.

    GoTopless.org hopes for similar success with the right to go bare-chested, and is planning its events to draw attention to the issue and educate the public.

    “Our GoTopless Aug. 21 events are planned not only for cities where it’s illegal for women to go topless publicly, like Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami and Honolulu; but also for cities where it’s already legal, including New York City, Washington DC, Portland/OR, Austin/TX and Asheville/NC” Gary said.

    ]]>     Misc Ettore Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:57:00 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.44.1     Obama Proclaims Aug 26, 11 Women's Equality Day http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.50.1
    Gotopless proclaims Aug 26 2012, Go Topless Day. People around the country are encouraged to stand up and protest for the Constitutional equal right of women to go topless or to simply encourage women in topless states to exercise their topless right.

    Grand Topless March in Washington DC on GoTopless Day, Aug 26, 2012:

    For the first time in American history, topless women will march in great numbers to our Nation's Capitol and stand up for their right to bare their chest in public.

    If almost one hundred years ago that day, our constitution gave women the equal right to vote on the basis of equal rights, they must give women the right to be topless on the same constitutional basis.

    On Aug 26, 2012, GoTopless will remit thousands of signed petitions for women's constitutional right to go topless in public to the US Governement.
    Gotopless will also request a special audience with President Obama, who, as all US presidents since 1971, must formally acknowledge Women's Equality Day and the inequality struggles American women face at that moment.

    The historical Aug 26, 2012 topless march will end with a topless concert and entertainment (Note that the District of Columbia is top free)

    Presidential Proclamation--Women's Equality Day

    WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY, 2011

    BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

    A PROCLAMATION

    The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution tore down the last formal barrier to women's enfranchisement in our Nation and empowered America's women to have their voices heard in the halls of power. This Amendment became law only after decades of work by committed trailblazers who fought to extend the right to vote to women across America. For the women who fought for this right, voting was not the end of the journey for equality, but the beginning of a new era in the advancement of our Union. These brave and tenacious women challenged our Nation to live up to its founding principles, and their legacy inspires us to reach ever higher in our pursuit of liberty and equality for all.

    Before the Amendment took effect, women had been serving our Nation in the public realm since its earliest days. Even before they gained the right to vote, America's women were leaders of movements, academics, and reformers, and had even served in the Congress. Legions of brave women wrote and lectured for change. They let their feet speak when their voices alone were not enough, protesting and marching for their fundamental right to vote in the face of heckling, jail, and abuse. Their efforts led to enormous progress millions upon millions of women have since used the power of the ballot to help shape our country.

    Today, our Nation's daughters reap the benefits of these courageous pioneers while paving the way for generations of women to come. But work still remains. My Administration is committed to advancing equality for all of our people. This year, the Council of Women and Girls released "Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being," the most comprehensive report in 50 years on the status of women in our country, shedding light on issues women face in employment, crime, health, and family life. We are working to ensure that women-owned businesses can compete in the marketplace, that women are not discriminated against in healthcare, and that we redouble our efforts to bring an end to sexual assault on college campuses.

    On the 91st anniversary of this landmark in civil rights, we continue to uphold the foundational American principles that we are all equal, and that each of us deserves a chance to pursue our dreams. We honor the heroes who have given of themselves to advance the causes of justice, opportunity, and prosperity. As we celebrate the legacy of those who made enormous strides in the last century and before, we renew our commitment to hold true to the dreams for which they fought, and we look forward to a bright future for our Nation's daughters.

    NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2011, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in this country.

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

    BARACK OBAMA
    ]]>     Misc admin Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:43:00 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.50.1     Facebook censors GoTopless statue of liberty http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.43.1
    The incident began when GoTopless president Nadine Gary received an e-mail from Facebook staff on July 18 explaining the reason for the photo’s removal. It read, in part:

    “You uploaded a picture to ‘NEW YORK National Go Topless Day: A March for Women’s Equal Rights! AUG 22" that violates our Terms of Use, and this picture has been removed. Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence, or other violations of the Terms of Use.”

