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Swedish women lose fight for topless bathing
 Two Swedish women who want to be allowed go tøpless in the nation's swimming pools have had their case rejected by Sweden's equality watchdog.
| "Ja, sure! Yøu're rejected!" |
A ruling released on Friday underlined that women's bodies were different from men's:
| There is? Good Gawd! When did that start? |
"There is a physical difference between a woman's upper body and that of a man," said Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Anne-Marie Bergström.
| "The ladies bane got dem hønkers, yew betcha!" |
"There is also a great difference between how people in general perceive men's and women's bodies.
| That may explain why the ladies are so much more fun to look at... |
"It is therefore hard to maintain that [the tøpless bathers] were in a comparable situation to men who bathed with nåked upper bodies."
| "The dangly parts were entirely different." |
Ragnhild Karlsson, 22, who brought the case, told The Local on Friday that she was unsurprised by the ruling:
| "Nøpe. Nøpe. I ain't surprised." |
"Of course we are disappointed, but I understand that from a legal perspective they can't pursue this case. Still, I think it's sad that society is the way it is - that men don't have to cover their upper bodies but women do," she said.
"And they get to pee standing up without getting their feet all wet. That's always bothered me."
"And we think they shøuld have tø üse tåmpøns."
"There shøuld be å låw requiring it!" |
The case reached the watchdog in September after Karlsson and her friend Kristin Karlsson, 21, went for a tøpless swim at the Fyrishov swimming pool in Uppsala.
| "Hey, Sven! Løøk at the fløaties øn døse twø!" |
A female lifeguard caught sight of the pair and told to put their tops back on or leave the pool.
| "Støp thåt this instånt, yøu bråzen hüssies! Yøu bane distractin' da menvølk!!" |
They chose to leave the pool.
"Well! If you wanna be that way, we're leavin'!"
"Yøu seen the frønt øf us. Dis is what da back øf us løøks like!" |
The women complained to the ombudsman, saying that if men can show their chests, women should be allowed to do so as well.
"How're these different from those?"
"Urk!" |
But the watchdog said different rules were applied to men and women in most cultures:
"Women's bodies have more often been the subject sexually objectification, decrees and dress-codes. In our society, the female body is sexualized in a way that the male body is not. This is demonstrated in pørnography and in parts of the rest of the media."
| "But regardless of how you phrase it, nobody gets to show their dangly parts!" |
Bergström said that the fact that women's bodies were objectified "is a sign of a lack of equality and hampers the process of building an equal society."
| "And we all know, there ain't nothin' more equal than titties!" |
Despite rejecting the women's case, Bergström said it was good that they had raised the question: "The case has achieved a lot of attention and it is good that we can have a discussion about unequal rules for the bodies of men and women."
| "Nø matter høw støøpid it is." |
The women behind the protest say they are pleased with their campaign, despite Friday's verdict.
| "Ja, sure! Everybody løøked at øur hønkers! I gøt dates well intø next mønth!" |
The case has provoked "lots of positive reactions," said Karlsson. One result has been the 'Bara Bröst' network, which campaigns for women's honkers boobies breasts to be jiggled bared displayed 'desexualized'. The name translates both as both as 'Bare Breasts' and 'Just Breasts'. "We've had a few negative reactions too," she added. "There have been quite a few un-serious comments from men who say 'this is OK for attractive women, but not for ugly women," she said.
| "Didja ever think maybe that's why they're kept under wraps? To give all the ladies a chance?" |
Karlsson pointed out that men can walk around bare-chested "no matter what they look like." She also pointed out that they want topless bathing to be "an individual decision. We're not saying that everyone should go topless."
| "Only those of us with cømely hønkers!" |
Meanwhile, the campaign for equality is set to continue. "We are going to pursue this through political means," said Karlsson.
Posted by: Fred 2007-12-08 |
