Venice prepares for annual topless parade and protest
Regular visitors to the Venice Beach boardwalk are accustomed to unusual sights: an electric guitarist on roller skates, a cat napping inside a piano and a giant snake made of sand.
Then there’s the annual “Go Topless Pride Parade,” which begins at 1 p.m. Sunday at the corner of Navy Street and Ocean Front Walk. Organizers hope it will result in hundreds of women and men marching topless through the popular tourist spot.
The march – organized by gotopless.org – is one of more than 60 worldwide intended to call attention to laws that bar women from going bare-chested in public.
“We’re working toward freeing women’s nipples and obtaining equal gender topless rights that are enforced worldwide,” said Beatrice Charles, a GoTopless spokeswoman who leads the organization’s L.A. branch.
The event will feature a speech, followed by the mile-long march to Windward Circle. Organizers say they chose this weekend in order to honor the 95th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day (Friday) and support the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
“Around the world, gender inequality over the centuries, including exclusively male leadership, caused imbalances that could destroy society,” Charles said. “We’re inviting women to free their bodies from repression and recover their self-esteem. Freeing the nipples frees minds!”
Advocates say they believe they are making progress in Los Angeles.
In April 2015, the Venice Neighborhood Council voted 12-2 in favor of a resolution stating that the council “supports women being afforded the same rights as men to sunbathe topless.”
The city and county of Los Angeles prohibit nude or topless sunbathing, and Councilman Mike Bonin has said he has other priorities for the neighborhood.
But Melissa Diner, the Venice council community officer who sponsored the resolution, has insisted that topless sunbathing “is a serious equality issue.”
“Venice Beach was founded and designed around the European culture of Venice, Italy,” the neighborhood council said, “and ... topless [sun]bathing is commonplace throughout Europe, much of the rest of the world and many places within the U.S.”
Organizers say Sunday’s march will mark the ninth anniversary of the event. Previous renditions have drawn hundreds of people – some more interested in watching than participating.
In a statement, event organizers acknowledged that getting the city and county to approve topless sunbathing “could take time.”
Still, Charles said she sees progress.
“The Venice Neighborhood Council’s approval is a hopeful step forward after our nine years of activism on Venice Beach,” Charles said. “Now it’s time for the city and county to follow up by making equal gender topless rights a priority!”
Twitter: @ByMattStevens
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