Nothing like a 90-degree day to make you want to spend some time shirtless in the sun, and that’s true whether you’re a woman or a man. Thankfully, we live in New York City, where women and men have the equal right to do it.
Ten of us made the trek out to the little sylvan grotto in Central Park known as “Strawberry Fields,” near where John Lennon lived and died, and yes, there really are tiny strawberries growing there in the grass. (No, we didn’t eat any.) Several birds came to say hello, also one tiny slug. We got curious looks from several school groups and packs of tourists who walked past on the path beyond the fence, and a visit from two friendly police officers who said they told someone who complained to them about us that we were entirely within our rights and didn’t have to do anything different. Chalk one up for the NYPD.
One trio of obnoxious guys made loud remarks as they passed and then seemed surprised when we said no thanks to their offer to come sit with us. But most people just gave us a passing glance or a smile. “Are you New Yorkers?” asked one gentleman, and when we said we were, he replied, “God bless America.”
Hear, hear.
Looks like UC Santa Cruz.
Reblogged this on Nature Freedom.
God Bless America!! 😀
Land of the free, Home of the brave. Thank you for flexing social norms, peoples!
Reblogged this on home clothes free.
Was this a mostly new group this time around? Some of the regulars appear to be absent, at least in the pics.
Something else I’ve wondered. Has your example yet motivated any non-book club people in the park to follow suit?
No, there were only 2 first-timers out of 10 people in all. The others have all appeared on the blog before. And yes, we’ve seen other women around us go topless after they see us doing it and realize that it’s okay. 🙂
John Lennon could have said that yesterday, all your troubles seemed so far away. And we could work it out that you were enjoying the works of a paperback writer (or two). As for your mission to enjoy the sun, all you are saying is give it a chance. The obnoxious guys were rebuffed when they said they wanna hold your hand.
George Harrison were he still with us would probably fund a film of your mission and adventures.
[…] Strawberry Fields Forever. […]
My wife is the Library Director in our little Nebraska village. I really need to impress on her how such a book appreciation society could do wonders for promoting reading here.
Tell her to take a field trip to New York to find out more. We’d love to have her.
Greetings from August 9, 2013, the day when these pictures were made (metadata say).
New York is now the New World Trypheme, where women (and men) dress as they like, Pierre Louys fiction is now real. A modest question: You proudly read pulp fiction. What will you say if someone goes reading Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” or Freud’s “Five Lessons on Psychanalysis”, or Pierre Louys’s “Les Chansons de Bilitis” in French ?
Reading in French is fine. Not a huge fan of Freud, but he has his moments.
This is great on so many levels, it’s nice to see you live freely in the world of your literary interests without having to adhere to what is considered some form of twisted moral high ground.
Be proud of yourselves!
While I really appreciate what you are doing from an equality standpoint, lets be honest here, you clearly don’t mind all the attention with all the pics & whatnot. I mean, who among us (men or women) actually remove our tops in the middle of winter?
We did an outing in the middle of winter because it seemed like a fun thing to do, simple as that. Truth is, fewer people saw us that day than any day we’ve gone out in the summer, if only because it was a snowy day and not that many people were outside. And no, of course we don’t mind the attention – we want people to know that women have the same rights men do, and it’s hard to get that message across unless people are paying attention.
“And no, of course we don’t mind the attention”
Hey, as long as you are willing to admit to that – im cool with it. I probably would have done that too when I was your age. Then again, I found your page from my 12 year old son’s browsing history. Apparently he frequently masturbates to your pics – not sure how I would have felt about that…
Look. 12-year-old boys are 12-year-old boys. Masturbating is what they do. For that matter, it’s what 12-year-old girls do. And there’s nothing wrong with it. We all have to discover our bodies. But if all you know is that our blog is in his browsing history, you don’t know that’s what he’s doing. And even if it is, it’s a little disrespectful to him to tell us about it. To quote Lennon and McCartney, let it be.
The UK’s Daily Mail just did an article on you guys:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2336936/Literature-lovers-form-topless-book-club-New-York-sunbathe-bare-chested-safely.html
The Daily Mail is the UK equivalent of the Republican Tea Party and has often had a particularly hateful approach to foreigners.
Though in a way all publicity can be good publicity.
Well, we wouldn’t agree with their politics, that’s for sure. But we’re perfectly happy for them to help us spread the word about what we’re up to.
How do I join your group? I would love to participate! And do we bring our own books?
Just send email to toplesspulpfiction@gmail.com with a little info about yourself and your interest. We’re always happy to welcome new members. And you can certainly bring your own books, but we always have books for anyone who hasn’t brought one.
Looks like your group is growing, both in size and confidence. Good for you!
Thank you! We’re excited, for sure.
Hands down the most effective topfreedom awareness effort to date! If only more people would realize it’s all of New York State, not just NYC. Cities like Rochester, which has historical ties to the right to go topless, or other large cities across the state like Buffalo could benefit from OCTPFAS traveling to those cities to promote the cause or by creating upstate sister chapters.
We’d welcome sister chapters in upstate New York or anywhere else. Anyone interested in starting one, contact us!
I truly admire what you guys are doing. You all are such beautiful girls, and I feel that your group should do a fully nude photo shoot with no modesty. Maybe even a fully nude pinup calendar or something. With the vivacity, and sense of ease you guys have in front of the camera, I think some beautiful photographs/art could come of it. Anyhow, just my two cents, and keep up the good work.
We _have_ done fully nude photoshoots, at some of our rooftop events, where we have the privacy to go fully nude. If you look through the blog you’ll fine some of them. No plans for a calendar, though you never know…