With all the gun talk lately, it's been a while since I talked about something genuinely uplifting, and that's what this blog is supposed to be for--celebrating good laws, not obsessing over bad ones.
On that note, I would like to call your attention to The People v. Ramona Santorelli and Mary Lou Schloss, in which the New York Court of Appeals ruled that prohibiting female toplessness in public was discriminatory so long as male toplessness was allowed--ergo, anywhere a man can take off his shirt, so can a woman. The case, involving two women arrested in a Rochester public park in 1986, has been settled law for over twenty years, yet very few people are aware of it, and a number of women have even been wrongfully arrested over the years--sometimes resulting in pricey remuneration.
Enter the Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society, whose mouthful of a name somewhat obscures their true goals--throughout the last couple of summers (and even once in a while in the winters), this mostly-female group of friends has been getting topless in public areas around New York City to hang out, read trashy drama, and raise awareness not just of said drama, but of the fact that what they're doing is not only totally legal, but really not that big of a deal. A glance through their website reveals (pun appreciated but not intended) dozens of such adventures so far, and while they clearly don't mind the bit of attention they do receive, it really does seem that by and large no one gives a shit--which is as it should be.
So while OCTPFAS has been the main subject of this piece, I guess the spirit of the blog demands that I thank Misses Santorelli and Schloss, whose forward thinking, and legal stick-to-it-iveness, forced the state of New York's hand in this matter and will hopefully pave the way for lots more similar decisions in the future.
Just as soon as everybody in the other states hears about it.
Further Reading
The People v. Ramona Santorelli and Mary Lou Schloss
Bra-vo! $29G in topless suit
The Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society
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