We should realize, too, there is a difference between being nude in public and posting an image on the web. Actually physically being around naked people can encourage a certain casual comfort level. (When I was an exchange student to Germany, I went to public swimming pool a few times, and there were many of my classmates there. All the guys were in Speedos, and many of the girls were in bikini bottoms, topless.) Most people realize in that situation that they shouldn't stare aggressively and so they don't. But online provides a kind of anonymity to the "voyeur" that seems to encourage, or allow for, an added obsessiveness. You put your nude image online and there is no telling where it will end up. That is kinda creepy.

Yes free the nipple

I nearly got arrested for walking about bare chested in a French town. That me and my friends had just purchased some flick knives and a knuckle duster from a gun shop was apparently not a problem.

I have yet to ever see a topless women in public in the US, but when i visited Germany not even five miles from where i was staying they had a nude beach. I was a little kid when i saw this and thought it was pretty weird lol. Now as an adult I simply don't care one way or the other.

Perv

I think we men are weak. When it is hot and uncomfortable men get to remove their tops (I do). Yet I see women having to keep their's on and tough it out.

Topless men? Where... WHERE?

Topless men...? Lol! Well ok...

As others have pointed out, toplessness in public is legal in New York State. I've never seen it, but the law is there and I've heard of instances when women protested topless and police provided protection to them. I support equality under the law, and I'm all for equality on the web.

You don't want to see me topless. Trust me on this. Not even if one of my boobs is decorated like a reindeer.

If nudity were more common, we would not have such hang ups about seeing a woman topless. It would be the New Normal. Religion has a lot to do with it.

No thank you. Never know where those pics could end up. LOL.

It's legal for women to be topless here in Ontario (Canada, not California). Saw one woman at a bluesfest walking through the crowd topless... Many people reacted in shock, so my impression is that as a society we're not ready for it yet in a family setting. Nude beach, sure. Just not in a general public environment.

It's the US and religious countries that object to nudity.

in New York it's legal for the woman to be topless

If we do it, so do the girls!

Sorry, but I'm going to resist the urge to give a joking response and instead say something a bit serious. All things being equal, I'd vote for nudity legal (but thankfully optional) for all. I'm not opposed at all in theory. But in our sick culture, nudity is not just about being comfortable in our natural state. It is often about vulnerability to potential aggressors. Women have to think about this shit. Take the example of pornography. Why do so many say that it is oppressive and degrading to women. As a gay man, I love porn; not all of it categorically; cut some kinds of gay porn. And yes, I realize not all gay men like porn, but many do. Am I contributing to my own oppression when I look at hunky guys getting it on? I don't think so. But this is another area in which things are just different for women. There are just enough men out there who still would consider attacking or forcing a woman if they think they can get away with it. Many women are aware of this and it effects how they look at all these issues of the human body on display....or for that matter, jokes about it. For those societal reasons, "bare is [not] bare, no matter who y'are."

Here in New York, the law is that women can be bare-chested in any circumstances a man can be bare chested. How else can you play shirts on skins basketball?