I had occasion today to give advice on this topic in New Jersey (yes, my job is sometimes interesting; no, the person asking wasn't topless) and it didn't take long for me to find a 2011 decision which cited the "governmental interest in safeguarding the public's moral sensibilities" as the justification for permitting male, but prohibiting female toplessness. This rationale strikes me as laughable and I'm honestly pretty shocked that the appellate court would rely on such nonsense as recently as 2011.
As many of you likely know, it's legal in NYC for women to go topless (link NSFW; yes, I'm at work, but it's legal research, so suck it) and I would imagine the same is true for many other places. The mostly likely source of prohibition against "lewdness" are municipal ordinances, so the law is able to be tailored to local standards of decency (though I'm skeptical whether such standards are meaningful or could even be agreed upon in today's communication environment).
I wonder what the general attitude is as to whether female toplessness should be prohibited. If you think it should be, what is the justification? And those out there - of which I'm sure there will many, this being the internet - who simply take the position, "boobs good; laws bad," consider whether you'd honestly vote to permit female toplessness in your community.
Like so many other issues dealing with sexuality, it will come down for some to the question, "What about the children?" to which I would respond, "What about the children?" I found my dad's Playboys and I'm not a completely deviant sociopath as a result.
I'm all for boobs, but my justification for permitting female toplessness is more grounded in the rejection of the position that the state has the authority - or even the ability - to "safeguard the public's moral sensibilities."
As many of you likely know, it's legal in NYC for women to go topless (link NSFW; yes, I'm at work, but it's legal research, so suck it) and I would imagine the same is true for many other places. The mostly likely source of prohibition against "lewdness" are municipal ordinances, so the law is able to be tailored to local standards of decency (though I'm skeptical whether such standards are meaningful or could even be agreed upon in today's communication environment).
I wonder what the general attitude is as to whether female toplessness should be prohibited. If you think it should be, what is the justification? And those out there - of which I'm sure there will many, this being the internet - who simply take the position, "boobs good; laws bad," consider whether you'd honestly vote to permit female toplessness in your community.
Like so many other issues dealing with sexuality, it will come down for some to the question, "What about the children?" to which I would respond, "What about the children?" I found my dad's Playboys and I'm not a completely deviant sociopath as a result.
I'm all for boobs, but my justification for permitting female toplessness is more grounded in the rejection of the position that the state has the authority - or even the ability - to "safeguard the public's moral sensibilities."