Victory for topless bathers

This is another beauty of my Sunday read. . .

WOMEN in Copenhagen have won the right to swim and walk around topless in public pools.
Feminism may have its downsides but, as the latest victory shows, some things are clearly worth fighting for.


In Copenhagen yesterday, the city's Culture and Leisure Committee voted overwhelmingly to allow topless bathing.

Frank Hedegaard, of the Socialist People's Party, said: "I cannot understand what some people find so offensive about women's breasts." The decision is the result of a year-long campaign by pressure group, the Topless Front, which says women should be treated the same as bare-chested men.

Campaign leader Astrid Vang, 20, who took her top off with others to protest at a leisure centre at Christmas, said: "We women would like to decide by ourselves when our breasts should be sexual and when not. "In swimming pools they should not and that is why the breasts should not be covered - We will bathe topless just like men."

The Danish campaign was inspired by a Swedish group called Just Breasts, which was formed after two women were asked to cover up their breasts by a lifeguard at a public pool near Stockholm. Swedish protesters carried out several full-frontal marches in their country but their tireless topless fight will not stop at swimming pools -- the perky suffragettes want to show tops the red card at football matches next.

One of their leaders, 22-year-old Ragnhild Karlsson, said: "We want our breasts to be as normal and desexualised as men's, so that we too can pull off our shirts at football matches."
Authorities in Vancouver, Canada - often considered to be a bastion of Victorian values - have allowed topless women in swimming pools and on beaches for several years.

The only protest against the move came from lifeguards who said they had problems knowing what to hold onto when rescuing swimmers.

The activists expect a flurry of similar campaigns-across Europe, including Britain.
However in France things seem to be going the other way. In 2006 so many women were going topless on Paris's summer beach a rule was brought in by embarrassed beaurocrats to ban topless bathing on the Seine.

Unbelievable. . .Either I am getting old and cringing at the thought of seeing this sight for real or we are so conservative here in England. (Yes we have the page 3 and boy when my cousins visited from Canada was shocked of a Newspaper read by the whole family and the page 3 exists to be looked at by one and all.

I think I'M GUILTY OF BOTH and proud of. Even if I had a size zero body, 20 years or MORE younger I still could not. . never. . its just not the norm in our society here.

It has always been wearing as little and leaving all to the imagination.

THE POOR LIFE GUARDS..totally understand their position what with the present moment in time is all about being politically correct. Any little thing is being predigest, sexist, or racist etc

THE WOMAN WELLLLLLLLLLLL. . GOOD LUCK TO THEM IF EQUALITY IS MAKING AN ASS OF THEMSELVES as they said "we will bath topless like the men"

OH PLEASE.. . . what happens when men come onto them, they no doubt will want the help of the life guards then to intervean. Or knowing Europeans the poor life guards having to break up fights from this the woman over there do fight like the men too.