Posted on 05/21/2008 9:54:10 PM PDT by WesternCulture
Women will continue to be barred from bathing topless at an indoor pool in the central Swedish town of Enköping following a decision by the town council’s recreation committee on Tuesday.
Prior to the decision, committee member Stefan Brandberg cited concerns about the health of young girls in his opposition to the proposed lifting of the ban.
“We believe that it can contribute to anorexia—there is a risk for that,” he said to the newspaper Expressen.
Monica Hällgren, chair of the Enköping recreation committee, confirmed that one of the central arguments for leaving the ban in place was concern over the potential for topless women bathing to create conditions which could lead to a spike in eating disorders.
“We feel that topless bathing contributes to a preoccupation with people’s bodies and that isn’t something to which we felt the municipality wanted to contribute,” she told The Local.
According to Hällgren, the council had taken up the question after receiving an email from a man who complained that banning topless bathing by women while allowing men to swim bare-chested amounted to discrimination.
The issue of women going topless in public pools has received a great deal of attention in Sweden in recent months after two bare-breasted young women were kicked out of swimming pool in Uppsala last autumn.
Outraged by what they considered discrimination, a group of women in southern Sweden established the Bara Bröst network to demonstrate their solidarity with the women.
The network, whose name translates both as 'Bare Breasts' and 'Just Breasts', was mentioned in the discrimination complaint sent to public officials in Enköping.
However, there was little actual debate when the committee decided that the ban should remain in place.
“It was a unanimous decision,” said Hällgren.
She emphasized that the ban only applies to the town’s one indoor pool and that, as of now there is nothing stopping women from going topless at any municipal outdoor pools.
“I understand why people want to go topless outside when they have the sun to consider,” she added.
“But we couldn’t think of any reason why someone would need to be topless at the indoor pool…it’s a place for families, after all.”
Monica Hällgren, chair of the Enköping recreation committee, confirmed that one of the central arguments for leaving the ban in place was concern over the potential for topless women bathing to create conditions which could lead to a spike in eating disorders.
WTF? Seriously? I’d think it would lead to an increase in breast augmentation surgery at the worst, not anorexia, because eating disorders tend to have a negative effect on girls’ bra sizes.
> This involves a complex calculus involving several variables:
* Relative motion detection, (Jiggle Factor.)
* Population density psf, (Juggle Factor.)
* Wife Unit proximity, (Leash Factor.)
* Make/model of the weapon itself, (Shiny Thing Factor.)
Well, let's see... "Jiggling" one's firearm is probably a bad plan in general. Breasts, on the other hand [snort], are intended to jiggle a little. Not a lot, just a little; but some. Thus we see an immediate differentiation based on relative motion. Agreed.
Population density is indeed a factor, mainly (I would imagine) from distraction. For example, if the beach were mainly populated by topless women, then the one with the firearm would stand out all the more for that, whereas if the rest were clothed in, say, burkas, the topless one might draw enough attention to require the use of the firearm. Juggling would be a serious consideration. So, agreed.
Wife Unit proximity... this varies highly with model of Wife Unit. My wife (now a friendly ex) is exceedingly broad-minded and self-assured, and occasionally would draw my attention to a particularly lovely woman, if I appeared to be looking elsewhere. I never really experienced much of a Leash Factor, so I'll defer on that variable.
Make/model of the weapon. While I admit to a strong "Shiny Thing Factor" attraction, and have a small number of guns, I also admit to not being able to positively identify make and model of most at a distance. So probably I am somewhat out-classed by the average gun-toting FReeper.
And as another poster (TexasRepublic) pointed out, the breasts would probably win out over the firearms for most of us -- gotta keep those priorities straight!
Great article.
Samsioe cites a French study on women ages 18 to 25 which found that the distance between a woman’s nipples and the ground decreased in women who wore bras.
Ah, only the French.
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