By Allison Trunkey
Correspondent
BREMERTON — In Washington state, women are technically allowed to be topless in public, as are men.
But for women, going topless is not considered normal and women who do so run the risk of being accused of indecent exposure — a misdemeanor for the first conviction, a felony for the second.
According to state law, a person is guilty of indecent exposure “if he or she makes any open and obscene exposure of his or her person … knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm.” (Breastfeeding is not considered indecent exposure.)
And that’s what offends Marci Wiegand — that someone might be affronted or alarmed by a woman’s body; or that by being topless, a woman, but not a man, might, under a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, be found to be “prurient.”
Marci and her husband, Carl, have organized an equal topless rights protest for Aug. 28, in objection to laws they say are discriminatory and deny women equal protection under the law in accordance with the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment is often invoked in court cases regarding gender- and sex-based discrimination — for example, Brown v. Board of Education (1954, racial discrimination) and Roe v. Wade (1973, reproductive rights).
“It means that no one person should be treated any differently based on sex, gender or anything,” Carl said.
Carl is the Washington state spokesperson for Go Topless, a national organization that advocates equal freedom for men and women to be topless in public spaces. Carl and Marci became involved last year after the summer’s extreme temperatures left them wondering why it was acceptable for Carl to be shirtless, but not Marci.
For Marci, being topless is partly a matter of physical comfort. She said she started going topless after she and Carl married. “When I used to wear a bra, I would get a heat rash, and he would say, ‘There’s got to be a better way,’ ” she said.
The Aug. 28 protest will be multifaceted: Demonstrators will stand on a corner and others will ride bikes or walk between Riddell Road and Sylvan Way. Participants can come clothed in whatever way they feel comfortable, the Wiegands said.
The Bremerton demonstration will be one of hundreds taking place across the country that day for the annual Go Topless Day. Until the law changes to give women and men equal topless rights, the Wielands plan to host demonstrations every year in Kitsap County. They hope to open a conversation in Kitsap.
“We want to be a peaceful and legal protest. We don’t want to be ‘obscene,’” Marci said, her use of the word making clear that she is aware of the precarious legal situation they’ll be in.
Men and women should use common sense when deciding whether they want to be topless, the Wiegands said. But it’s a personal choice.
“The issue is partially judging,” Marci said. “For whatever reason, some people are repulsed by [women being topless in public]. But it shouldn’t be a political issue.”
A national conversation about equal topless rights began largely in 2014. The fundamental issue is why women’s bodies are hyper-sexualized to the point that they must be covered up in ways men’s bodies do not.
In beginning the conversation, many credit Lina Esco’s film “Free the Nipple” (2014) and the subsequent Twitter campaign (#FreeTheNipple); and Rihanna, a singer known for striking style choices, like a sequined, see-through dress she wore without a bra. Other celebrities, such as Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevigne and Chelsea Handler, have given public support to the campaign through social media.
The Wiegands are tuned in to that national conversation and hope more celebrities will help make people more comfortable with the natural human body.
“They’re role models of self-empowerment,” Marci said.
Carl added, “We’re trying to make women’s bodies normalized, not sexualized.”
The Wiegands say shame is one of the driving forces behind resistance to women going topless.
“I think kids are taught shame from an early age,” Marci said. “Whatever hesitancy or anxiety society feels toward female exposure, it is something we have learned and been taught over time. [It’s] not an innate [response].”
Another driving force is fear.
Marci added, “People get killed for tennis shoes, but nobody’s gotten killed for being topless.”
They’re surprised that the most vehement critics have been women, many of whom say the Wiegands should concentrate on issues like equal pay instead. To this, Carl responds, “These are important problems, granted, but there are people working on [those issues].”
Carl and Marci said equal topless rights are an aspect of gender equality that they can attack head on, in which they hope to make a difference.
Esco said in an interview with The Daily Beast about the impact of “Free the Nipple,” “The nipple has become the Trojan horse for a bigger dialogue to begin about inequality and oppression.”
Counter protests are certainly possible. The Wiegands hope that by reaching out to local and state authorities, businesses and the press well in advance of Aug. 28, people will not be “shocked and affronted” to see them.
“That’s the thing. We’ve asked,” Marci said. “We’re trying to do this respectfully” and allow people to adjust, mentally prepare and know that they can abstain from participating in or even seeing the protest.
They have contacted the Washington State Patrol, Bremerton Police, Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent, Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Bremerton, and even Puget Sound Energy. They’ve emailed invitations to the Bremerton City Council, Gov. Jay Inslee and the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners.
Several local businesses have reached out in support, and the Wiegands are hopeful for more.
To women who support the effort but who may not be comfortable going topless, the Wiegands say, “If [you’re] not comfortable with it, but support the cause, come over in a T-shirt and hold a sign.”
To those who can’t come to the demonstration but wish to contribute, they suggest making signs and getting involved the conversation by visiting the Facebook page (gotopless.org), Craigslist listing [8/28: topless equal rights protest (East Bremerton)], or Google+ page (www.goo.gl/dAglpi).
