Female toplessness in Canada
In Canada, topfreedom has primarily been an attempt to combat the interpretation of
Law
In Canada, the law on
In 1991,
Ontario
Topfreedom is allowed in Ontario, set by the precedent in the case of Gwen Jacob. The acting executive director of Municipal Licensing and Standards said that while "there's no bylaw that governs toplessness," "it is legal for women to go topless on the streets of Toronto," according to a National Post article. He added that parks require clothing, except, for example, the clothing optional Hanlan's Point Beach.[3]
Gwen Jacob
On July 19, 1991, a sweltering and humid day, Gwen Jacob, a
Jacob stated she did it because men were doing it, and she wanted to draw attention to the double standard. She was found guilty and fined $75. In her defence, she argued that breasts were merely fatty tissue. In finding her guilty, the judge stated that breasts were "part of the female body that is sexually stimulating to men both by sight and touch", and therefore should not be exposed.[4] She appealed, but her appeal was dismissed by the Ontario Court (General Division), and she further appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal.[5]
In the meantime, protests against Jacob's arrest and conviction led to further charges against others, in particular R. v. Arnold
Jacob was acquitted on December 9, 1996, by the
The
The decision by the Ontario Government not to appeal to the Supreme Court was based on the likelihood that the court would not grant leave. This caused considerable public concern and municipalities' attempts to preempt the law by passing more restrictive bylaws (Uniform Law Conference of Canada 1999). The Ontario Government did contact the Federal Government regarding amending the law to make such actions clearly illegal.[9][non-primary source needed] This was not pursued.
While the community standards test is not an immutable part of indecency jurisdiction, community tolerance is likely to be partly determined by the degree to which the public is exposed to top freedom on a regular basis. Jacob's victory is now celebrated annually in Guelph.[10]
2011 marked the 20th anniversary of Gwen Jacob's walk, and to celebrate, some students re-enacted it.[11]
Other cases
Another important distinction is whether the act's nature is commercial or not. In Jacob, the court stressed that it was not. In contrast, in
In 2015,
Public parks and facilities
Despite this, women still faced discrimination in public facilities. In 1997, Fatima Pereira Henson was charged with trespassing for swimming topless in Cambridge, but the charges were dropped. She was then charged again, which was dropped by the crown, so the City initiated its own prosecution. Although this was also dropped, a bylaw prohibiting topfree swimming was passed. Eventually, her efforts led to a new bylaw allowing topfree swimming.[16]
In Toronto in 2011, a Go Topless Day rally was refused a permit to meet in a park, so they marched down the streets with a police escort.[17]
British Columbia
In 2000 a similar case to Jacob's resulted in acquittal. Linda Meyer, a topfree activist inspired by the Gwen Jacob case, appeared in a number of public venues topless. A bylaw in the municipality of Maple Ridge stated, "Females over the age of 8 years shall fully cover all portions of their nipples and aureole with opaque apparel". On July 1, 1997, Linda Meyer went to the swimming pool in the bottom half of her bikini. Some parents complained, and she was charged,[18] but the judge in this case (Justice Holmes) voided the bylaw stating, inter alia:[19]
[55] In R. v. Jacob, supra, a woman who walked bare-breasted on a city street and then reclined topfree on the front step to her home was acquitted on appeal of committing an indecent act. The court found the baring of her breasts was not harmful to anyone. There was nothing degrading or dehumanizing in her conduct. The court noted anyone who was offended was not forced to look.
[57] I do not find in the evidence support for the view that the parks could not operate in an orderly fashion if a female were to bare her breasts in a circumstance that did not offend criminal laws of nudity. The evidence suggests the Section 3A amendment to the Park Bylaw was more a reaction to a frustration that the criminal law was not supporting the moral standards in regard to females who chose to bare their breasts in public that some Maple Ridge citizens desired.
[64] The defendant's 18A application is allowed.
In 2008 Vancouver, British Columbia, was a location of the World Naked Bike Ride.[20]
Alberta
In June 2022, the City of Edmonton's recreation website updated its swim apparel guidelines to say: "All patrons are permitted to go topless in city-operated pools if they so wish"; the change was not publicly advertised. The change finally caught media attention in February 2023,[21] and the website has since changed its guidelines again to say: "All patrons are required to wear bathing suit bottoms, tops are a patron's choice. This swim attire guideline ensures that the City of Edmonton pools are aligned with the Alberta Human Rights Act which does not allow for discrimination based on gender, gender identity or gender expression."[22]
Also, in February 2023, the City of Calgary issued a prepared statement stating, "In alignment with Human Rights legislation and our commitment to inclusivity, The City of Calgary wouldn't limit an individual's choice to swim topless in City-operated pools."[23]
Saskatchewan
In 1997, a 64-year-old woman, Evangeline Godron, and Kathleen Rice sunbathed topless in a Regina park and were charged for doing so. On July 22, a judge in the Provincial Court ruled that their behaviour did not violate community standards. However, she and other women then swam in a pool without a top. Again parents complained. Godron was arrested for assault because she refused to leave the pool when requested. Although she appealed this, she was unsuccessful. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which declined to hear it. However, this was a question of assault, not of indecency.[24]
Public opinion
A 1992 poll showed that 62% of Canadians opposed women having topfreedom, with women being more likely to be opposed.[25] A more detailed survey was undertaken in 1998,[26] and a detailed analysis were published by Fischtein and colleagues in 2005 (Fischtein et al. 2005). This showed context to be important; for instance, 72% opposed to toplessness being allowed on a city street, 62% in parks, and 48% on beaches. In all cases, women were more opposed to toplessness.[27]
Organizations
Federation of Canadian Naturists
The Federation of Canadian Naturists (FCN) is a member-supported, not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering a greater understanding, acceptance and appreciation of naturism as a way of life throughout Canada. It has affiliations with Canadian naturist/nudist clubs and organizations.[28] The FCN has a legal fund designated to help defend people who are charged with Nudity.[citation needed]
The FCN and the Fédération québécoise de naturisme (FQN) share Canadian membership in the International Naturist Federation (INF), which has its world headquarters in Horsching, Austria. [citation needed]
Topfree Equal Rights Association
The Canadian Topfree Equal Rights Association (TERA) assists women in both Canada and the United States who are prosecuted for being topless in situations whereas men are not.[29] It does not advocate toplessness, but promotes the concept of freedom of choice of the individual woman, and the de-sexualisation of breasts.[30] TERA is defunct as of May 29, 2023.[citation needed]
See also
- Breastfeeding in public
- Female toplessness in the United States
- List of social nudity organizations
- Public nudity
- Toplessness
References
- ^ a b Valverde, Mariana (1999). "The Harms of Sex and the Risks of Breasts: Obscenity and Indecency in Canadian Law" Archived 2014-02-19 at the Wayback Machine. Social Legal Studies 1999; (8): 181.
