A woman can legally bare her breasts as she walks down the street if she is making
a statement about gender equality. But if she fondles herself and flaunts her breasts
for commercial purposes, she is breaking the law and could harm society, a judge
ruled yesterday.
Judge Jennifer Blishen fined exotic dancer Joanne Gowan $250 for committing an
indecent act by going topless on Montreal Road on June 3.
Ms. Gowan, who wore a navy blue and maroon track suit and sneakers to court,
slipped out a back door to evade photographers after the sentence.
Last year, the Ontario Court of Appeal said it is not illegal for a woman to
bare her breasts in public. The court overturned the indecency conviction against
Gwen Jacob of Guelph. The case against Ms. Gowan is considered a test case in Ottawa-Carleton.
Ms. Gowan argued that, like Ms. Jacob, she went topless because it was her constitutional
right. She said she called her lawyer and even police before she removed her T-shirt.
Cecile Couture, the proprietor of a Montreal Road hairdressing school, complained
that Ms. Gowan was fondling her breasts and crossed the street repeatedly to lean
into cars.
Ms. Gowan denied that she was working as a prostitute last June and said she
was not propositioning men. Her lawyer argued that passing motorists might have
been outraged or amused, but not harmed.
Judge Blishen said she had to consider community standards of tolerance before
determining whether Ms. Gowan had committed an indecent act.
She said people would be less inclined to tolerate an act if it was likely to
cause harm by degrading or dehumanizing women and portraying them as sex objects.
"Just what a community will tolerate will vary with the composition of the
audience," Judge Blishen said. "What is appropriate for the patrons of
a bar may be inappropriate for high school students.
"Gwen Jacob was making a statement about equality rights for no commercial
purpose. But Ms. Gowan bared her breasts, held them in her hands, played with her
nipples and and asked, 'Do you want to f--?' "
Judge Blishen said Ms. Gowan's behaviour suggests she was engaged in prostitution
and her partial nudity had a commercial purpose. She added Ms. Gowan made suggestive
comments and fondled herself while men, women and children were nearby.
"Ms. Gowan bared her breasts in public for sexual purposes," Judge
Blishen said. "Her public nudity was degrading and dehumanizing to women.
"This is clearly distinguishable from Jacobs. There was a significant risk
of social and attitudinal harm."
In addition to the $250 fine, Judge Blishen placed Ms. Gowan on one year's probation,
ordering her to stay away from Montreal Road between St. Laurent Boulevard and River
Road.
Ms. Gowan's lawyer, Vincent Clifford, said this should not be a problem because
she is working as an exotic dancer in Cornwall.