Could topless beaches be coming to Nantucket? They will if resident Dorothy Stover has her way. She wants to be allowed to remove her top at Nantucket beaches. She said, "This past summer, I was at the beach, and I wanted to lay out topless. And I thought, 'why can't I do that?'"
Stover has introduced a bylaw amendment titled "Gender Equality on Beaches," and it will be considered at Nantucket's town meeting this May. In part it reads, "In order to promote equality for all persons, any person shall be allowed to be topless on any public or private beach within the Town of Nantucket."
Right now, only men are permitted by state law to remove their tops at the beach, and as Dorothy so eloquently put it, "Some men have bigger breasts than I do." She says, "This is really antiquated, and this is inequality.” I think she’s right! Women have been going topless on beaches and at swimming pools over in Europe for decades. Why shouldn’t women be allowed to bare their breasts if they want too? Just be sure to apply extra sunscreen if you do.
Even if the measure is approved by the town council, it still has a long way to go before it goes into effect. Town Clerk Nancy Holmes says all prospective bylaw changes have to go before the state attorney general to be approved, and since that can be a lengthy process, it looks like ladies will have to keep their tops on at least this summer on Nantucket. Maybe next year?!
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