- ^ "Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46". CanLII. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
Section 173(1)(a) of the Criminal Code provides, in part – Indecent acts – 173. (1) Everyone who wilfully does an indecent act (a) in a public place in the presence of one or more persons...is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
- ^ Hume, Jessica (27 August 2011). "Where and when you can go topless in Ontario, and what it has to do with UFOs". National Post.
- ^ R. v. Jacob, Ontario Court (Prov. Div.), January 17, 1992.
- ^ DeLonghi, G. "Court hears Jacob's indecency appeal", The Guelph Tribune, June 24, 1992, p.3
- ^ R. v. Arnold, Ontario Court (Prov. Div.), February 25, 1993 [1993] o.j. 471
- ^ "Judgment C12668, R. vs. Jacob". Province of Ontario Court of Appeal. 1996-12-09. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
- ^ "R. v. Jacob, 1996 CanLII 1119 (ON CA)". Canadian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
- ^ Letter from Charles Harnick to Allan Rock, dated February 10, 1997.
- ^ "Guelph will see return of Top Freedom Day". Guelph Mercury. July 6, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ "Topless students recreate Jacob's famous walk through Guelph". The Record. August 21, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ R v. Gowan [March 3, 1998] Doc. Ottawa 97-20544 (Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Division).
- ^ Boesveld, Sarah (29 July 2015). "Ontario sisters to protest after being stopped by police during topless bike ride". National Post.
- ^ "Three Ontario sisters say they were stopped by police for biking topless". Globe and Mail. July 28, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
- ^ "Women's topless rights rally draws big crowd in Waterloo, Ont". CBC News. August 1, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
- ^ "Swimmer Wins Topless Battle as Equal Rights Triumph in Cambridge". TERA. 20 October 1997.
- ^ Yuen, Jenny (28 August 2011). "Topless protest in T.O." Toronto Sun.
- ^ Stubbs, Robyn (23 March 2007). "Baring for rights' reason". canoe.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07.
- ^ "The Corporation of the District of Maple Ridge v. Linda Anne Meyer". Vancouver: The Supreme Court Of British Columbia. 21–22 February 2000.
- ^ "Is nudity the new normal?". The Georgia Straight. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ^ "All adults can swim topless in City of Edmonton public pools". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ "Recreation Facility Safety Guidelines | City of Edmonton". City of Edmonton. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ Krause, Darren (2023-02-17). "Calgary won't deny topless swimmers at city pools; swimwear guidelines under review". LiveWire Calgary. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
- ^ Martin O'Hanlon (22 July 1998). "Bare breasts OK in Saskatchewan, judge rules". ReoCities. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013.
- ^ Gallup Canada 1992. More men than women back topless, right. Toronto Star
- ^ Compas polling 1998. Modern life survey of the Canadian adult population
- ^ Dayna S. Fischtein, Edward S. Herold and Serge Desmarais (Fall–Winter 2005). "Canadian attitudes toward female topless behaviour: a national survey". Gale Academic OneFile.
- ^ "About the FCN". Federation of Canadian Naturists. Retrieved March 11, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Statement of Purpose and Principles". Narkive. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "Episode 2: Breastfeeding and the Right to Go Topless". Lex Appeal. 2010-07-31.
Sources and external links
Organisations
Media
- CBC Jul 20, 2011 Women's topless court victory 20 years later
- CBC Dec. 12, 2005 Taking it all off
- Protesters inspire activist to new cause. Toronto Star November 12 2011
Legal
- Guelph's Hot Days of Summer. LexView Sept 29 1997
- Uniform Law Conference of Canada Review of the Law of Indecency and Nudity March 1999
- Mariana Valverde The Harms of Sex and the Risks of Breasts: Obscenity and Indecency in Canadian Law.Social Legal Studies 1999; 8; 181
- Arneil B. The Politics of the Breast. 12 Can. J. Women & L. 345 (2000)
Research
- Fischtein, Dayna S.; Edward S. Herold; Serge Desmarais (Fall–Winter 2005). "Canadian attitudes toward female topless behaviour: a national survey". The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.