    “Clearly the image wouldn't have been taken down had Grabow also drawn a beard around the statue’s face,” said Brigitte Boisselier, a GoTopless member who is also international spokesperson for the Raelian Movement. (Both organizations were founded by Rael, who launched GoTopless to promote equal topless rights for women.)

    “I’m asking all my friends on Facebook and those who believe in equal rights for men and women to post the picture that was taken down,” Boisselier said. “Some frustrated individuals can’t see a nipple without freaking out or feeling offended, but we’ve already had enough discrimination against the female body. I’m asking all women on Facebook to stand for equal topless rights by posting this photo to their own pages. And I’m also asking all men who can appreciate a female body without feeling guilty to do the same.”

    She added, “The female chest is beautiful and children shouldn't be told it’s sinful to look at it. That sort of repression causes frustration and guilt that they will experience as adults, which is such a ridiculous waste. Bare female breasts are seen on all European beaches at this time of year, but as far as I know, incidence of rape and other sexually violent incidents is lower in Europe than in America.”

    Artist Grabow agrees that Facebook’s action was discriminatory and wrong.

    “Censorship of this painting denies freedom of speech and expression and reflects American prudishness,” she said. “What’s funny is that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French government, and all the French people I know smile when they see this feminized painting. In fact, Europeans just laugh when they learn that Facebook is censoring innocent images like this one. After all, images of nude statues are displayed everywhere else without protest, including in school books.”

    Grabow said she feels especially strongly about Facebook’s censorship because while teaching at an international school in Saudi Arabia last year, she was approached by religious police, who asked her to cover her head with a veil.

    “If I didn't comply, I could have been arrested,” she said. “But of course there was no such dress code for men there. They could wear whatever they wanted to wear.”

    Why does GoTopless.org protest any legal or social inequality related to showing or depicting a man's bare chest compared to that of a woman?

    “If we don't stand up to these petty discriminatory laws, other rights can and will be easily taken away from us by people disturbed by change,” Grabow replied. “And at huge social institutions like Facebook, social dynamics can make even something like the repressive, stupid censorship of my artwork seem politically correct. So let's put up a protest right now, and let Facebook know it’s crossed the line!”

    ]]>     Misc admin Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:56:00 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.43.1     GoTopless supports Slut Walk http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.51.1
    Our plight for Constitutional equality in topless rights, we are encountering "moral" opposition on the basis that women's breasts in public may arouse sexual desire and therefore must be duly outlawed at all cost! (Of course, what part of the woman's body is not likely to arouse sexual desire, suggesting that a burqa would be the best alternative to barrage all sexual provocation!) This legal battle to go topless in public is "naturally" associated with the plight of "sluts" by repressed minds who have a pathologically distorted view of sexuality, of the human body in general.

    And so GoTopless is truly looking forward to joining the Slutwalk Protest where people made peace with the fact that women come with an inherent sensuality ((as men do) that may indeed arouse sexual desire no matter their body shape or type of dress. It is high time to come to terms with the fact that the puritanically branded "slut" is simply a woman, a dignified human being whose sensual human attributes deserve the same praise and respect as her intellectual ones.

    We look forward to your presence at a Slutwalk protest near you, and of course at National GoTopless day on August 21 2011.

    Breast wishes,

    Nadine Gary
    President of GoTopless.org

    ]]>     Misc admin Sun, 03 Jul 2011 12:19:00 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.51.1     Is it sinful for a woman to go topless in public? http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.56.1
    It is important to be clear about the term "god" when addressing this concern.

    The word "god" is found in the original Hebrew bible under the word "Elohim", a plural which literally means "those who came from the sky". Indeed, the Raelian Philosophy explains that a very advanced human civilization, called Elohim, came from another planet a long time ago and created all life on Earth thanks to DNA and genetic engineering.

