By Youssef El Kaidi
Morocco World News
Fez, May 18, 2013
After the recent decision taken by the New York Police Department that going topless in public is an act of personal freedom that does not break the law, the scene of topless women hanging out, shopping or walking downtown New York City is likely to be recurrent henceforth. The lewdness and indecency of breast exposure will, thus, be normalized and people will have to accept the scene because it represents “gender parity” in public places.
The 34 000 police officers of New York were instructed not to arrest topless women in the street as long as they don’t break the law, according to the New York Times. Law enforcement officers were further instructed to disperse crowds from around them and guarantee their freedom and safety. The NYPD’s decision was the outcome of several litigation and protest for “the right of shirtlessness” and equality in public venues.
Reactions towards the decision range between support and refusal. While some people saw it as another gain for women, others considered it a manifestation of extreme liberalism, moral decadence and libertinism. Commenting on the news on Policymic news outlet, Robbie Ba says: “Breasts are part of the female human anatomy. They grow naturally (implants excluded) and are considered beautiful by most. Why hide it? Men take off their shirts when they are hot, why can't women?”
Marlene Parker, another New Yorker rejects the act of topless women in street and see it a nasty thing. She writes: “Talking about wanting attention. This is a disgrace. Why would one want to protest by walking topless, I would not care if it was for breast feeding rights in public. This is not lady like. Next you will be asking to walk but naked. This is NASTY.”
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed