Topless women "enraged" that men would photograph them in public

Topless protest on Miami Beach in 2009 (Photo by Carlos Miller)


It’s been my experience that most topless women who march down the street protesting their right to bare their breasts in public are not really worth photographing.

But as photographers – and as men -  we still find ourselves pulling out our cameras to capture the bare essentials.

After all, isn’t that what they want?

Apparently not, according to a group of women who protested topless in Portland, Maine last week for their right to go topless.

According to the Portland Press Herald:

The point of the march was that a topless woman out in public should attract no more attention than a man walking around without a shirt on, said Ty MacDowell, 20, of Westbrook, who organized Saturday’s event and promoted it on Facebook.

But as the event got under way in Longfellow Square, the marchers were soon outnumbered by scores of onlookers — mostly young men eagerly snapping away with cameras and cell phones.

MacDowell said she was surprised by the turnout of those interested less in challenging societal convention than in seeing partially undressed women.

“I’m amazed,” she said, and “enraged (at) the fact that there’s a wall of men watching.”

I’m betting that they would be just as enraged if nobody even glanced at them.

I covered a topless protest last year on Miami Beach where the women did not mind being photographed.

But down here, bare breasts do not perk as much interest considering you can find dozens of topless women on the beach on any given day.

Comments

Anonymous
Anonymous

They need to stop worrying about photogs and worry about support! Gravity is a bitch!

Anonymous
Anonymous

Ummm… Ladies, men look at bare breasts. We will never think of a topless woman as being the same as a topless man. Get over it.

Anonymous
Anonymous

The ladies from Potland, whatever, they are nothing but a bunch of commie wankers anyways, them women have hairy armpits and legs like a yeti, bunch of Al Gore fetishists. They need to take their organically grown free range locally grown wooden buttplug out of their arse and shove it in their mouth.

It’s like some people who wear spandex, they really shouldn’t and I really shouldn’t look, but I do and then regret it. Although the lady with the purple flower on one breast and with the purple wings in the background is very beautiful. I’m glad the man has a sign in front of him, I really don’t want to see his saggy bitch tits, from the looks of things he has a big belly which usually means man boobs. All this talk of breasts reminds me of a song from junior high school:

We must,
we must,
we must develop our busts,
the bigger, the better,
the heavier, the sweatier,
the boys are depending on us.

Wonder what the candle sniffing women of Portland would make of that song.
Jody´s last blog ..Wikileaks: Collateral Murder

Anonymous
Anonymous

Note to the women: Either don’t bare youre breasts in public or don’t complain about photographers photographing you in public; pick your poison.

Anonymous
Anonymous

I find it especially funny that the bible thumpers are jumping on this as well as everyone else.

Just gotta find a place to stick that f$%^ing book every chance you get.

here’s a hint… try your cavernous retentive ass.

Anonymous
Anonymous

You have allot of issues you need to work through. I suggest talking to a counselor as soon as possible. There is a lot of hate in that post.

Anonymous
Anonymous

You’re in public. You can be photographed without any permission whatsoever. Keep walking.

Anonymous
Anonymous

What I found particularly absurd about the protest organizer’s reaction was that the whole point of the protest was to draw attention to how male and female toplessness are treated differently (Women going around topless is legal in Maine, so the protest wasn’t about the law). You’d think, even if she thought some of the men behaved badly, that it still was a useful object lesson in exactly the problem the protest was trying to highlight.

This sort of logical inconsistency seems to be pretty common among street protesters in general, be they leftie peace activists or teabaggers. There’s just something about this form of activism that really brings out the stupid.
akagoldfish´s last blog ..watchyourback

Anonymous
Anonymous

Umm this was about Portland, Maine, so you’re “potland” wise-crack kind of misses the mark by a few thousand miles.

The rest of your post is such nonsensical gibberjabber I can’t really think of anything to say about it, other than lay off the booze before getting on the internet.
akagoldfish´s last blog ..watchyourback

Anonymous
Anonymous

In fairness, the story says most of the women welcomed or at least politely tolerated the attention. It was just the protest organizer who went off the handle.
akagoldfish´s last blog ..watchyourback

Anonymous
Anonymous

I Read at work. Wasn’t expecting boobies on the front page. Is this a weird concern? Strange that I can’t/shouldn’t see this at work?

Anonymous
Anonymous

Their nipples are covered. And the photo was taken in public during a protest. And they’re just holding up signs, not doing anything sexually explicit.

So it’s actually a news photo rather than a porn photo.

Anonymous
Anonymous

They may be able to make it legal, but it’s another matter entirely to make it “normal”. I support people’s individual rights to behave as they please without hurting others, but I also support the right of everyone else to gawk, condemn, ostracize, pass judgment, etc.

You may be free to do as you please, that doesn’t mean you are free from “social consequences” – and staring is one of those consequences.
Josh Saint Jacque´s last blog ..Secret Service Threatens to Confiscate Camaras

Anonymous
Anonymous

Now you know why the world laughs at Americans, you have no sense of humour and no clue what irony means.
Jody´s last blog ..Wikileaks: Collateral Murder

Anonymous
Anonymous

So what if they’re enraged. Anyone has the right to photograph anyone visible from a public place, period.
Did they expect anything else? Well hello world! Can they get past it and make it so commonplace that no one pays any attention?
I doubt it.

-jbh-

Anonymous
Anonymous

Wow…there was a lot of hate going on in the comments. And just a little immaturity. Great.
mepsipax´s last blog ..A little about the auto

Anonymous
Anonymous

We had a protest up here with a woman who appeared to be nude, but was in stockings. It garnered some attention, considering it was 30 degrees outside.
Guy Freeman´s last blog ..Connecticut Police Officers Association Supporter

Anonymous
Anonymous

The world laughs at us? Ahh, man. I thought the world was laughing with us. This really hurts my self-esteem.
Guy Freeman´s last blog ..Connecticut Police Officers Association Supporter

Anonymous
Anonymous

I live a few miles from Portland (correctly called potland because it is not a criminal infraction to have Marijuana here… it’s a civil infraction, like speeding). And yes, the women here are completely wacked out.

Look.. the fact is, if you are out in public, you are fair game to be photograped. Even though I’m a guy, I would never want my bare chest potographed in public by a stranger. BUT… here’s the caveat… I would not BE OUT in public without a shirt.

So, this argument by these ultra feminists is just plain silly.

Anonymous
Anonymous

How stupid bro!
Pepe´s last blog ..Town Hall Meetings, Hialeah Style

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