April 20, 1997
By TERRY PENDER/Star Staff Writer
Municipal politicians are proving to be impotent against the relentless advance
of topless women. This summer women can shed their tops at public beaches and pools,
just as men do, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop them. The Ontario Court
of Appeal last year quashed a conviction for indecency against a young woman who
went for a topless stroll through downtown Guelph on a summer's day in 1991. "There
was nothing degrading or dehumanizing in what the appellant did," the Court
of Appeal said. If you are scandalized by the sight of a topless woman on a hot
day, don't bother calling the police. There's nothing they can do either. "Basically,
the police will not intercede," says Sudbury Regional Police Chief Alex McCauley.
"Basically, if it's done with no sexual connotations, the courts have spoken.
We will respect the wishes of the court." It's difficult to say how welcome
topless women will be in the Sudbury area. "It's absolutely disgusting,"
says Lynn-Renne Beauvais. Topless sunbathers will only bring out the worst in bikini-watching
males at the beach, she adds. "There are too many sick men out there in the
first place," says Beauvais. But Donna Mayer, president of the Sudbury Women's
Centre, says the courts, police, municipal politicians and leering males have no
place in telling a woman what to do with her body. "It was a good decision
by the court in that it should be women who decide when their bodies are sexual
and when they are not being sexual," says Mayer. "Every woman has the
right to walk the way they want."
Quote: "People should be free to do what they want, but within reason. Nudity belongs in nature, not around cities. It should be allowed in more secluded areas."
- Terence Karchie