    The Elohim were mistaken for gods.

    Raelianism explains that the Elohim did create humans "in their image, after their likeness", including, of course, women's breasts!

    The human body (and brain) is their masterpiece and we should not be ashamed of any part of it, on the opposite! (for more info, please visit rael.org)

    This said, GoTopless includes thousands of women and men who have a variety of beliefs and affiliations, united by their common wish to see women's constitutional topless rights prevail regardless of their individual spirituality.
    ]]>     Misc admin Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:13:44 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.56.1     Gotopless Asheville, NC Aug 21, 2011 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.49.1
    North Carolina is a top free state so our Gotopless event will encourage the participating women to exercise their right to be topless in public.

    It should be such an easy thing to do but with centuries of repression upon us, it is sometimes difficult for women not to feel ashamed of exposing their bosom in public.

    With these GoTopless events, we aim to push back further the frontier of indecency which once started at our ankle and wrists when long gowns with long sleeves were in fashion. Back in the 1900's, women would have felt completely ashamed of wearing a 2 piece bikini on the beach.

    Women have certainly come a long way since then. A hundred years later, their challenge is to overcome their shame over exposing their breasts in spite of the harsh criticism of those who would like to maintain the discriminatory status quo: man can show their chest but women can't.

    The pretense is that women's chest is sexually appealing. That is true. However, what part of a woman's body is not? The Taliban have gone to the extreme to barrage every inch of women's sensuality.

    In American, we seem to have come to terms with a more sectioned type of "Burqa" which even our most conservative americans are finding "decent". However, Taliban men would find outrageous the attire that conservative American women find decent and proper.

    One can see that it is simply a matter of programming and upbringing. In Western Europe, after 40 years of women going topless on the beach, no one even looks at topless women sunbathing anymore.

    Men are no longer any sexual obsession over their breasts because it has become a normal sight. It is difficult for many Americans to imagine this in our society but that is how the human brain works. Repression brings obsession. When the repression is gone, the obsession goes away too.

    That is a good thing because repression can also beget violence and the most repressed society are indeed the most violent. So when Maitreya Rael founded GoTopless.org he had women's rights in mind but also the healing of a very troubled humanity.

    Free your breasts, free your mind women and men of Asheville... for Humankind.

    Nadine Gary, president GoTopless.org
    ]]>     Misc admin Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:04:00 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.49.1     GoTopless in Venice Beach, CA Aug 21, 2011 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.29.1 Did you know that in the 1970's Venice Beach was a nude beach? And now... even a woman's nipple has become indecent. That's because our society has become more civilized over time, more family friendly, they tell us. It is difficult to understand how the millions of European children cope on the beach in Europe every summer.

    In this demonstration, we invite the mento show what EQUAL RIGHTS truly means. At this moment on Venice Beach women cannot go topless, so in complete constitutional equality, the men will cover their chest as well. Will men with bikini tops look ridiculous? Maybe, but constitutionally, so do women in this double standard legal topless battle.

    Once everyone is ready and has put plenty of sunblock on their breasts (hint hint...ladies) the march will begin at the beat of the drum circle group.

    Group meets at 2pm on Ocean Front Walk at Navy St. March starts at 2.30 PM towards Windward circle for our speech and entertainment at 3.30 PM.






    ]]>     Misc admin Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:56:20 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.29.1     GoTopless Day in New York City Aug. 21, 2011 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.30.1
    It was so natural to be topless 40 years ago! Every Woodstock attendee will bare witness of this! And now. 40 years later, the law is acknowledging women's right to be topless in public and our mentality has regressed! Today, the big question is: are women's breasts actually family friendly? Are women likely to psychologically traumatize children if they are to show their breasts in public? Today, the debate is over breast feeding in public, and women across the USA feel they are winning a big battle because they are winning the right to breast feed in public. Let us think bigger than that! Let's think constitutional rights! Breasts are decent whether you are nursing or not!

