What do you think of European women going topless on Europes beaches?

During the last few years, it has become rather usual to observe women tanning or swimming with their upper breasts uncovered on some European Mediterranean coasts. This is more so for countries that are predominantly found in Europe such as France, Spain, Italy, and Greece where women going topless is more acceptable than in the rest of the world. To be honest, as an American, the concept is quite bizarre at first, but the more I get to know about the culture’s perception of nudity and how they look at the body, the more it starts to make sense.

I think a few key things are fueling this trend of European women going topless.

1. More liberal cultural norms on exposed nudity. All in all, allow me to state that most Europeans are less prudish about nudity in general, particularly when sunbathing. The human body is considered normal and does not immediately become associated with sex or sexual acts. It is not as strictly shunned and prohibited there as in the United States, there is no puritan modesty there.

2. An excessive desire for a full-body tan. As far as swimsuits are concerned, with even more revealing ones especially in trend in the Mediterranean now, it is less challenging to avoid any line of tanning if you do not wear the top at all. European female concept of beauty includes silky bronze skin and therefore when sunbathing, many of them aim at getting a full body tan.

3. Body positivity movement. In recent years, European women have begun to take to the streets and flaunt their bodies, and their Channel is dedicated to body positivity. This goes in line with the trending theme of body acceptance, and therefore going topless is a good way of not covering imperfections.

4. Less sexual objectification. Whereas in Western countries today, it may still be seen as quite shocking, some of the cultures in many parts of Europe believe that a woman’s topless body does not necessarily need to be associated with sexual appeal in every situation. The human body is first and foremost just that: a body: Therefore, when a woman goes for a tan without her top on and sunbathes on the beach it is not interpreted as her seeking attention or being provocative.

All the same, being a young woman from America, I was brought up with a different perception of covering up and I would not feel comfortable going around topless on a popular beach. Men, for example, were taught to keep their chests and private areas covered well when in the presence of women. And I still feel that toplessness equals sex even if it may not be my actual personal opinion because of social conditioning.

However, the longer I am in Europe and observe many a woman sunbathing or swimming without a top on only to have men ignore the sight, the less it seems odd. It still took me quite a while to realize that the female breast does not necessarily have to be sexual in every respect and at any given time. In any culture, they are going to define themselves or have developed their way of perceiving and or feelings towards nudity.

Although I am yet to fully get used to it up to this present day, I understand that it has become a culture in the South of France for women to walk naked just as I saw a woman who had her friends or family with her on the beach. And perhaps, perchance, if I was to remain in Europe long enough, then I, too, would be one of those who would parade half-naked to get that exquisite bronze skin?!

The truth is that Europe is generally far less prudish and has a much saner view of nudity, the body, and sex than we do in most parts of the United States. The conservative American coming out of me might still blush to see a woman whose chest is exposed while families are having a picnic next to us. However, when I look at it with a second eye, I find myself that no one else bothers to think about it. Just looks like a body and nothing unpleasant or vulgar about the whole scene. Only the human body is happy to get some tanning and wavy.

Well, although I have not done it (and probably will not do it anytime soon) I must say I appreciate the guts and relaxed demeanor of European girls regarding this issue. Perhaps, the body positivity that they are showcasing for the American public eye will eventually change how Americans will view nudity and sexual images gradually. This seems to theorize the fact that there is more tolerance and less of that prudish attitude towards sex as being immoral.

In a world that is still saturated with stripper culture and everyday bullying of women for their size and shape, it is moving to see ladies own their sexuality and not feel the need to hide behind the culture’s demands. Sexualization: Women must have control over their bodily without being ‘shamed’ for being ‘sluts’. So Europeans have the right attitude that a woman sunbathing topless is just that: tanning. Not an object or spectacle or any kind of statement but simply a bit of sunbathing here and there.

Sure, as a conservative American woman, at first glance, I sometimes find it shocking to see breasts advertised in such a straightforward manner, but that is my problem, not theirs. The human body is not sexual or vulgar in the absence of coverage. Oh, it must feel so liberating for European women to be the ones to ease those silly bashful modesty codes! Perhaps this feeling will influence other people who visit the posts and we’ll all feel more empowered and positive about our bodies. A girl can hope! Meanwhile, I’ll shyly reapply lotion and attempt to get less uncomfortable with female nudity as a form of liberation and self-assertion, which I suppose is what it is. Only freedom and self-acceptance as to the miracle of the human body and how it can manifest, for there is no ‘one size fits all’.