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Gotopless.org - a new Raelan Revelation
GoTopless We are a US organization, claiming that women have the same constitutional right to be bare chested in public places as men.
Maitreya, Rael, spiritual leader and founder of goTopless.org states: "as long as men can be topless, constitutionally women should have the same right, or men should also be forced to wear something hiding their chest."
I must give credit where credit is due; the Raelians have done something worth doing, and are taking heat for doing it. From where? Well, it's not from where you might expect... it's from Terribly Serious Nudists, who grump about how the Raeliens are causing people to take this issue less seriously than it should be taken.
Well, frankly, naked people who wish to be Taken Seriously should put some clothes on. That is what clothes are for. They convey status and social position. They indicate rank and station. They hide our flaws and scars and pot bellies, while allowing us to not look at things that might give us woodies or wide-ons, which would surely be seen if we were... well, it's a circular observation, ain't it?
Personally, I can't imagine why one would wish to pretend that being naked could be divorced from human sexuality, or for that matter, why that would sound like a good idea in the first place. "Grimly Naked" just sounds... not fun. And chilly.
Look, this is a very simple idea. If looking at another human being bothers you, don't look. "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out," the Bible advises. Not "beat the woman until she puts on a burkah." Thine woodie is thine OWN issue. Cut it off or whack it off, whatever you need to do to maintain an even strain within a civil society, but don't put your issues where they don't belong. That is the essential ethical point behind this struggle, and a bit of whimsy does make the point go down better.
And frankly, only those already discounted by the mainstream could afford to do something this courageously, conspicuously, subversively ridiculous. The various nudist and naturist associations might think they deserve to be taken more seriously, a point that is beside the point. It's rare that they are considered or consulted or indeed, thought about. Meanwhile, the Raelians got behind the cause and jiggled.
And lo, it was seen that it was fun to watch, and nobody died.
This is a core liberties issue. I'm more than willing to - urm - support this cause and not merely because I like boobies. After all, this is not about asserting the right to show off a nice pair.
There are entire industries devoted to that, after all. No, this is about equality, and the right to bear your chest, regardless of whether or not one could get paid, or at least tossed a string of beads.
It is a matter of equal rights; the sight of breasts cannot be argued to be harmful to anyone, and if the thinking of those offended argues otherwise, that it justifies bad behavior, let us look to the Blackletter law, that those who commit violent acts are the ones who are justly held accountable.
Even if there are boobs wagging about, violent tantrums are NOT permissible.
However, as an artist and aesthete, I do hope it's a right that is exercised with some discretion. I may hope - but I have not RIGHT to demand it. That simple understanding, recognized in law, is the entire point to the exercise. Equality under the law.
And of course this:
"Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense!
Our template driven Go Topless T-Shirt by webcarve is designed to be modified, to celebrate your own subversive experience - and it can also be used to fundraise for an upcoming event in your town next year. An excellent idea, methinks. There are substantial discounts for bulk orders. :)
5 comments:
I have a suggestion to help your credibility: Take a look at the Topfreedom wikipedia entry. Almost all of the success for topfreedom in America has naturist roots. We're merely offering the Raelians a few suggestions to help in their cause.
It's also clear that you don't understand naturism, but we can save that for another day.
Um. this is not my first exposure to topfreedom. So to speak.
My point here is that the Raelians have every right to be ...the awful puns are built into the language ... upfront about their faith AND their other beliefs.
What I'm trying to say here, gently, is that your "help" is not actually helpful. It's shaming people for exposing their faith, which is ethically identical for shaming them for exposing their nipples.
Now, as for not understanding naturism, I concede the possibility. Indeed, even the inevitability, it being a social movement and me being... not. :)
But it seems to me that one aspect of nudism and naturism seems fairly obvious to me - a strong social inclination to take people as they are.
Well, there they are.
And frankly, as a red-letter Christian, I would not wish to expose my faith to objective comparison with Raelian tenants.
It's the works that matter.