    So, GoTopless.org wants to offer you a little feeling of the freedom of Woodstock on August 21st, let's call it Boobstock! Come and join our parade of freedom, come and join the festivities, enjoy the music, the band, the show... No need for alcohol or drugs... 40 years later, women can enjoy their body in a natural state of mind as the Raelian Philosphy, sponsoring this event, invites people to do.

    Breasts, Peace and Love, NYC!!!

    Time and Location: Central Park - Columbus Circle 59th W. Street (between 8 ave and 5 ave). March starts at noon - Speech at 1pm


    Last year's event was a true success, see article : http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/08/24/2009-08-24_halfnude_women_march_by_park_for_right_to_bare_breasts_ya_cant_top_this.html
    We deplore that the journalist had to end her article with the unnecessary modest, politically correct statement...


    ]]>     Misc admin Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:56:15 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.30.1     GoTopless in Miami Beach Aug 21, 2011 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.32.1
    So this year, we will once again hold our happy, colorful, topless parade to Lincoln instead of the beach, to make a stronger point. Please join us on Lincoln Road and Washington on Sunday August 21st at 4PM. March will head West on Lincoln to Alton and come back down and to stop across from the NEXXT Cafe in the grassy knoll. 6PM . It is a great way to begin hurricane season!
    ]]>     Misc admin Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:55:11 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.32.1     GoTopless in Chicago Aug 21 2011 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.33.1 Noon to 5PM
    North Avenue Beach (walkway overpass-north of Boathouse)
    for a cheerful, colorful, GoTopless march to stand up for Chicago women's right to GoTopless in public. If men can... so can women!
    ]]>     Misc admin Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:54:45 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.33.1     GoTopless in Austin, TX August, 21 2011 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.45.1 Austin is a top-free city as all TX city should be as per the law statute below. However, most cities in TX passed ordinances against this statute to prevent women from going topless. GoTopless women will be in Austin to encourage the women to exercise their topless rights and to denounce these unconstitutional ordinances discriminating against women everywhere else in TX. The only way these ordinances can remain constitutional is if every man in TX is forced to cover his chest in public. Topless rights for ALL or NONE

    Texas Penal Code 21.08 INDECENT EXPOSURE.

    (a) A person commits an offense if he exposes his anus or any part of his genitals with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, and he is reckless about whether another is present who will be offended or alarmed by his act.

    (b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.

    Comment to summarize this law: "Breasts are not genitalia and they are not your anus".
    ]]>     Misc Ettore Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:19:08 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.45.1     Gotopless in San Francisco, Aug 21 2011 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.46.1 12-3PM
    Mission Dolores Park, Dolores St. & 18th St.
    ]]>     Misc Ettore Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:15:58 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.46.1     Asbury Park NJ turns down motion allowing women to gotopless http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.42.1
    [[center]b]Gotopless.org to men of Asbury, N.J:
    ‘Cover your chests in the name of equal rights!’
    [/b][
    NEW YORK, July 12 – After Asbury, N.J.’s Mayor Ed Johnson ruled on Wednesday that women cannot go topless in Asbury Park, the members of Gotopless.org are demanding that men in Asbury Park also be forced to cover their chests.

    Nadine Gary, president of Gotopless.org., called Johnson’s ruling “unconstitutional and discriminatory” and referred to a constitutional argument on topless rights made by Maitreya Rael, founder of Gotopless.org. and leader of the revolutionary International Raelian Movement. Gary is also a Raelian priestess.

    “Maitreya Rael is a fervent defender of women's equal rights and has long denounced the unconstitutional double standard concerning toplessness that prompted him to found Gotopless in 2007,” she explained. “In fact, he says men across America should be legally forced to cover their chests since it’s illegal for women to go topless in most states. If men are allowed to go topless, women must also be allowed to do the same!”

    Gary said Maitreya Rael has explained that life on Earth is the result of scientific creation by a highly advanced extraterrestrial human civilization, which used genetic engineering to create humans in their image.

