Grin and Bare it

Sunday's National Go Topless Day drew protests in Toronto when activists were denied permission to expose themselves in a park.

Topless activists have taken to the streets of Toronto in protest. As part of National Go Topless Day, men in bras and women without them marched down Queen Street East on Sunday with a pickup truck blasting the Beatles’ Revolution (because this is what Lennon et al. had in mind, right?). The protest was organized by GoTopless.org, a U.S.-based organization whose slogan is “Free your breasts! Free your mind!” The group argued that, in the name of equality, women should be subject to the same clothing regulations as men. They decided to have a street protest after the city of Toronto denied them a permit to go topless at Ashbridges Bay park, despite an Ontario appeal court ruling that allows women to bare it all in public. The city parks department said Toronto’s municipal code requires proper attire and suggested they go to a nude beach instead. Vancouver also participated in National Go Topless Day, but, somehow, it was less controversial there.