Hundreds of topless women and men paraded down Denver’s central mall and rallied in Civic Center Sunday afternoon — welcoming some bystanders who spontaneously joined in – as part of international Go Topless Day to promote gender equality.
“We are protesting for equal rights for women. We want for women to not be objectified,” Connie Fitzgerald, 51, of Boulder said in the park with a sign.
“We want to be able to take our tops off just like men. On a deeper level, we’d like to see this bring in equality for women at all levels,” she said.
The Denver Go Topless Day gathering was among several staged Sunday in cities around the globe, including New York and Los Angeles.
And Denver organizers said they had an easier time this year, the fourth event in Denver, with greater acceptance, less gawking and groping and fewer lewd comments. The primary organizer, Matthew Wilson, praised Denver Police for their smart support.
Denver municipal ordinances allow toplessness as long as participants avoid indecency. In Fort Collins, an ordinance that bars women from exposing their breasts in public faces a legal challenge. A Free the Nipple association of Colorado residents argues the ordinance is unconstitutional and sexist.
“As long as we’re not being sexual, or engaging in lewd conduct, or accepting tips, then we are totally with our legal rights,” Wilson said in Denver.
A Denver Parks and Recreation ranger patrolling on bicycle confirmed this assessment and reported no incidents involving the rally. The ranger’s main concern, he said, was that celebration in Civic Center could lead to open public smoking of marijuana, which would violate a different ordinance.
Some participants contend the push for women to go topless matters as much as women’s struggle to vote in Saudi Arabia.
Body painters enhanced the Denver display.
“To still define women’s bodies as inherently sexual is wrong,” Wilson said, making his case that nudity is not necessarily sexual.
“Americans sometimes forget that,” he said. “Confusing the two is the foundation of objectification and rape culture.”
Go Topless Day events happen on the Sunday closest to Women’s Equality Day – which was on Aug. 26 this year. Women’s Equality Day marks the day in 1920 that U.S. women gained the right to vote. Organizers encourage people in cities worldwide to stand up for women’s rights by going topless in public.
