If you squeezed your way through the mobs of photo-snapping onlookers in Bryant Park or Times Square yesterday, there was a chance you could have observed the New York rally for Go Topless Day, which was celebrated in forty cities worldwide. A dozen or so women took to Midtown to celebrate their legal right to let their lady bits stand (or, in some cases, droop) freely.
In 1992, New York State ruled that women have the right to be topless anywhere a man does, much to the surprise of many New Yorkers that The Observer talked to yesterday. Even some of those braving the sidewalk bare-boobed didn’t know they were free to do so until this weekend. Maxine Krasnow had tickets to see a Broadway show but after reading about Go Topless Day in the Metro newspaper she ditched her theater plans—and her shirt. She did admit to us she was “a little worried about people leering at first,” but we saw her leading the pack with a sign reading, “Free your breasts. It’s your right,” by the end of the afternoon.
Moira Johnston, who has received local fame as a topless advocate in the Union Square area the last three months, was the belle of the ball to photogs and male admirers when she arrived on 43rd Street. Ms. Johnston was unfazed, but when we took a break from the hoopla—and bare-boobdom—inside a Starbucks, she spoke freely. “This is not for attention because there’s a lot of other ways to get attention.” The 29-year-old exotic dancer told us, “There is a real negative side to it, too,” she said, referring to the nasty jabs she often hears. “I know what I’m doing isn’t accepted but I’m willing to sacrifice that for women’s rights.”
The Observer heard some of the negative response in Times Square when some 15-year-old girls from Philadelphia muttered words of disgust through their braces. “Eww, gross! I don’t understand. If it’s legal why do they care?”
On the contrary, Jeff Ohle and his wife laughed as their two young boys covered their eyes. “Doesn’t bother me—it’s New York! I have enough trouble trying to keep them off the internet,” Mr. Ohle said.
More disturbing than some nipples could ever be was the omnipresence of sweaty male oglers. Caitlin Johnston, 25, pointed out the obvious: “There are a ton of men in that park topless. I don’t deserve to be mobbed by men just because I’m not wearing a shirt.”
We walked to a woman sitting on a fountain that had came to participate in the event but was disappointed. “I thought this was supposed to be a feminist event, but all these men are touching and surrounding them. Ick. It’s kind of equally fascinating and disgusting,” said Patricia McBride, 34.
Before heading out we tracked down Ms. Johnston (who once again had a flock of fans encircling her) to say our farewells.
“Bye bye,” she told us before tilting her head for the next shot. “Feel free to let your breasts out on the way home.”
“Yeah, do it!” a skeevy guy in a basketball jersey agreed.
