Nearly Two Dozen Women March Topless for Equality in Maine
Looks like the women of Farmington are fed up with sexist double standards. Although it is legal under state law for women to go topless in public, the protesters in Farmington want to challenge the social and cultural expectations that are still prevalent. So, they decided to march topless.
Nearly two dozen women marched topless through this college town Friday to protest a double-standard that allows men to take off their shirts on a hot summer day. Many men joined the women, taking off their shirts and marching side by side with them. Joining the scrum were gawkers snapping photos.
It’s already legal under state law for women to go topless in public in Maine. But the protesters in Farmington want it to become socially acceptable, too.“It’s about gender equality,” said Tia Jacques of West Gardiner, who was joined by husband Charles Jacques, as a mob of people moved through downtown Farmington, causing a traffic backup.
Added Charles: “Whether you choose to do this or not, I want you to be free to do this.” He also offered some advice: “Keep making a big deal about it until it’s not a big deal.”
Friday’s event was organized by 22-year-old Andrea Simoneau, a student at the University of Maine at Farmington who was inspired by her participation in a topless march April 3 in Portland. She’d been going topless downtown and near campus for the past couple of weeks to drum up interest in the march.
Thanks to the back-to-back events and ensuing Internet buzz, Maine is fast earning a reputation as a place where women can let down their hair — and their tops.
There is no doubt that women’s bodies are over-sexualized and fragmented in almost every aspect of society. Moreover, I think it’s worth pointing out the contradiction in our socio-cultural expectations of women. On the one hand, the media sells an image of women as scantily clad, scandalous, and available for the consumption of the American viewer. On the other hand, society then shames women for showing off too much skin. Pretty terrible lose-lose situation if you ask me. All-in-all, I think it’s pretty damn rad that some pissed off women in Farmington are confronting one of the many sexist double standards still pervasive in society today.
1Paul Rapoport
wrote on 1 May 2010 at 12:13
Thank you for reprinting and commenting. If only the mainstream news media were as sharp on this issue.
2freewomyn
wrote on 1 May 2010 at 12:28
I love this. It reminds me of the protesters in Chicago who decided to breastfeed in public to push the issue. I agree – women’s bodies are used to sell any number of products, but then when women decide to take control of their bodies, it’s seen as indecent.
3Dick Springer
wrote on 1 May 2010 at 18:26
At age 80 I am old enough to remember when “topless” (I prefer the word ‘topfree’) bathing suits for men first became acceptable in the late 1930′s. It followed the movie “It Happened One Night,” in which Clark Gable removed his shirt to reveal that he was not wearing an undershirt. Sales of undershirts for men plummeted and topfree bathing suits for men soon became the norm.
Maine’s state motto is “Dirigo,” I lead. I hope it is true for America in this case, although most European countries are several decades ahead of us on this issue as well as others, such as universal health care.
I hope I am not taken simply as a dirty old man when I note the pathological attitudes of many Americans with regard to women’s breasts. I once had a female boss who noted that breasts evolved to nurture children, not to sell Playboy magazine. If this fact were more widely accepted, especially by women, there would be more healthy breast-fed babies and an end to concern about possibly sagging breasts as a consequence.
4John
wrote on 3 May 2010 at 14:23
Sales of undershirts for men plummeted because of the Great Depression, not all because of 1 movie.