Women in Berlin can now swim topless in the city's public pools if they choose to -- just as men can.
As well as being hailed as a step forward for gender equality in the German capital, the measure introduced this week is symptomatic of Germany's love of Freikoerperkultur -- literally translated as 'free body culture' -- which has its roots in the late 19th century.
It follows a similar incident at a Berlin water park in the summer of 2021. French woman Gabrielle Lebreton sought financial compensation from the city after security guards ordered her to leave the premise when she refused to cover up her breasts.
She was with her five-year-old son when the incident happened. Speaking to German newspaper Die Zeit at the time about why she believed it was gender discrimination, she said: "For me — and I teach this to my son — no, there is no such difference. For both men and women, the breast is a secondary sexual characteristic but men have the freedom to remove their clothes when it is hot and women do not."
Berlin's authorities took action after a female swimmer said she was prevented from attending one of the city's pools without covering her chest in December 2022. The woman lodged a complaint with the city's ombudsman's office at the Senate Department for Justice, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination.
Following a complaint filed by a French woman, claiming she’d been discriminated against when she was asked to cover up by security guards, Berlin will now allow all — women, men and non-binary — to swim and sunbathe topless in public pools. Authorities agreed they had been victims of discrimination and passed the ruling, which is being hailed as a step forward for gender equality in the German capital.
The decision is also being hailed by proponents of Germany’s freikorperkultur, or “free body culture”.
Speaking to Germany’s Bild newspaper, she said: “The police officer asked me what gender I identify with. When I said ‘female’, it meant that I had to wear a top.” She then made a complaint to Berlin’s equality watchdog, which said it was discrimination to prevent women from going topless if they chose.
A similar incident also happened at a water park in Berlin in summer 2021.
In reaction to the complaint, the Berliner Baederbetriebe, which runs the city’s public pools, decided to change its clothing rules. Doris Liebscher, the head of the ombudsperson’s office, was quoted as telling The Independent, “The ombudsperson’s office very much welcomes the decision of the Baederbetriebe, because it establishes equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female or non-binary, and because it also creates legal certainty for the staff at the Baederbetriebe.”
She added: “Now it is important that the regulation is applied consistently and that no more expulsions or house bans are issued.”
No comments:
Post a Comment