Happy Go Topless Day 2013!

For me, it is my usual naked Sunday today, spent without clothes (just as every day at home, actually). For many protesting and activist women and men supporting them, today is Go Topless Day.

This special awareness day is celebrated annually, mostly in the USA where it was established in 2007 and first observed in 2008. The date is defined by the US-American Women's Equality Day, which is celebrated on August 26, commemorating the certification of the 19th amendment of the US constitution on August 26, 1920, giving women the right to vote. Go Topless Day is always scheduled on the Sunday nearest to that date.

Since first observed, Go Topless Day has spread all over the world, with much help of the internet, of course, where social media as well as women networking apart from them have helped spreading the message and the very legitimate question "why is it legal for men (especially the big ones) to bare their bellies and man boobs? Why is it illegal for women to do so???" In the spirit of equality, the only way can be to allow everyone doing that, or to forbid everyone baring their upper body. The clothing industry wold rejoice at a ban of toplessness for everyone... men would be required to hide their chest, too, when swimming. Imagine that: bikini tops on man boobs!

OK, there will always be people who will say "Ewww, gross!! I don't want to see either of them! Make the world cover up!!". That would be one solution to the matter of topless equality, but not the right one for the matter of topfreedom - everyone should be free to bare their chest or their whole body, for that matter.

Nudity, in part or whole, is merely the most natural state of being for humans. Clothing and shoes were invented to provide protection from the elements. It is quite clear, that in places with the right climate, people living in accord with Mama Nature are very often fully naked.

They do not know any of our "civilized" concepts of shame, sin or immodesty that are quoted, when nudity is concerned. It's just the natural and traditional way of being to them.

Here's a collection of very colorful as well as beautiful pictures featuring natives from Africa, Asia and South America by Serge Giraud on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sergeguiraud/

Now, on Go Topless Day, the topic are breasts. In many countries and states, women are dicriminated against, frowned upon, hassled, incriminated or even assaulted for baring their breasts, even if it's just for sakes of the natural function of breastfeeding.

"Many people in US think that breastfeeding is only for the first couple of months of an infant's life, or mostly up to year. Experts don't agree with this. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding to 2 years of age, and American Academy of Pediatrics clearly states in their policy statement Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk, "Exclusive breastfeeding is ideal nutrition and sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months after birth." "It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired." In many other cultures worldwide and in most of the history children weaned even much later. Comparing humans to our closest animal relatives, Katherine Dettwyler has estimated that the natural age of weaning in humans would be between 2.3 and 7 years. Many women in the world and even in today's America do let children self-wean, and those allowed to do so, usually wean between 2 and 5 years of age. The benefits of breastfeeding don't stop at any age."

(Source: http://www.007b.com/ - an inspirational and very informative web resource about breasts and their natural function)

This is what breasts are about. For all of us, who have been nursed the natural way, our mother's breasts were our first and best source of nourishment. And, if we were fortunate, we were allowed to enjoy this special bond to our mother as well as to Mama Nature for as long as possible. In creating the various taboos about them, breasts have become an object of sexual desire and a turn-on for men, mostly. "Of course breasts are a female body part, and there is nothing wrong in seeing them beautiful body parts. But let's let them be like legs, hips, neck, face, and all the other parts of a female—not like some nearly inanimate objects that automatically "click" men's brains' to the "turn on" mode." (quoted from 007b.com).

Of course, breasts are beautiful. Being a man, I can't say otherwise. Being a man, I also say, that faces, hands, legs, arms, feet, bellies, hips and butts are beautiful... female and male alike, according to my taste, too. This is not to merely copy the quote above, but my personal feeling that human bodies are wonderful works of art, created by Mama Nature in Her best way.

Treating human beings and their bodies with respect, love and compassion is to act in the best spirit of treating Mama Nature the same way. And especially the female body once used to be worshipped as the living representation of the Great Goddess Herself. We all know the ancient statuettes like the famous "Venus von Willendorf" (here in the middle in the picture below), with large breasts and broad hips, celebrating Nature's fertility and blessings.

While it might sound primitive to us "civilized" people of the present to worship femininity in this respect, we can learn an important lesson from it. The depiction of women's bodies in their natural state, partly or fully naked, should be treated no longer as a turn-on, but a celebration of out Great Mother, Mama Nature, and Her natural qualities.

There are women out there, brave and beautiful, doing just that, showing it to us by ways of art. They are advocates of Go Topless Day, too, as well as celebrating their femininity, along with the beauty of being life-givers.

I know, that people, who still are caught in the taboo trap will see these pictures mostly as turn-ons... and, yes, these are beautiful women, to be sure. But their nude beauty, as well as every other nude woman's and every nude man's beauty, transcends sexuality. Don't get me wrong, I am not an asexual being, just tuned to the spiritual aspects of bodies. Not at all! But: have learned to look at human beings, especially when naked, in more than just one way.

And, as we can learn from the Himba women, there's also a happy and playful way to deal with breasts... as they show us here, fascinated by their fair-skinned topless sister: