Four local women decided to go topless for this week’s Topless Tuesday, and there has been much outrage. It’s sad how intolerant people are of the human body and how repressed they are, still, by the puritanical past of this country. It’s also sad, how inconsistent they are – if men can go topless, why not women? If you have a problem with female toplessness, it’s all in your head. Humans are beautiful creatures, and should not be ashamed of themselves. This situation continues to develop, as Topless Tuesdays is intended to continue all summer long thanks to the heroic ladies who are standing up for equality! If you are offended by this event, you need to look inside yourself for the problem. This is about freedom and equality.
UPDATE: The picture in this post was taken by an anonymous photographer who sent us this censored version. I’m attempting to get the uncensored original, but I found it interesting the photographer censored ALL the nipples, including the males. Finally, in case you didn’t google it, Mastrophobia is fear of breasts.
Here’s the Sentinel story in full, but please click to read it on their site until they put it behind the paywall. As usual, the comments section is full of vitriol, ignorance, intolerance, and anger. Let them know how YOU feel. Here’s the article from the Keene Sentinel’s Phil Bantz:
Douglas Foster got an eyeful during his ride home from Keene Middle School on Tuesday afternoon.
Looking through a school bus window, the 12-year-old saw topless women standing in Central Square.
“My son came home and said, ‘Mom, have you seen what’s going on downtown?’ ” said Erin Foster, a Keene resident. “He said there were women downtown who have their tops off. I actually didn’t believe him. I had to see for myself.”
Foster rushed downtown in her car and, sure enough, there they were: women baring their breasts in public.
“I was irate,” Foster said. “My son can’t go into a store and buy a pornographic magazine, yet he can hop on his bike and go downtown.”
This was the second installment of a demonstration dubbed “Topless Tuesdays.” Many of the participants are affiliated with the Free State Project or an offshoot group called Free Keene.
After confirming her son’s report, Foster approached a city police officer who was patrolling the area and asked why the topless women weren’t being arrested.
“He told me breasts are not genitalia,” she said.
Going topless in Keene, and many other municipalities in the state, is not a crime.
An 18-year-old Free State Project member, Cassidy Nicosia, proved that point last August, when she strolled through downtown Keene topless and with a gun holstered to her hip.
Nicosia was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and lewdness, but prosecutors dropped the charges.
Under New Hampshire law, a person can be charged with indecent exposure and lewdness only if he or she exposes genitals, has sex in public, or performs any other “act of gross lewdness … likely to cause affront or alarm.”
However, towns and cities may enact ordinances that prohibit women from going topless in public. Keene has no such ordinance, but Foster is planning to change that if “Topless Tuesdays” continue.
After speaking with the city officer, Foster said she collected about 45 signatures from other residents who were walking downtown and decided they wanted to put an end to the topless demonstrations.
Douglas helped her gather signatures for a petition to enact a city ordinance banning the baring of breasts in public, Foster said. Douglas was worried that his 6-year-old brother would also be exposed to the situation, she said.
Foster said she supports the women’s right to demonstrate and go topless. She just doesn’t want it happening when her children are around.
“My biggest issue is that they were doing it when middle school let out,” she said. “I could respect what they’re doing, but they need to respect my family.”
