WOMEN GOING TOPLESS BLOWS TOP OFF DEBATE

BAT GIRL ... With women now legally entitled to go topless in public, bat girl Allison Gough, 18, of the North York Jokers did just that during a slow-pitch tournament in Etobicoke last weekend. Gwen Jacob, with her daughter, inset, set off the legal battle in 1991 when she went topless in Guelph. By LINDA BARNARD Toronto Sun   It's been the main topic at coffee klatches, on radio talk shows, and among barstool philosophers -- topless women.   And whether or not Ontario women will choose to sunbathe, swim or stroll down the street bare-breasted this summer, the debate swirling around their legal right to do so rages on.   From media watchdogs to nudists, to breast-feeding advocates, to the host of the Miss CHIN Bikini Contest, everybody suddenly seems to have a stake in the great bare-chest debate.   "You're right, everybody has an opinion. I just wish they understood the issues," says Paul Rapoport, an Ancaster music professor and president of the newly formed group TERA, Topfree Equal Rights Association.   BYLAWS STILL APPLY   And one of the biggest misunderstandings, says Rapoport, is the assumption it's all legal.   Although going topless is no longer a criminal code offence, women could still face bylaw infraction or provincial charges like trespassing for going topless at indoor pools or in shopping malls. Ottawa, among other cities, has passed a bylaw banning topless bathing at all indoor pools.   TERA was formed in part to raise money to help women fight non-criminal topless cases in court, including that of Fatima Pereira Henson, a Cambridge woman charged with trespassing after a topless swim in a city pool last winter. The charge was dropped by the Crown, yet she still faces legal bills.   "We are interested in equal rights," says Rapoport. "That's where we started, that's where we come back."   Rapoport says the furor will die down eventually, and as breasts are exposed more often, perhaps they will be seen as less sexual. "This may upset some men, but if you take the covering off, it removes the mystique and the fantasy."   As for whether toplessness will become the norm on Ontario beaches, Rapoport says it may take a while for women to feel comfortable. "We feel in order for women to do this, they have to feel safe, to not be harassed by men."   Linda Hawke, executive director of MediaWatch, a national watch group on images of women in media, says although women's bare breasts are used to sell "everything" in advertising without controversy, when they decide to do the same thing men do in hot weather, "it causes such a stir."   For the most part, Toronto media have done a good job reporting on the topless issue, Hawke says, although she would have liked to see more balanced coverage. "There is a need to hear not just from people who find it disturbing, but we need to include some of the women who find this to be an important right, and to talk about how women's breasts are used all the time for commercial purposes."   Going bare-breasted for commercial gain remains contrary to the criminal code under the Ontario Court of Appeal decision, although Ottawa prostitutes who whipped off their tops to entice customers this month were not charged.   David Basford, president of the 1,400-member Federation of Canadian Naturists, says as a nudist, he applauds the court's ruling, although "taste, appropriateness and consideration of others" should influence a woman's decision about when and where she goes topless.   "A lot of people are not sure how to take this," says Basford, a medical technologist from Dundas. "Take it with a bit of common sense and humor. It calls for a bit of tolerance."   Ironically perhaps, Basford says most of his female nudist friends say they will not go topless on beaches, but they do support the right of other women to do so.   Meanwhile, Lori Turik, director of nursing for North York's public health department, says she hopes women's right to go topless will make mothers more comfortable about breast feeding their infants in public.   "One of the most significant factors associated with the discontinuation of breastfeeding for mothers is their discomfort with breast feeding in public," says Turik. She points to a 1994 survey of North York mothers which showed of the 522 who breast fed, nearly one-quarter were uncomfortable breastfeeding in public places like playgrounds, parks or shopping malls.   "One of the advantages of (the court ruling) is women may be more comfortable breast feeding in public, knowing there is legal support for women removing their blouses," says Turik, adding the vast majority of women prefer to nurse discreetly, their breast covered by a towel or baby blanket.   Ottawa sex therapist and radio call-in host Sue McGarvie says breasts will always be viewed by men as sexual objects, which explains the catcalls and stares topless women on beaches have experienced.   "They're out to lunch, those who say breasts are not sexual," says McGarvie. And that doesn't make it easy for women who want to doff their tops.   "We are a civil society," she adds. "People need to control themselves. Women will take off their tops because it feels nice to be bare-breasted in the hot sun but, yeah, there's going to be a bunch of pigs out there with binoculars out. If that's all they've got to do with their time, I mean, get a life."   BAD TASTE ALL-ROUND   And it's not just men who are indulging in bad taste around the issue. A Toronto Sun story from Oshawa yesterday reported two women approached T-ball-playing kids and lifted their tops to expose their breasts. And two senior citizens complained two women walked up as they were cutting their lawn, lifted their halter tops, and taunted: "Hey, Gramps, want to feel these?"   But Johnny Lombardi is hoping cooler heads will prevail at the Mr. CHIN Bikini contest June 30. He's concerned enthusiastic competitors might take off their bikini tops to gain unfair advantage.   "I'm worried," says Lombardi. "I'm afraid if we make a (no-topless) rule, maybe that will give it too much publicity. I'd rather play it by ear and hope we can trust our girls, and I'm sure we can."   And if someone does drop their top?   "I'll just have to stand there and say shame, shame, shame," says Lombardi.