On another site, someone posted the question "is is ok to go topless on the beach and round the pools in the Algarve?". They have had the response "yes it is".

Does anyone else remember when the answer to that question was "yes, as long as it is not within sight of a church or other religious building"?

As I recall it also applied in Greece with the Orthodox Church.

Anyway, does anyone else remember this?

And what are the forum members views on topless bathing for women?


Maddi

p.s. eco/spider, does this potentially count as a not boring subject?

I don't know about the rules & reg's Maddi,
but as a past topless bather, but only on deserted Greek islands,
I tend to think that it is okay on a semi deserted beach, but don't really agree with it around the pool. If toplessness(!) offends you, you can usually move to another part of the beach, but its a bit different around a pool. (also I'm sure my 9 yr old twin boys would find it highly amusing )

Tricky

This is a good question Mads!
Personally....Im okay with this...not at all offended. But it isn't something I would do on the beach; only when sunbathing privately..when younger and now.
What I /we were more offended with on CVOs beach..was a young woman putting her clothes back on ...in this case her panties..baring all as she bent down for all to see..it was like an insult..as if to say 'AOs' to you
That ..I didnt like
On a more serious note..we have to take good care of our breasts..and their delicate tissue..and always use high factor sun cream.
One little P.S...I do worry though that the much older folk out there.Port. men/women ..would be offended.
While Im not a prude..after all our bodies are not something we should be ashamed of..i do agree with Tricky..and it shouldnt be done around public pool area.We should consider others feelings

oh..and it can take your breath away..when you dribble your icecream

Ooops! .......I could be prosecuted for my thinking! ellie and dripping icecream..........topless er what was it i was saying?
however this topic does have a serious edge.being a fighter for keeping some of this planets beauty for the future,I am aware of the increase in skincancer and the thought of all that bare flesh roasting on the beach(Im trembling again!) does concern me.
Anyway,i prefer wet t-shirts,worn by our lovely ladies of course
Im now off for a cold shower

I have to say that I have a mass of contradicting double standards on the subject myself.

Clothes were invented not to stop people being offended by nudity but to protect people from the weather (be that too cold or too hot) what resulted was only your nearest and dearest got see you naked and therefore it became a sign of familiarity/sex. Therefore I am firmly of the view that going topless is not offensive (there are people who may be offended but is that their problem).

Here comes some of the double standards, when I was a knockout looking youngster I didn't have the personal confidence to go topless, I was scared that I might offend, etc. Now I have all the confidence in the world and would happily counter any argument on the beach or poolside (when round the pool, I lie topless but always put my top back on to walk around or to swim) now I just haven't got the body for it and that could be offensive

Maddi

Ellie wrote:I do worry though that the much older folk out there.Port. men/women ..would be offended

Your average Portuguese isn’t half as likely to feel offended by toplessness as the Brit is.

A good example of the difference in attitude/acceptance can be seen in TV ads. These ads for deodorant, bras, baby food or whatever made by multinational agencies are censored for British TV. In Portugal you can see the same ads but with more er… nipple

I see your point ..no pun intended ..Digger!
and its often said..that we ..the Brits...are very 'childish' /naive (cant spell it) about 'nudity'/ 'sex'....while most of the continentals are much more 'grown up ' in their attitude--ours is more 'under the cover'..under brown wrapping so to speak?
Ive always felt quite liberal minded about these things..though Im by no means a 'woman of the world'....but there is a struggle in me....one side the French blood ..the other ....some German/English and so a bit puritanical?
is it a case of "No sex please.....we're British"?
But you must admit that womens breasts have become more symbolic of 'sex'..than what they were actually made for...breast feeding....and even that is not encouraged here in UK incase of offending! Yet its ok to plaster books with womens naked breasts
I remember ..having to 'hide' in a St Johns ambulance (on a family outing) to feed my baby daughter.A perfectly natural act. So as not to offend anyone Strange world!

Maddi, an intresting Topic/Thread, and it comes up in Austin all the time...I guess it all depends...
If the cops BUST you, that could be a problem.....
they would make you walk around with BRA and Chain....
but I am sure you can make the BREST of the situation.


Now that I've proved myself to be a total BOOB, let me leave you with this:

Beautiful Women:

Age 3: She looks at herself and sees a Queen.

Age 8: She looks at herself and sees Cinderella.

Age 15: She looks at herself and sees an Ugly Stepsister (Mom, I can't go to school looking like this!).

Age 20: She looks at herself and sees "too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, too straight/too curly"- but decides she's going out anyway.

Age 30: She looks at herself and sees "too fat/too thin, too short/too
tall, too straight/too curly" - but decides she doesn't have time to fix it,
so she's going out anyway.

Age 40: She looks at herself and sees "clean" and goes out anyway.

Age 50: She looks at herself and sees "I am" and goes wherever she wants to go.

Age 60: She looks at herself and reminds herself of all the people who can't even see themselves in the mirror anymore. Goes out and conquers the world.

Age 70: She looks at herself & sees wisdom, laughter and ability, goes out and enjoys life.

Age 80: Doesn't bother to look. Just puts on a purple hat and goes out to have fun with the world.

Cowboy

let's face it folks, most of us look a hell of a lot better to other people with our clothes on Time and gravity does strange things to the human body.

Will 2, that's why tailors die rich.

I always go topless, not to show anything off, but to ensure no horrible strap marks when I go out! More than half the people in the world have them and do not think they are anything to be offended by. Like someone mentioned before I will always put on a top or t shirt to get a drink or swim.
Having said that more than half the people in the world have them, I do not like to see G strings (particularly on men) and this must be double standards as we all have bums!!!!

Funny you should mention g-strings guest 'cos I don't like them too and like you I go topless because I hate strap marks which absolutely ruin the look in the summer when you wear pretty sun dresses or backless tops. I guess the g-string thing is because there are almost no clothes where the strap marks around the bum would be visible so only your partner gets to see that white bit!! See double standards all over the show.

And as they say, women go to so much much trouble to get a beautiful, glowing golden tan and men are only really interested in the white bits!!

Bit of a sweeping statement isnt it that 'men are only interested in the white bits'.