    “Women's breasts were part of their splendid design and shouldn’t have to be hidden,” Gary said. “Mayor Johnson's ruling is discriminatory and must be overturned, along with a city ordinance passed in January in Ashland, Ore., concerning this same issue. The excuse that families and children may be uncomfortable around topless women mustn’t be considered. That same excuse was used by defenders of the segregation laws 50 years ago, but those laws were abolished nevertheless. Thankfully, the U.S. Constitution isn’t swayed by racism or Puritanism for the benefit of families and children!"

    Gary said Gotopless.org will stage topless demonstrations across the nation on Sun., Aug 22, including in Asbury, N.J., “to denounce this gross nationwide discrimination.” She added that all men who participate in the demonstrations will be asked “to stand up for topless equal rights by wearing something that hides their chests.”

    “New Jersey is the birthplace of Women's Equal Rights because it’s where Alice Paul began her fight for women’s voting rights 90 years ago,” Gary added. “Our Gotopless protest is therefore being held Aug 22 in honor of Women’s Equality Day.” She explained that although the precise anniversary is Aug. 26, it falls on a weekday. “The rallies will take place on the preceding Sunday so more people can participate,” she said.

    The Coaster article July 22, 2010
    Asbury Park just can’t shake the topless sunbathing debate.
    GoTopless, a U.S. organization that claims women have the same constitutional rights to barechestedness as men (gotopless.org, Not Safe For Work), is planning a “topless demonstration” in the city on August 22. The demonstration would coincide with National Go-Topless Day, an event GoTopless has organized for the last three years. This year’s event will see topless women (and covered men) march through cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Columbus, Denver and now Asbury Park.
    “What the city council has done isn’t constitutional and someone has to stand up to it,” said Nadine Gary, President of GoTopless.org. Recently the Asbury Park city council made it clear they would not consider a topless optional beach in the city.
    According to Rael, spiritual leader and founder of gotopless.org, "as long as men can be topless, constitutionally women should have the same right, or men should also be forced to wear something hiding their chest."
    The organization is asking men to participate in the August demonstration as well by covering their breasts with bikini tops. Their is also a link on the organization’s website for Nipsies, the official handmade latex nipple pasties of National Go-Topless Day. In order to avoid arrest for indecency, women who demonstrate topless must cover their nipples.
    “There are some women in the movement who would like to be in the march but don’t want to risk being arrested, so they cover their nipples with these Nipsies,” said Gary.
    “And how ridiculous because they look just like nipples. It just shows you how absurd the law is.”
    Gary said the organization is busy looking for a lawyer to represent and defend marchers if need be.
    In the past, there have been some arrests, she said. A topless woman was arrested in New York last year on indecency charges and held for 12 hours. She later won a lawsuit against the city, which allows for female toplessness in public.
    “This is a shame,” Gary said of Asbury Park’s decision not to allow a topless sunbathing option. “Especially in a symbolic state like New Jersey, because women’s rights started there with Alice Paul.” Paul, a Mount Laurel Twp. native fought successfully for women’s suffrage in the early 1900’s.
    “Then it was the right to vote, and essentially today in New Jersey we have a new battle; the right to go topless,” Gary said.
    Asked what the demonstration would likely involve, Gary simply said women would be topless and men would be covered.
    For solidarity, it’s as important to have the men cover up as the women go topless Gary said.
    “We need to make every man on Asbury Park beach cover their tops,” said Gary, who pointed out that men have only been lawfully allowed to go topless since 1936.
    Gary, who will be topless at a demonstration in Los Angeles on August 22 (“You have to walk the walk.”), said there will be representatives from the organization in Asbury Park on that day to see things are run properly.
    “We’re ready to stand up to whatever comes our way,” she said. “We’re prepared to take this all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to. It’s a civil rights issue. We will be there.”
    ]]>     Misc nadine Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:44:31 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.42.1     WJLA broadcasts uncensored breast self exam http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.41.1
    The TV network timed their piece to favor their ratings. And so, a scandal broke out!

