June 22, 1997
MEN TREASURE THE CHESTS
TOPLESS BATHERS DRAW OGLING STARES
By AARON SANDS and JOHN INTINI
Toronto Sun
Swarms of sweaty males trolled the shores of Toronto's beaches on the first day of summer yesterday in search of unhidden treasure chests.
And much to their delight it was a case of follow the leader from the drop of the first top for Toronto women on Woodbine Beach.
"Once I did it, everyone else started doing it too," said bare-breasted Sarah Idrissi, 25, who moved here from Belgium a year ago. "I'm used to doing it all the time in Europe so it's no big deal for me."
TOP DIDN'T MATCH
"I didn't have a matching top for my bathing suit," explained Lorri Jackson, 26, a clerical worker who was going topless for the first time. "I feel more comfortable with other women having their tops off."
A topless Adrienne Simic, 24, was absorbing more than the glare of the sun from her beach blanket. "I'm used to tanning like this in Europe but I don't think our culture can handle it," she said under the watchful eyes of several drooling, fully-clothed men surrounding her. "You see all these perverts walking around with cameras and just glaring at you from the sidelines."
Some women say the legalization of toplessness has washed in a tide of sexual harassment on the beach.
`IT'S TURNING ME OFF'
"I've been going to the beach for 20 years and for the first time I have guys walking up to me because I have a top on and saying, `Well, her boobs are too small anyway,' " said Tarah King, a 27-year-old nurse.
"It's turning me off coming to the beach. Guys think they can get away with saying anything now."
Police say women who feel threatened by cat-calls should phone police immediately.
"The courts have granted them the right to go topless and they shouldn't be accosted whether they're wearing clothes or not," said 55 Division Acting Staff-Sergeant Robert Harvey.
An Angus Reid poll released Friday found Ontarians are more accepting of bare breasts on the beach than in stores and city streets.