[quote author=ketchim link=topic=105746.msg710940#msg710940 date=1472242374]
Just because it's legal to go without tops, however, doesn't mean
it's culturally any easier for women to do it now
than it was for Jacob in 1991
[/quote] I believe in equality of the sexes . If men can go topless , so also can women .
This of course does not apply toย women in my circles and family etc.
Banning burkinis is reverse bigotry, sexist and racist.
Why not ban nuns from beaches too? Why not ban crosses? Why not ban Yarmulke hats? Why not ban Hindu veils? Why not ban dreadlocks?
Suddenly only one religion's totems are "oppressive"?
Suddenly women are deemed incapable of making their own choices?
Not to mention that there are countless non-religious reasons to want to cover your body at a beach, none of which can be (or should be) realistically policed.
Leave people alone.
People ditch customs like this at their own speed.
Forcing these changes only creates backlash and slows down progress.
Not to mention that the Burkinis was deemed emancipatory in many cultures. Suddenly women could hold onto their religious customs whilst also enjoying the beach! A good thing!
Of course most religious customs are a form of control and are not "freely chosen" by participants. But this is true of almost everything in life. Where do you draw the line?
Either agree as a society to enact policies which crush all forms of supposed oppression and sexism and bigotry - an impossible task, as much of this is subjective; what are you going to do? Execute everyone who doesn't want to be a hipster atheist? - or step back and let these things evolve on their own.
I will let you ban burkinis the day you promise to bulldoze every church. Everything else is hypocrisy.
![[Image: women-going-topless.jpg]](http://i.cbc.ca/1.3171425.1438112511!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/women-going-topless.jpg)