Dorothy Stover wants everyone to be able to take their tops off at Nantucket beaches. "This past summer, I was at the beach, and I wanted to lay out topless," she recalled. "And I thought, 'why can't I do that?'" Stover said in a recent phone interview.
When Nantucket's town meeting arrives in May, voters will consider Stover's bylaw amendment titled "Gender Equality on Beaches," which reads, in part: "In order to promote equality for all persons, any person shall be allowed to be topless on any public or private beach within the Town of Nantucket."
Currently, state law dictates that only men have the privilege of shedding their tops in public. "This is really antiquated, and this is inequality," said Stover. "Some men have bigger breasts than I do." According to Town Clerk Nancy Holmes, all prospective bylaw changes must be approved by the state attorney general. Unfortunately, the time frame for that process likely means this summer won't be topless on the island.
Source: Cape Cod Times