The topless law

Canada is a beautiful country. Filled with natural resources, great food and rich in culture. For the most part I'm proud to call myself a Canadian. What I'm not to fond of is some of our laws.
This morning I pick my morning morning paper, staring at me on the cover page is a young woman with no shirt on, breast completely revealed. Twenty years ago our government passed a law that woman are allowed to be topless in public. This morning the story re-surfaced in my morning paper because not enough women are practicing their rights to bear it all. Activists of the law call it equal rights, because men are allowed to be shirtless in public. I'm all for equal rights in work, school and socially however the notion of exposing our private parts in public for all to see does not qualify as equality. To me it affirms that women are objects in which men can gawk at. The article features a beautiful blond woman topless, walking past some construction workers, who were smiling and whistling at her. I can't see how we as women expect to be treated as sophisticated, intelligent equal members of society, while exposing our breasts. I'm not sure that's what our ancestors were fighting for in terms of equality.
I believe in freedom of speech and of expression, I just don't see how exposing ourselves publicly benefits anyone.
My other issue with this law and those who are practicing it is rather simple. How can it become socially and legally acceptable for some to walk around half naked yet those who choose to cover are considered abnormal? The acceptable notion of "it's my body and if I want to share it with everyone I can", should also include: "it's my body and I don't want everyone to see it".
We only have one body. It should be taken care of with dignity and respect, both inside and out.


(This is an opinion piece.)


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