    At Gotopless, we did not see what the big fuss was about WJLA timing their broadcast of a non censored breast self -exam to help their ratings. ALL media do that all the time! This time, the segment was medical and educational and even shook the puritanical chord of some Americans, sparking the debate, once again, of the decency of a female breast in public! Healthy all around! That is a time when a TV station has REALLY earned its rating!!!
    When going topless is acknowledged in all 50 states as our Constitution dictates, American TV networks will not have the luxury of using breasts self exams to improve their ratings! Do you think that French or German TV ratings would bulge one bit if this news piece had aired on these countries networks? Not a chance!

    Please join us again next year on August 22nd 2010, the mentality of Americans as a whole is changing and the law is already on our side.
    ]]>     Misc admin Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:31:01 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.41.1     CNN reports on GoTopless Day '09 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.34.1 ]]> Misc thomas Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:17:59 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.34.1 CBS reports on GoTopless Day '09 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.35.1
    Women March Nearly Topless On Miami Beach - They Say It's Their Constitutional Right

    Is it fair for men to be allowed to walk around topless when women aren't?

    One group says it's not. They made their statement very clear Sunday afternoon in Miami Beach as many women walked around nearly topless to make their point.

    Many women marchers wore pasties to cover their nipples. They were led by the Raelians – the group that believes that scientists from outer space are responsible for human creation on earth. The "Go Topless" march has been held in other cities including Chicago, Portland and New York.

    The rally began at 3 p.m. on the corner of Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue. The march headed west to Alton road and ended at Meridian Avenue where many gathered to listen to a speech at 4 p.m.

    The group posted the following statement on their website: "Our wish is not only for our breasts to be "tolerated" while laying on the sand, we want to have the same right as men. Their chest is "tolerated" in every public place, why not ours? We dream to be able to walk down Lincoln Rd. with our shirt open and enjoy the breeze on our torso the way some men do on a hot summer afternoon. We want women's bodies to be as free as men's are, that is our constitutional right!"
    ]]>     Misc thomas Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:28:40 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.35.1     NBC reports on GoTopless Day '09 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.36.1
    A Fight for the Right to Bare Boobs - Organization claims women should have right to be bare-chested too

    Women's bikinis will be half-off in Chicago next month. And we're not talking about sales.

    In January, U.S.-based GoTopless.org organized a topless protest at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Up until recently, nudity was illegal except on designated beaches, but local councils considered bare breasts acceptable.

    However, a Christian fundamentalist politician, Rev. Fred Nile, introduced legislation in the parliament of New South Wales that would prohibit women from going topless on all beaches.

    In response, topless women gathered on the Bondi Beach in protest, arguing that women's breasts are not offensive and should be considered just as natural as men's chests.

    Now that battle is moving to the 'States. In eight participating cities—including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami—topless women and men will gather and peacefully rally on Sunday, August 23, "to protest the gross inequality in the law and will demand that they be granted the fundamental right to be topless where men already enjoy that right according to the 14th amendment of the Constitution," according to the official website.

    The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment states that "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws". The GoTopless.org Movement states that this Clause defends citizens from "gender-based differential treatment."

    Therefore, if a man can go topless, so can a woman.

    The protest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in front of the North Avenue Beach House.

    "Top-free performances will be given by various artists to honor women's right to be top free [and] body painting will be available," according to the website. "The aim is to convey that the sight of a top free women [sic] in public is as natural as the sight of top free men."

    For more information, visit http://gotopless.org/ (Not-Safe-for-Work Warning: As can be expected, the website features photos and video of women's bare breasts.)

    Matt Bartosik, a "between blogs" blogger, fully endorses the liberation of women's breasts.
    ]]>     Misc thomas Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:33:00 -0500 http://gotopless.org/news.php?item.36.1