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NSFW Photos: Oglers With Cameras Outnumber Participants At 'Go Topless' Parade
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Gothamist Staff
Published Aug 27, 2018
Modified Aug 27, 2018
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By
Gothamist Staff
Published Aug 27, 2018
Modified Aug 27, 2018
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The 11th Annual Go Topless Parade wound its way through part of Manhattan yesterday afternoon, with approximately 30 participants attracting hundreds of spectators—most of them men who seemed intent on photographing every inch of exposed flesh. As you can see here, a couple of photographers even staked out a position on top of a Subway sandwich shop awning for a top-down view of the toplessness.
Organizer Nadia Salois said she had "mixed feelings" about the unabashed male gaze that stalked the parade from the sidelines. "It's really great to have people to be there and encourage us and be there for us and support us," Salois told Gothamist. "On the other hand, as you can see, there’s many males taking pictures, so this is one of the reasons why we do this. Because one day—the more we do it—one day it will become something natural... Hopefully one day it will be normal for women to walk topless and there won’t be any pictures like today."
It is legal for women to go topless in New York State, following a 1992 state supreme court ruling that upheld that right for non-commercial purposes. Salois said the Topless Parade, which coincided with Women's Equality Day, is intended to "empower women, and give a platform for women to express their rights."
It's unclear if this message got through to many of the men photographing the event with zoom lenses. But topless participant Amy Martinez seemed unfazed by the number of male photographers swarming the parade route, which sent from Columbus Circle to Bryant Park.
"That’s just society," Martinez said. "I don’t blame them but I think to get more aware and see, we’re just walking around. We’re not sexualizing our breasts. It’s hot out. Don’t want to have a shirt on. So, why not? As long as they keep their hands away and don’t comment on them, it’s fine. It would work the same way if females were sexualizing a male. It’s not right but I’m not doing it for them."
Photographer Alix Piorun, however, said she was "thoroughly creeped out" by the number of men aggressively photographing the parade. "I started crying and almost left," Piorun told us. "I am definitely not an emotional person nor do I have any trauma surrounding this, but it was just really sad, weird and creepy that all of these men were rushing forward to take photos of these topless women as if they'd never seen breasts before. To be fair, I'm sure many of them probably haven't seen real ones in a while, but the internet exists and it's easier than ever before, I don't understand why there was such a huge fanfare."
Still, Piorun said, it was "an empowering event." Participant Jessie Mayfield concurred, saying, "There’s probably more people who came here to see us than people who actually marching which is okay for me because it’s about getting a message out. We want lots of people to come and be able to see."
Go Topless spokesperson Rachel Jesse has previously claimed that there is a connection between Go Topless and the Raelian movement, which posits that aliens created life on Earth. "Spiritual leader Maitreya Rael, who inspired the creation of GoTopless and founded the Raelian Movement, says there must be absolute equality between men and women to ensure the preservation of society," Jesse said. "Centuries of gender inequality and exclusive male rule created major planetary imbalances that could prove fatal to society. It’s time for change!” She added that enforcement of equal topless rights is a crucial aspect of gender equality.
Additional reporting by Tess Riski.
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equal rights
go topless parade
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