The annual event was started in 2007 by Go Topless, a Nevada group formed by Claude Vorilhon, leader of the Raelian Movement, a UFO religion. GoTopless has supported events and chapters in other countries.
History
Go Topless Day was founded in response to the arrest of Phoenix Feeley, a topless activist who was arrested for being topless in public in New York in 2005. The city of New York settled with Feeley for $29,000 because toplessness is legal there. Go Topless Day is scheduled for the Sunday nearest August 26, Women's Equality Day, since on that day in 1920 women's suffrage was approved. The event encourages women to go topless in public, and men to cover their chests by wearing brassieres or bikinis.
Events
In 2008, the first Go Topless Day was organized. In 2009, National Go Topless Day was celebrated on August 23 in the United States. In 2011, Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 24. Protesters, both men and women, participated in rallies held in twelve U.S. states, including California, New York and North Carolina. Women who participated in the celebration used either fake latex nipples or pasties to cover their nipples and avoid arrest due to laws in some states that prohibit women from showing their areola and nipples in public. The protesters displayed signs that read "Men and women have nipples. Why should women hide theirs?" and "Equal topless rights for all or none". Many men who joined the demonstration wore bras and bikinis to protest against the double standard where men are allowed to go bare chested, but women are prohibited to go topless in public. In 2011, Go Topless Day was celebrated for the first time in Canada. The 2011 Canadian Go Topless Day rally was held in Toronto, Ontario, on August 28. Nearly twenty women went topless going from Queen Street East to Kew Beach on a pick-up truck sounding loudly the song "Revolution" by The Beatles. According to Diane Brisbois, the spokesperson for Go Topless Canada, "This is not a beauty contest. It is about freedom. We have support; there are many men who come to our events too."
Women in Canada won the right to bare their breasts in public in 1996 when the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the 1991 conviction of Gwen Jacob, saying "there was nothing degrading or dehumanizing" about her decision to take off her shirt in public."
In 2011, topless women congregated in Bryant Park in New York City on Go Topless Day, while men mostly observed. 30 cities held demonstrations in the US. In 2013, Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 25 and marked the 6th anniversary of the event. There were demonstrations in 40 cities. Men who support the group's mission were asked to cover their own man-boobs with pasties or bras. In 2014, Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 24. It was the 7th annual Go Topless Day. In 2015, Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 23. It was the 8th annual Go Topless Day. In Edinburgh, approximately 50 people protested on the Royal Mile for two hours. In 2016, Go Topless Day in the US was held on August 28. It was the 9th annual Go Topless Day.
