My Story Part 1
	"A fringe of trees lining the beach and the Ocean City-Somers Point Bridge were turned into 'bleachers' from which the motorists enjoyed the scenery. Traffic along the shore road was tied up during the bathing hour…men lurked behind the bushes" You might be thinking this is surely in regards to a nude beach or some swingers club gathering. In actuality it is a newspaper report from 1920's and women dared to wear swimsuits that had no stockings. Before that time, female legs were strictly associated with sexual acts in the minds of most men and women. Eventually the laws were changed and allowed people the opportunity to get passed their notions of propriety and allowed women to expose their legs as men did. Today women are still subject to different rules of propriety as than men. This is MyStory. As a young mother I experienced hostility and ridicule when I dared to BREAST feed my child out in public. As I became more aware of people's sensibilities I realized that it was not my breast feeding that offended them. At the root of their objections was the mere possibility that my breast may be exposed by an inopportune breeze, an involuntary movement of my baby's hand or my lack of modesty. I wondered Why? Why could men walk up and down the streets freely top free and yet I could not feed my baby without attracting venomous commentary or being banished to the bathroom to perform that "dirty" task. As months went by I decided that she would no longer be exiled to the bathroom for nourishment and openly breast-fed her wherever she happened to be hungry. Why is it that the breast should cause such distress? Why could my husband mow the lawn without a shirt on and yet I could not. Why are men permitted to be top free without reproach? I believe it is because women's breasts are extremely sexualized. Let me ask for a show of hands: How many of you would approve of a change in the law that permits women to be topless wherever men are permitted to be topless? As many of my male friends have said to me they would be happy to support my cause. (show overhead) Now, what if I reminded you that ALL women would be permitted to be topless. This includes women with fat breasts, women with skinny breasts, women with old wrinkled breasts, your mother, your girlfriend? NOW let's see a show of hands. Yes, we all may laugh at the different types of breasts and get a little uncomfortable picturing real breasts of every kind. The truth is that women's breasts are only held in such high regard because they are mysterious. They are a forbidden fruit only to be revealed in the profile provided by a tight shirt or the sheerness of a blouse or an occasional glimpse at cleavage offered by a deep neckline. If breasts were freed from their clothing, they would not have nearly the allure that they do now. In effect they would be de-sexualized. Men would be desensitized and they would no longer be as stimulated by every breast they saw or imagined. Breasts would be no more mysterious than legs have become since the 1920's. I agree that some breasts are more attractive than others. Heck, I have seen my share of topless men where the thought "boy, you need to put your shirt back on " has crossed my mind. That is not the point. The point is that a man has the choice to take of his shirt in places where women are not. A man can drive down the freeway, he can work out, he can lay on the beach, he can go for a swim, he can take a walk, all of this and more with no shirt on and he would not face ridicule nor the possibility of arrest. I believe women should have that same choice open to them without fear of harassment, penalty or arrest. Last year I decided to become a part of a grassroots effort to fight for top freedom gender equity. I joined people from all over the United States and Canada to bring about changes in laws to set the female breast free. I believe that the exposure of breasts should not be considered "indecent" or "lude" simply because they belong to females. It is wrong for women's bodies to stigmatized and shamed not only for social reasons but also for health reasons. It has been found that many women go undiagnosed for breast cancer because they are ashamed of their breasts. Top freedom gender equity is not just a comfort issue, or a sexuality issue, it is a health issue. In order to bring attention to this cause hundreds of women across North America are choosing top freedom with full knowledge that they could be not only ridiculed but arrested for revealing their breasts in public. I encourage every woman here to take a moment to experience top freedom somewhere you never thought you could. I challenge every man here to encourage the de-sexualization of breasts and seek top free equality for women. If nothing else take some time to explore your feelings about top freedom and remember how people felt about legs in the '20's.
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