By Edizen Stowell

In Venice  anything and everything happens. On  August 23, a number of men and women proudly took off their shirts and marched down the Venice Boardwalk to support a woman’s right to go topless in public on National Go Topless Day. Other cities involved included Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York City, Miami and Hawaii. Thirty to forty people participated in the beginning but the numbers grew as they marched. They chanted slogans and waved signs that read “Free your breast and free your mind,” “Women and men have nipples so why should women hide theirs,” “Breasts are not obscene” and “I don’t have a penis so I can’t go topless.” 

National Go Topless day organizers and supporters question why women can be punished for appearing in public without a top while men are free to wander about shirtless. Presently women convicted of indecent exposure could find themselves listed as sex offenders under Megan’s Law, alongside rapists and child molesters. So how did they go topless? Pasties. As long as the areolas are covered, you are good to go. Their pasties, shapes as nipples, looked exactly like the real thing. Funny! On camera and from far off distances they do look topless.

All eyes were on this crew. It was quite a scene with men’s and women’s breast’s of all shapes, sizes, colors and ages being displayed in public. The consensus from everyone I spoke to was a yes, if men can do it women should be able to do it as well. I didn’t come across one person with something negative to say. This event brought smiles to everyone’s faces. Their voices were being heard and their cause acknowledged on National Go Topless Day. 

If you would like to participate and support women’s right to go topless in public then visit http://www.myspace.com/gotoplessorg. The grand finale of their campaign will take place August 26, at the doorstep of the Presidential Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado. 

To see photos of the 2008 National Go Topless Day event in Venice, visit http://www.venicepaparazzi.com

 Photos by Venice Paparazzi