Dr. Brian Parker’s short piece on why men seem so fascinated by women’s breasts got me thinking about how much we sexualize breasts.
And by “how much we sexualize breasts” I mean western culture is ridiculously obsessed with breasts. To the detriment of women, for sure.
Here in Ontario, there was a groundbreaking case wherein Gwen Jacobs removed her top on a very hot day. She was charged with indecency and was convicted, but that conviction was later overturned.
However, to this day, women rarely go topless in public in Ontario. Many fear the unwanted sexual attention.
Currently we’re just wrapping up another heat wave here, and I can imagine many women would have enjoyed taking their tops off, but were too uncomfortable, fearing that unwanted sexual gaze?
Could breasts become normalized? Or at least changed in status to something equivalent to other fetishized body parts that are plainly visible, like feet, legs, necks, etc.?
