National Topless Protest Day

Remember when we told you about Philadelphia artist Erika Risko being censored in Norfolk, Virginia over her work of art depicting two exposed female breasts?

Well, we think that some Norfolkians may go apoplectic if courageous women from the Greater Tidewater area decide to participate in the "National Topless Protest Day" being organized nationwide for August 23 by the folks from www.gotopless.org.

The organization claims that women have the same constitutional right as men to go bare-chested in public. For August 23 the group is encouraging women nationwide to rally bare-chested in public as part of the national protest day.

"As long as men can go topless, women should have a same and equal right," said Rael, spiritual leader of the International Raelian Movement and founder of GoTopless.org. "Otherwise, men should also be forced to wear something that hides their chests."

Raelians consider a National Protest Day necessary because "women who go topless in U.S. public places are currently arrested, fined, humiliated and treated as criminals."

"Women should go topless and rally publicly in great numbers on August 23 to protest that despicable treatment and exercise their rights," said San Diego resident Nadine Gary, a Raelian guide and one of the event's principal organizers. "We encourage all women's groups and individuals to join us at these rallies. Together, with peaceful femininity but unshakable determination, we'll protest this gross inequality in the law. We'll demand that our right to go topless be recognized in accordance with the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and that all state laws be amended to reflect that right."

We're told that if anyone would like to organize a local protest in Philadelphia, they "will be delighted to assist you so you too can claim your constitutional right to be topless in public as a woman."

Details here.

Erika Risko's image courtesy of Mayer Fine Art.