Monday, August 22

Lets Talk About... Boobs.

Good Monday Morning! So uh, wanna talk about boobs?

This post is going to be a little bit different from any of my other posts... ever. I live near Asheville and it's a town that has been compared to San Fran. Like, it's basically the San Fransisco of the East Coast. Yesterday it hosted a topless protest. There is an organization called Go Topless that is fighting to bring about the equality for women to be able to go topless like men.

Source
 Now, when I read about this I just laughed and said of course, Asheville is. Of course. I think it's rad for women to protest for the right to go topless and not be arrested or considered a slut or whatever. Go for it. I'm WAY to modest to do it myself but if other women want to do it go for it. But, I don't get really worked up about things like that. When I was talking with a friend of mine about it he said, women are (and have been) held up on a pedestal for beauty. He was wondering why some women want to be "de-moted" to a man's standard, men's bodies aren't revered as beautiful, sonnets and poems haven't been written about the beauty of their bodies. He was really curious as to why women would want to do that. For him it's not an equality issue it's about sanctity.


Now the final twist to this story is that it's actually legal in NC for women to go topless. There is no law in North Carolina saying that women cannot go topless. So, why hold a protest in Asheville for a right that is already in place?
What do you girls/guys think?
xo Shannon


10 comments:

cb said...

hmm that is a weird ting to protest when there is no law in nc...hmm. i am on the fence but totally with you, i am a bit too modest for something like that buuuut then i have mentioned before how unfair it is...it is more of the right then anything, how a mean can be free of a shirt and women must cover up or else they are deemed, slutty but then your friend has another wonderful perspective. the women body is much more praised for its beauty then a mans. such an interesting topic for discussion!
xo,
cb

Jamie M said...

when i was a little girl, my uncle came to visit from Florida & was at some point helping my mom by working on the underside of her car. it was really hot outside, so he took his shirt off... i followed suit. i was quickly scolded & told to go back inside & put my shirt back on! this was before i even had boobs, haha!

anywho, i mostly agree with your friend on this one. i'm okay with showing a bit of cleavage, but no more than that. i don't even wear bikinis (although that's just a personal choice). it's much more attractive when a woman's body is a mystery. that said, i do believe that boobs have been over-sexualized in our culture. sure, they have a sexual aspect to them, but their main function is to feed babies.

amberupbeat said...

I can understand what they're doing for equality but to do it when it's not illegal just seems like a "of course Asheville" moment. I live in NC too and have friends living in Asheville so this doesn't really surprise me. I know I'm too modest to go topless but also because boobs have become an object that happens to be on women rather than part of the beauty of our womenly figure. Maybe that is why they're protesting to get that point across but I'm still not sure.

-Amber

Shannon said...

Oh wow, Jamie! That's intense! Maybe it was a 50's mentality that influenced them to have you go put on a wee shirt? I only show a bit of cleavage too and honestly only when Andrew is going to be around!

Shannon said...

it's true, i wonder what kind of unrest we're dealing with since the protest was held in a law-less state?

Shannon said...

I'm glad you weren't surprised either, Amber. It's good to have a reader that "gets" Aville. I'm too modest also, and the more I think about it the more I agree with what my friend said. I love that as a woman my body is considered beautiful and I make it a point to make sure Andrew is the ONLY one who sees it ;-)

Jamie M said...

haha well i'm sure they were just worried that it would look weird to the neighbors that there was a shirtless stranger man in the front yard with little shirtless me! i think if i had a little girl, i would have done the same... i just wouldn't have made it such a big deal!

oh... & i only show cleavage for my man too ;] why draw unwanted attention? haha!

Celeste Pressley said...

While I understand the breast feeding sit ins, I don't get this. I have no desire to go topless in public, and I don't like when men go shirtless in public. Unless you're doing yard work, at a pool, hiking, or some other appropriate place. Walking around downtown? Put a shirt on.

Cydny Pina said...

Thats really funny, the law of being able to go topless in many states is actually legal. Their is currently a body painting artist in NYC that has been doing his work in the middle of time square on various female models, cops were furious and trying to arrest them, but in all actuality its completely legal for woman to walk topless there as well. To protest, I guess I get their point... just to be accepted to do it and not gawked at would be nice... but lets be serious that will never happen/

Susan Pressley Fowler said...

I love the way your friend put it. I love that we're not equal, and it most certainly has it's advantages for women- probably more so than for men. When we have our little one, it's perfectly acceptable for me to stay at home or just work part time and place my focus on the baby... OR it's perfectly acceptable for me to work full time. I have a choice. However, if my husband decides to go part time or stay at home, people would freak out, whisper, etc. In a lot of ways, women have way more choices.
I've also never had any issues in any line of work regarding equality-- if anything, I've excelled more because I'm a woman. In counseling, some women don't want a man to counsel them, but rarely does a male not want a woman to counsel them. In sales, I excelled above most of the males in my workplace.
Definitely didn't surprise me about Asheville. I love that there are a lot of passionate people in Asheville, but sometimes I feel like in their quest to change the world, they play with the petty things a lot & find uncreative ways to share their message.

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