A group of women will march topless along the Venice
Beach boardwalk Sunday as part of an annual call for equal rights for women who
want to go bare-breasted in public.
“We’re working toward freeing women’s nipples and obtaining equal
gender topless rights that are enforced worldwide,” according to Lara
Terstenjak, head of the Los Angeles branch of GoTopless, the sponsor of the
event.
The annual topless march will feature women — joined by shirtless men —
walking from the northern end of Ocean Front Walk to the center of the
boardwalk at Windward Circle, where a rally will be held urging lawmakers to
allow women to go topless.
Similar marches will be held in dozens of cities across the country as
part of the eighth annual GoTopless Day, organizers said.
On Friday night, organizers of the Venice march held a “pre-rally party
extravaganza” in West Los Angeles, featuring a screening of the film, “Free
the Nipple.”
Terstenjak noted that the Venice Neighborhood Council recently approved
a resolution in support of women going topless, but such a change would require
action by the city and the county.
“The Venice Neighborhood Council’s approval is a hopeful step forward
after our eight years of activism on Venice Beach,” Terstenjak said. “Now
it’s time for the city and county to follow up by making equal gender and
topless rights a priority.”
