We recently received an email message from a woman in Turkey that broke our heart, but also filled us with gratitude and hope. With her permission, we’re sharing her message here (but not her name).
Hi! I am a 31 year old woman from Istanbul, Turkey and I have been following your blog for a few years now. I just wanted to say that you are very, VERY fortunate sisters of mine that happen to live far, far away from me. I cannot imagine sunbathing topless here in Istanbul. I would be sexually harrassed and then arrested within an hour. Plus, I would have photos of me circulating to shame and harrass me forever.
Despite living in this reality, reading the blog and looking at the photos make me feel at peace, knowing that there are some places in the world where I could live the way I want to. I deserve like-minded sisters to read with, and my boobs deserve sunlight!
I hope to visit New York City someday, and if that day ever comes, I would LOVE to come spend an afternoon at the park with you people if it is OK. I love scifi books and comics ❤
Thank you so much for making the world a better place! Maybe someday the whole world will see that female nipples are not the worst of the planet’s problems.
Hope to meet you someday,
Love,
[NAME REDACTED]
Some people ask, why do we make such a big deal about the freedom to go topless when it’s already legal where we live? This is why.
And yes, we told her we would love to meet her if she ever comes to New York. And we would love to meet you, too, whether you live in New York or are just visiting (we’re meeting a fan from Belgium today, and one from France tomorrow!), whether you’ve never bared your breasts outdoors or have been doing it since you were a child, whether you’re nervous about it or elated, and no matter how young or old you are or what you look like. All women are welcome; all women deserve to be free.
Just email us at toplesspulpfiction@gmail.com.
Thank you so much.This is a great blessing to me.
this letter from the gal in turkey puts this in perspective…women are people and deserve sunlight on their bodies like any other people. In Germany, nudity in many parks is perfectly acceptable. Here on south beach florida, topless sunbathing is not only legal but unremarkable, just like everyone wearing tops.
You girls are doing a great job, sharing the freedom over the world! Please keep it up as long as you can 🙂
That’s so awesome, you are inspiring other women worldwide to accept their bodies and seek the freedom of being topfree and more.
This resonates so much. I’m a member of a naturist swimming club here in England. I was sitting in the sauna chatting to a couple of the female members who were in there, about nothing in particular. Then we realised that what we were doing, men and women sitting naked in the same room, is not only illegal in many countries, but could even be treated as a capital crime in some, especially for the women. That equates these mothers and grandmothers with murderers, for just relaxing in a way we all find just to be comfortable. So all power to you in your campaigns to make being as naked as you like just normal. It’s not a crime.
If we ever go to NYC, we will look you up. My girlfriend loves to take off her top, but it only happens when we think we are alone since she lives in the woods of northern Wisconsin, where attitudes are very traditional and conservative. And where (I suspect) people just pay lip service to women’s issues. In this setting, it’s hard for her to feel brave, even though she is proud of her body at the age of 65.
I found this post so moving I had to share it on my blog. Thank you for all the work your group does in fighting agaist body shaming and inspiring women not only in New York, but the world over.
Crowd source a flight to NY for the lady to come visit.
Love what you’re doing! Thank you!
Very sobering letter from the woman in Istanbul, Turkey, a moderately conservative, mostly Islamic society. Closer to home, all across the USA, women would face the same scorn, shaming, and legal hassles – as most of our country (conservative and predominately Christian) would allow no such freedom for women to take off their tops in public. There are courts in the USA that could actually go as far to compel a woman convicted of this “crime” to register as a sex offender for the remainder of her life. The core members of OCTPFAS are to be commended for publishing this letter from Turkey, but should also realize that it could have also been authored by many other places in the world, including Anytown, USA.
Oh, we understand that. If we’d gotten a similar letter from North Carolina — or Kentucky, or Utah, or wherever — we would have published it just the same. But this was the letter we got, and we wanted to share it with all of you.