By Dagmar, GoTopless activist in Germany
You may have seen a post circulating on social media stating that in Berlin, women can legally go topless in public pools, just like men do. This post refers to the favorable outcome of a court case that began in June 2021 when French national Gabrielle L. was sunbathing topless in a park in the Berlin borough of Treptow-Köpenick, she was approached by police. When she refused to cover up, she was asked to leave the park. Gabrielle L. then filed a lawsuit seeking compensation under the Berlin State Anti-Discrimination Act ( Berliner Landesantidiskriminierungsgesetz), legislation specific to the state of Berlin, which only came into force in 2020.
At the end of the proceedings, with the final judgment rendered in January 2024, she won her case. However, the court reduced the amount of compensation paid on the grounds that she had “deliberately and knowingly exposed herself to a confrontational situation.” In other words, she was criticized for having the audacity to assert her rights! Ultimately, she received compensation in the amount of a few hundred dollars, while still having to bear all of her legal costs.
While the procedure was underway, the city of Berlin reacted. As of July 29, 2022, it officially authorized everyone to be shirtless in this park and proudly declared:
“The borough administration is putting an end to unequal treatment based on gender. Treptow-Köpenick is a tolerant and open-minded borough, and the rules must be the same for everyone,” said Philipp Wohlfeil, chairman of the parliamentary group “Die Linke” in the borough council.
Source: https://taz.de/Baden-in-Berlin/!5919651/ (03.08.2023)
It is obviously more elegant to present things this way than to admit: “In any case, they already had the right to go topless, but we could no longer prevent it…”
On March 9, 2023, the Berliner Kurier then published an article entitled:
“Freedom for breasts: In Berlin, topless swimming is now officially permitted!”
An internal directive now specified that topless bathing was permitted for all people, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the Berlin Municipal Baths ( Berliner Bäderbetriebe ).
Source : https://www.berliner-kurier.de/berlin/busen-freiheit-oben-ohne-baden-in-berlin-jetzt-auch-ganz-offiziell-erlaubt-li.325788 (03.09.2023)
This case gave rise to a nationwide movement demanding the right for women to be topless wherever men can also show their breasts… I think any resemblance to the official statement GoTopless would, of course, be purely coincidental…
Activist Lotte Mies became involved in the “Gleiche Brust für alle” (“Same breast for all”) initiative and played a key role in allowing topless swimming in Berlin.
Berlin is not, however, the first German city to have changed its swimming pool regulations in this way.
As early as 2022, the cities of Siegen (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Göttingen had already adopted comparable measures.
In Göttingen , the case arose from the case of a person who identifies as neither male nor female. In August 2021, this person swam topless at the Badeparadies Eiswiese swimming pool. The management of the establishment, recognizing them as female, deemed this a violation of the pool rules and banned them from the pool.
The “Gleiche Brust für alle” initiative and the Göttingen Women’s Forum then intervened to demand the freedom to choose one’s swimwear. Their demand was simple: wherever men are allowed to show their torsos, everyone should enjoy the same right.
Initiative „Gleiche Brust für alle“ on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076252622974
After heated debates within the city, a trial period was implemented starting in May 2022 during weekends. Since September 2022, topless swimming has been permitted every day.
Source: https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/goettingen-oben-ohne-baden-fuer-alle-dauerhaft-erlaubt-a-3bd8083b-c114-4a80-92ea-68ec2b5580ac (09.16.2022)
The city of Hanover has also changed its regulations. Now, in municipal swimming pools, only the genitals must be covered.
In Munich , the situation was somewhat unusual: being shirtless was neither forbidden nor explicitly permitted. In other words, it was allowed… but without being officially communicated. This situation inevitably led to misunderstandings and conflicts.
In this regard, the municipal Department of Economy responded to a request from the Green and Social Democratic group:
“According to current regulations, it is already possible to sunbathe topless or to cool off in this way, for example in outdoor swimming pools. As for indoor swimming pools, this practice is not excluded.”
In August 2022, the municipal coalition uniting the Greens/Rosa List and the SPD/Volt asked the City of Munich to officially clarify the question of whether women as well as men were allowed to be topless in municipal swimming pools.
According to the Municipal Equality Office, the practice previously in force — “it is allowed, but it is not officially communicated” — regularly led to “misunderstandings, or even hostile reactions” from other bathers when they felt embarrassed by the presence of topless women.
Since 2023, women are now officially allowed to sunbathe and swim topless on the banks of the Isar.
Source: https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/oben-ohne-baden-in-muenchen-jetzt-fuer-frauen-auch-ohne-nachfrage-erlaubt-art-908404 (06.16.2023)
In Freiburg im Breisgau , the swimming pool regulations were also amended in 2022 to explicitly allow topless bathing.
One of the lifeguards at Fribourg beach humorously summed up the situation:
“What surprises me is hearing people say, ‘Wow, now it’s allowed!’ when it was never forbidden.”
Source: https://www.badische-zeitung.de/schwimmen-oben-ohne-wird-in-freiburgs-staedtischen-baedern-erlaubt (07.15.2022)
You see, in Germany, only one thing is certain: nothing is ever truly certain.
There is no law explicitly prohibiting women from being topless. However, the authorities can invoke the concepts of “offense against public decency” or “disturbance of public order” at any time. Therefore, one should always expect to have dealings with the police and, if one wishes to assert one’s rights, to have to initiate legal proceedings.
It is interesting to note that recent decisions made by many German cities are not aimed at introducing something entirely new. Rather, their goal is to provide legal clarity regarding a principle of equal treatment that, just a few decades ago, would have sparked virtually no debate in Germany. The debate, therefore, centers less on greater freedom regarding nudity than on a more fundamental question: Why must we today explicitly authorize something that was once taken for granted?
This is all the more remarkable given that Freikörperkultur (FKK), or the culture of the free body, has been closely associated with Germany for over a century. While forms of collective nudity certainly existed in antiquity and at various other times in history, the modern organized naturist movement originated in Germany in the late 19th century. Between 1900 and 1930, numerous FKK clubs, specialized magazines, and swimming areas were established, making Germany the center of the modern naturist movement. From there, its ideas spread to many European countries and then to North America.
After 1945, FKK continued to grow in both German states. In West Germany, it remained primarily a club-based activity, as well as a practice on beaches and campgrounds designated for that purpose. In East Germany, however, it became a true mass phenomenon starting in the 1960s. On the Baltic Sea coast in particular, nude swimming was a natural part of summer vacations for millions of people. For many, it represented an expression of personal freedom, equality, and a simple, natural relationship with the human body.
Paradoxically, however, societal changes over the past few decades do not seem to have led to greater openness. While it was quite common for women to go topless on many beaches and at many lakes in the 1970s and 1980s, this has become much rarer today.
This cannot be explained by stricter legislation—which has changed very little—but rather by a shift in social norms.
Although topless sunbathing is generally not prohibited in Germany, this fact remains surprisingly little known. The topic is rarely discussed in public debate, so many people believe it is generally prohibited, when in fact it is not.
