Topless at the Whitby Harbour

It was a perfect morning for a long walk at the lake! The bright blue sky and cool breezes beckoned me. As I walked along the path, I marvelled at the caravan of white sailboats heading out of the harbour and into the calm waters of Lake Ontario. What a glorious day! I loved being alone in my thoughts while observing the details of nature around me. That was until...



I came upon this middle-aged man sitting on one of the benches along the path. His chest was exposed for all to see. I realize this is a somewhat normal practice during the summertime. However, this man's toplessness repulsed me! Why? I have no idea. Maybe because he was too old to be sitting around without a top on. And maybe because he was EXTREMELY hairy. (I should mention here that this was at the harbour, not the beach. The beach is actually further down the path, which is where he should have gone!) For some reason it just didn't seem right for him to be sitting on this bench reading his book topless. I know he has every right to bare his hairy, repulsive, chubby chest. But, apparently so do I - except my chest isn't chubby or hairy- or repulsive for that matter!!


Instantly, I was reminded of one of our Canadian laws:


"Topless Laws...
A couple of years ago a university of Guelph student named Gwen Jacobs got annoyed after the police charged her for walking around with her T-shirt off. She went to court and won Canadian women the right to go topless whenever and wherever they want. While the guys down at the bar are waiting for the topless ruling to become compulsory summer behavior, a lot of women are waking up to the fact that rights need to have a basis in common custom, imagination and maybe common sense before they've really been won."



Yup, you read that correctly! We Canadian women can legally go topless in public. I remember when this story broke and could not believe our legal system created this ridiculous law. Do you know something, since this law has been created, I haven't seen one woman walk around topless in public - even on extremely hot summer days. In fact, I have never seen a topless woman on any of the beaches I have frequented!

But, in true Canadian political fashion, our government had a change of heart and created regional dress code restrictions in Ontario ( why they didn't do this in the first place is beyond me!):


"Although women are allowed to be topless in all public places in Ontario, several cities have passed by-laws that restrict female toplessness within their borders. These are probably interim by-laws, as the regions await further clarification from Ottawa, Queen's Park and the courts."

So, I guess that means I can't join the man on the bench in a topless state after all!