Bare Breasts in Canada

Feminists insist they be taken seriously and not be treated as sex objects to endure the leering and lascivious glances of men. Why, then, do these same women want to bare their breasts in public, an action which is bound to arouse the sexual (and frequently lascivious) interests of men? It makes no sense.

Gwen Jacobs, a university student in Guelph, Ontario, on a hot July day in 1991, took off her top in public, claiming it made her more comfortable. According to evidence entered at the trial, Ms. Jacobs' exposure of her breasts was witnessed by about 250 people. It is difficult to understand how that made her more comfortable! She was charged with committing an indecent act in a public place (S.173(I) of the Criminal Code) and she was convicted at the trial level. The Ontario Court of Appeal, in December 1996, held that her conviction should be set aside on the grounds that a woman going topless did not offend "community standards of tolerance" and that the action did not cause harm." The court stated, at p. 16:

... there is no evidence of harm that is more than grossly speculative. All that the trial judge had before him was some evidence indicating specific individuals' lack of acceptance of the appellant's choice of clothing. There was nothing degrading or dehumanizing in what the appellant did. The scope of her activity was limited and was entirely non-commercial. No one who was offended was forced to continue looking at her.

However, evidence also indicated that many members of the community were profoundly upset and offended at the idea of women appearing topless in a public place. Some objected to her action on the basis of their religious concerns; others on moral grounds (e.g. sexual display, lewd reactions by men); many referred to the problems of children being exposed to this in the context of attempting to educate them to express modesty.

Despite strong and vocal public unhappiness with the decision, the Ontario Attorney General decided that there were not grounds to appeal the case. He did, however, write the federal Minister of Justice, Anne MacLellan, as did many members of the public, requesting that the Criminal Code section on indecency be amended to prohibit females from baring their breasts in public.

In 1997, the problem was placed before the federal-provincial officials of the Uniform Law Conference, who brought in their report on the issue in August, 1998, which report was released to the Canadian public in March, 1999. The Law Conference did note that members of the public were upset and concerned about toplessness, but claimed the degree of upset differed from community to community. This conclusion supported its recommendation that the problem of toplessness should be handled through local and municipal regulation, rather than by a federal law, i.e., the Criminal Code. However, not to put too much of a damper on this bit of logic (sic), even on the streets of godless, depraved Toronto, the majority of the public do not want to see women walking around topless!

A relieved Minister of Justice, Anne MacLellan, acting on the advice of the Law Conference, has now stated that the Criminal Code will not be amended to prohibit toplessness, but rather, that municipalities should, if they wish, pass by-laws declaring public nudity a nuisance.

This whole exercise is yet another example of the appointed, unaccountable judiciary, bureaucrats on the Uniform Law Commission, and a feminist Minister of Justice, determining the cultural values of this country, based on their own personal perspectives.

The truth is, women walking around topless does offend our community standards of tolerance. Common sense is becoming a frighteningly rare commodity among the judiciary and our Liberal feminist Minister of Justice, Anne MacLellan.

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