And PART of the work is getting eyeballs onto the issue. They are helping just by being "silly topless ufo cultists." Why, because the essential human rights issue tends to be glossed over by people. It's considered trivial.
However, the more you think on it, the less trivial it seems. If boobies beside the text helps and selling a few Raelian books pays them for their time, ok, I'm cool with that.
There's an old testament christian principle at work here. "Bind Not The Mouths of the Kine that Treadeth The Grain."
Oh, and "The worker is worthy of his hire."
By the way, I'm not sure who to credit for this, but the idea of pink nipple shaped pasties is fucking subversive genius. :>
I see your point -- being a goofball will get you attention.
People signed the petition because they believe in top-equality. How many do you think signed it because they like Raelians? I was there, and the people who knew the protest was by Raelians dismissed the group as crazy, and didn't sign.
Readers of any news story this year are doing the same thing. Do you really think headlines like "UFO Cult Would Like To See Your Breasts" are HELPING top-freedom? No, people are connecting "UFO Cult" with "crazy", and crazy people with top-freedom.
I know how this works already... It seems that everyone connects "nude" with "sex". (You, for example.) If you find yourself in a naturist venue, you'll realize that the two words are completely different. "Raelian" and "Top-freedom" are much easier to disconnect, and they have the easy option of doing just that.
They can be goofballs in their protest and still support top-freedom. Or, they can attach aliens to the issue and be dismissed as crazy.
I'll support them with whatever decision they make. I never shamed them for their religion -- where did you get that idea? I was by their side as they were preaching it, and I believe they can preach it all they want. My only hope is that they don't preach it during the top-freedom protests. There is a time and a place for all that.
I would never walk into a grade-school and say "Hi, I would like to be a teacher...and by the way, I'm a nudist." This is akin to them saying "We support top-freedom...and aliens!" There is nothing wrong with lumping together beliefs, until you consider the other person's point of view.
The nipples are available through http://nipsies.com But, I think http://tera.ca has it right -- paint is better. That's my girlfriend and I pictured on TERA with the protest sign. Were you at an event?
Perhaps I'm inaccurate in assigning shame to your words toward the Raelians, but certainly there are those speaking toward them that communicate that vibe to me.
Getting the word out, and getting the word out in a non-threatening way.
Sadly, I missed the event. Never even knew of it until it was over, and that is really the point I'm trying to make.
I'm a bit social phobic and I burn as easily as rice paper on a barbecue. With the amount of SPF 40 I'd have to slather on my pale skin... anyway, it's just not something I think about or look for, even though I'm in favor of the core principles and especially anything that makes the 700 club send cameras and froth on screen like mad people.
As a Naturist, you may have somewhat insulated yourself from the reaction many people have toward even partial nudity, or anything they interpret as being sexualized public display. The fangs come out - but this can in part be defused by deliberate silliness.
And yeah, I don't divorce nudity from sexuality. I can't. It's as intimately connected with human sexuality as NASCAR and the NRA.
As is every single thing human beings do. As a culture, we put a whole hell of a lot of energy into NOT THINKING about our own basic urges - which allows the unscrupulous - churches, politicians and Madison Ave. types - to play us like a harp from hell.
I REALLY wish we could address the deeper issue, but this year, I'll settle for making a little progress on the boobage front.
One thing to keep in mind is religion has a hand in the shame over nudity. A lot of it comes from Christanity,Judiasm, and Islam. (I am not familiar enough with some of the other religions to comment on them.) The "Big Three" religions push modest dress and reinforce the social taboos over nudity--as well as reinforcing other taboos.
As for the Raelians, I don't find them any crazier than any other revealed religion.
What really needs to change is people's attitudes over sexuality and the human body. These have been changing slowly over time, however we still have a long way to go.
The religious fundimentalists will keep on fighting this progress since they feel that thier divine law trumps all other laws and beliefs. This is an attitude that I find very offensive. However, they are very vocal and pretty sucessful at getting thier own way. Until these dinosaurs die off, I feel that we're going to be hearing a lot of intolerance coming from thier camp.
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