A trip to the beach usually requires sunscreen, a wide-brimmed hat and a bikini – unless you’re heading to the shores around Nantucket, in which case you can probably get out from behind half a suit pretty quickly.
Last month, the town known for its picturesque lighthouses and foggy mornings voted in favor of an amendment that would allow female beachgoers to enjoy a freedom previously reserved for the lads – the right to take nude photos on Nantucket.
But the idea of everyone showing their breasts met with some resistance when Dorothy Stover, a seventh-generation Nantucket resident, presented it at a town meeting, stirring up a bit of turmoil in the calm waters surrounding the island.
“This charter will not turn the beach into a nude beach,” Stover explained as he presented the idea at the meeting. “This charter will allow anyone who chooses to be photographed nude to have the option of going topless.”
As far as Stover is concerned, it’s simply a matter of gender equality. And she wasn’t the only one with this idea.
Another woman interjected during the meeting, “I may not choose to be photographed naked – God forbid everyone run away – but I think others should have that option.”
Others, however, objected to the idea of being liberated from half a bathing suit.
“If I have to go topless to prove that I’m equal to men, then there’s something wrong with the concept,” one woman joked.
A man who attended the meeting added, “We talk about conservation, we talk about making sure the shingles are gray, but we’re going to pass something that will draw undue attention to the island for the wrong reasons.”
But despite some opposition, the quaint town passed Stover’s proposal with 327 votes in favor and 242 against.
That doesn’t mean the law has changed, however. The measure still needs to be approved by the Massachusetts attorney general, who is expected to make a decision in early September.
Until then, any woman who roams freely on Nantucket beaches faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $300.
“Other states have passed maximum freedoms,” Stover told Today as she and others await a final decision. “Hopefully, this is a step toward de-sexualizing women’s bodies, not objectifying them.”
