Incident Triggered by Woman Kicked Out for Swimming Without Top
"Requiring Only Women to Cover Chests Is Discrimination" Judgment
The Berlin authorities, the capital of Germany, have decided to allow women to go topless in public swimming pools.
On the 10th (local time), major foreign media including the US Washington Post (WP) and the UK BBC reported that on the 9th, the Berlin city government issued a statement saying, "The same regulations will apply to both men and women regarding the removal of swimwear in city-managed public swimming pools."
This decision by the city was triggered by a report from Lotte Miss (33), who was expelled last December for swimming topless at a swimming pool. At the time, Miss reported to the Berlin city-affiliated 'Office for Equal Treatment' that "I was stopped for swimming without covering my chest, but the same rules were not applied to other men in the pool."
This office is the agency that enforces the anti-discrimination law separately enacted by Berlin in 2020. Once a report is filed, the 'Ombudsman Center,' which oversees the complaint, begins investigating the situation, and the Ombudsman Center agreed with Miss's claim. The center stated, "There are no separate rules based on gender in the swimming pools," and judged that "the swimwear sold on the market is a term created to distinguish it from everyday clothes, and it is difficult to interpret it as meaning to cover the upper body." In other words, requiring only women to cover their chests was seen as discrimination.
Berlin's public swimming pools specify only that standard swimwear must be worn, without any 'gender rules.' Swim shorts, bikinis, swimsuits, and burkinis are mentioned as acceptable attire, but there are no regulations on who should wear what.
WP cited a previous interview with Keon West, a social psychology professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, who studies nudity and body image, regarding this measure. Professor West said, "Germans are generally quite tolerant of nudity," and "Even in cases of extreme exposure, it is viewed as a 'free body culture' and not considered sexual."
Several cities on the outskirts of Germany have already allowed topless swimming for everyone. Last year, the city of G?ttingen in central Germany began a pilot program allowing entry to public swimming pools topless regardless of gender. This followed an incident where a person was banned from using a pool after entering topless.
According to the 'German Association for Promoting Free Body Culture,' more than 130 'naturist' clubs are active in Germany. They follow a lifestyle practicing social nudity without sexual intent.
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