Recently, a number of municipal politicians have alleged, either explicitly or implicitly,
that municipal governments in Ontario are legally unable to prohibit women from
baring their breasts at public swimming pools; in the words of one of them, these
governments have "no power to regulate the mode of dress of persons in a public
place."
However, most - if not all - municipal governments in Ontario prohibit cross-dressing
at public swimming pools, and/or the wearing of Brazilian-style (as distinguished
from American-style) thong bikini bottoms, even though neither legally constitutes
a publicly indecent act.
If municipal governments in Ontario are legally able to prohibit either cross-dressing
at public swimming pools, or the wearing of Brazilian-style thong bikini bottoms
there, then they are also legally able to prohibit women from baring their breasts
there!
In any case, I urge every municipal government in Ontario to pass a resolution endorsing
Scarborough West MPP Jim Brown's private member's bill, the Municipal Amendment
Act 9 (by-laws respecting nudity), 1997, which, if it becomes law, will give all
of them the same legal authority to prohibit women from baring their breasts in
public places in general as they have to prohibit female strippers in adult entertainment
establishments from choosing to allow their customers to touch their breasts.
Helen St.Claire
Sunderland
Re the ongoing controversy over the fact that women's public exposure of their
breasts for certain reasons is no longer a legally indecent act in Ontario.
Gwen Jacob, Anne Hansen and other "topless protesters" have demonstrated
against Canadian Criminal Code. Section 173 (1)(a) - which concerns public indecency
- because they falsely believe that it acts on a sexist double standard; they have
not demonstrated against it because it acts on a puritanical value system, or because
it violates women's (and men's) body autonomy per se. To borrow a quote from Ms.
Hansen about breasts - "sexual, but only when a woman chooses to present (it)
as such"; or that men have sexualized it.
How can the concept of "tolerance" be defined in Canadian law such that
it truthfully be stated that a woman exposing her breasts in public does not exceed
the "community standard of tolerance", but a woman exposing her (or a
man exposing his) genitals in public does?
Sheldon Warnock
Beaverton