Topless Protest Returns To Chicago's North Avenue Beach
CHICAGO (CBS) -- "GoTopless Day" returns to North Avenue Beach this weekend for the 9th year in a row, emphasizing a belief that women have the same constitutional right that men have to go bare-chested.
Held in over 50 cities around the world, women participate in the protest by going bare-chested while men celebrate by doing the opposite – covering their chests with bikinis or bras.
Chicago's "GoTopless Day" takes place Sunday, August 28 at 1 pm at North Avenue beach, just north of the Boat House.
While some cities, like New York City and Madison, Wisconsin, allow women to go topless, it is currently illegal in Chicago.
The city of Chicago's municipal code bans women from publicly revealing "any portion of the breast at or below the upper edge of the areola." The fine is between $100 and $500.
A state law creates an exception for mothers who are breastfeeding.
In 2014, Sonoko Tagami was ticketed while participating in "GoTopless Day." She would go on to file a federal lawsuit, claiming Chicago police infringed on her rights to free expression and equal protection. Her suit got tossed out by a U.S. District Judge earlier this year.
"GoTopless Day" is organized by the Raelian Church, a UFO religion founded in 1974 that teaches life on earth was scientifically developed by a species of extraterrestrials who were mistaken for gods.
"Muslims are criticized for forcing their women to wear a burqa or a niqab but it is the exact same sexist mindset that forces Western women to wear a top in public," Maitreya Rael, spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement, was quoted in a press release from (NSFW) GoTopless.org.
According to the municipal code, the areola is not exposed if "covered by an opaque covering..."
GoTopless Day participants often meet this requirement by covering only their nipples, usually with tape, nipple tassels or body paint.
