Women march topless in Portland without incident

[alienlovechild 75]

PORTLAND – About two dozen women marched topless from Longfellow Square to Tommy's Park this afternoon in an effort to erase what they see as a double standard on male and female nudity.

A group of women and men who had shed their tops march down a Congress Street sidewalk from Longfellow Square to Tommy's Park. They were promoting the freedom of women to be topless in public. The group attracted many amateur and professional photographers.

The women, preceded and followed by several hundred boisterous and mostly male onlookers, many of them carrying cameras, stayed on the sidewalk because they hadn't obtained a demonstration permit to walk in the street. About a thousand people gathered as the march passed through Monument Square, a mix of demonstrators, supporters, onlookers and those just out enjoying a warm and sunny early-spring day.

After the marchers reached Tommy's Park in the Old Port, some turned around and walked back to Longfellow Square, but most stayed and mingled in the park. Some happily posed for pictures.

Police said there were no incidents and no arrests – nudity is illegal in Maine only if genitals are displayed.

Ty McDowell, who organized the march, said she was "enraged" by the turnout of men attracted to the demonstration. The purpose, she said, was for society to have the same reaction to a woman walking around topless as it does to men without shirts on.

However, McDowell said she plans to organize similar demonstrations in the future and said she would be more "aggressive" in discouraging oglers.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Women-march-topless-in-Portland-without-incident.html

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Good for them. If men can go shirtless, women should be able to as well.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Im typing this topless.

[Calypso 464]

Good for them. If men can go shirtless, women should be able to as well.

Steve's libido is at work. What if the ones who enjoy going topless are grandmothers, not younger women?

Well, I don't care about not having that freedom.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Im typing this topless.

[Calypso 464]

Im typing this topless.

I'll say this for Scandal: Pics or it didn't happen.

[Nagishkaw 510]

0h it is happening, all right. I just came in from sunbathing out back.

I have a lot of privacy so there is no need for clothes out there.

[_Simpson_ 250]

0h it is happening, all right. I just came in from sunbathing out back.

I have a lot of privacy so there is no need for clothes out there.

Old people shouldn't be taking their clothes off.

Edited April 5, 2010 by _Simpson_

[Obama 2012 1,714]

I am all for these laws of women being able to take their tops off in public. So long as they fit into a certain age range and weight range!

[Calypso 464]

Old people shouldn't be taking their clothes off.

29 is not old.

[_Simpson_ 250]

29 is not old.

and how many years now have you been 29

[Calypso 464]

and how many years now have you been 29

Not me but Sis Nagi.

[CDAgirlMI 51]

0h it is happening, all right. I just came in from sunbathing out back.

I have a lot of privacy so there is no need for clothes out there.

How far from Detroit are you? I know its deserted, but still

[Nagishkaw 510]

Old people shouldn't be taking their clothes off.

Mr. Simpson, you're gonna get it. :bonk: :bonk:

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Ty McDowell, who organized the march, said she was "enraged" by the turnout of men attracted to the demonstration. The purpose, she said, was for society to have the same reaction to a woman walking around topless as it does to men without shirts on.

However, McDowell said she plans to organize similar demonstrations in the future and said she would be more "aggressive" in discouraging oglers.

She sure is short-sighted...

In populations where it is common for women to be topless there is no ogling of breasts. For her to think that she can reach her goal without having to encounter the very issues she is looking to overcome is simply childish.

What she needs to do is not over-react to the crowds of men with cameras and to discourage the women participating in the demonstrations from posing for pics afterwards. Behave in the manner you want "society" to behave giving the situation.

FWIW, I'm indifferent on the subject. I don't care if they wear tops or not. Sure I'm give them a glance (just as I currently do when I see an attractive woman fully clothed) but I wouldn't go running for my camera...