Public Nudity

Last night my friends high school aged son called to ask if I could take him to the beach on Sunday. Since this would involve me driving two hours to bring him down here and two more to bring him home, I thought there must be something really important happening or he wouldn't have asked.

As it turns out there was a topless protest happening at a local beach last Sunday. I am sure that to a boy his age this was a truly important event. Fortunately I didn't really have to turn him down because the event was already over.

Well I was telling my Uber driver about this today because I thought it was funny and he seemed bewildered.

"Why would women want to take off their tops in public? " he questioned "what about the children?"

I thought about this for a second to try an process where he was coming from. "Men take their tops off. Isn't it fair for women to be able to do it also?" I asked then added" what do you mean - what about the children?"

"Children shouldn't have to see that"

"Why not? Whats wrong with nudity?" I asked and he fell silent for a second. After a bit I chimed in again "I can see where younger children might not understand whats happening if they were watching people have sex but what harm can be done by simply viewing nakedness around them?"  He was still silent. I chimed in one more time "Maybe it might help people be more comfortable with their bodies if more people were naked more often."

He then changed the subject and I let it go.


Seems to me we should be able to be naked if we choose. Maybe not everywhere, restaurants for example might have "health issues" with nude guests, but at the beach, in your yard, even walking down the street. Is there really a good reason why we wouldn't allow public nudity? Why the double standard, Men can show nipple and Women can't? I don't get it.