In the United States, toplessness in public is considered indecent exposure in most states. However, there are seven wonderful states that allow women the same right as men to expose their chest: Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Ohio, Texas, and some parts of California. Full nudity is legal in Oregon. The rest of the country really needs to step it up.
This is not just naturism, this is feminism. The TERA website words it nicely:
"The Topfree Equal Rights Association (TERA) helps women who encounter difficulty going without tops in public places in Canada and the USA, and informs the public on this issue.
This website is intended as an information resource. It should interest women (and men) who understand - or want to understand - that women's breasts are just fine, and in no way indecent, obscene, dangerous, or some other version of bad, any more than men's are.
In most jurisdictions in North America, explicit sexual activity in public view is illegal. That is not involved here! If men may decide to have exposed breasts without it, so may women.
If women act on this understanding by innocuously having uncovered breasts in public, they are usually criticized, ridiculed, and hassled, and may be fined or jailed. Their experiences tell quite the story, which is gradually unfolding on this site and similar ones.
Our basic claim is that women deserve equal rights. We do not suggest that women or men should go about with bare breasts. That is every individual's decision. We do believe that since men may choose to do so in many situations, women must also be able to at least in the same situations. Without penalty of any kind.
Women pay severely for North America's leering punishment of their breasts. Many find themselves the object of unwanted and unwarranted attention from men in positions of power over them. Many have debilitating body image problems, hating the breasts on their own, unique bodies. Many undergo hazardous cosmetic surgery to conform to some non-existent standard. To please others, many wear bras that confine and hurt and may be harmful. Many are afraid to breastfeed, especially with others present.
Why do many women want to let their breasts out of the prison our society has put them in? They want to be comfortable. They want the convenience. They want to further their well-being. They want ownership and control of their own breasts.
They deserve equal treatment under the law."
