Boston protest challenges topless law
Activists will gather August 26—"GoTopless Day"—to support citizen-filed bills removing gendered language from Massachusetts indecency statutes
Advocates for topless equality will gather at Boston Common on Tuesday, August 26, calling on Massachusetts lawmakers to repeal the state’s ban on public toplessness for women. The protest, part of a coordinated GoTopless Day campaign across New England, will begin at noon near the Martin Luther King Jr. Embrace statue and march to the Massachusetts State House.
While protests are also planned in Hartford and Providence (as well as many cities outside of the New England region), the Boston demonstration carries added weight: it’s timed to spotlight two bills currently pending in the Massachusetts Legislature that aim to eliminate gender-specific topless prohibitions.
The story behind the bills
The bills—HD4302 and SD2790—were filed earlier this year by Fitchburg resident Jacquelyn Wehtje through a rarely used provision of the state constitution that allows citizens to file legislation without a sponsor.1 If enacted, the bills would strike the words “female breasts” from Chapter 272, Section 16 of the state’s criminal code, which currently defines their public exposure as “Open and Gross Lewdness and Lascivious Behavior”—a felony punishable by up to three years in prison.2
“I was inspired to file this bill by the New Hampshire Libertarian Party which has filed similar bills in their state in the past,” Wehtje told NewBostonPost. “Both genders can go topless in New York State. Of course, in various other indigenous cultures around the world this is also the case.”3
This is not Wehtje’s first attempt to change the law. In 2023, she filed a similar citizen petition—HD 4316—which also sought to remove “female breasts” from the state’s lewdness statute. The bill was referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary but did not advance.
Only one municipality in the state—Nantucket—has managed to adopt a topless-equal policy, following a 2022 town vote that was upheld by the Attorney General’s office later that year. “Nantucket beaches have been officially approved to allow both men AND women to go topless – a win for gender equity,” State Senator Dylan Fernandes tweeted at the time.4
Calling attention to the bills through demonstration
In Boston, the protest is being co-organized by feminist artist Katrina Brees, founder of Equaltitty. “We aren’t art. Not metaphors. Not things to grab. Real humans who want equal rights to other humans,” she reportedly wrote on Facebook in advance of the event.5
Advocates for topless equality will gather at Boston Common on Tuesday, August 26, at noon EDT, near the Martin Luther King Jr. “Embrace” statue, before marching up to the Massachusetts State House. Participants are encouraged to wear symbolic body paint or pasties—both to express their message and to reduce the risk of legal consequences. Organizers ask supporters to spread the word, contact their local representatives, and turn out in person if they can—regardless of whether they go topless themselves.
The goal is clear: building grassroots visibility to support bills HD 4302 and SD 2790 and encourage lawmakers to strike “female breasts” from the state’s lewdness statute. If you believe in bodily autonomy and gender equality under the law, make your presence known on August 26. 🪐
Massachusetts General Court. (2025a). Bill H.4302: An Act relative to equality of chest baring. https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/HD4302
Massachusetts General Court. (2025b). Bill S.2790: An Act relative to equality of chest baring. https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/SD2790
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 16. (n.d.). Open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter272/Section16
Joyce, T. (2025, July 22). Topless political protest planned near Massachusetts State House next month. NewBostonPost. https://www.newbostonpost.com/topless-political-protest-planned-near-massachusetts-state-house-next-month/
Fernandes, D. [@RepDylan]. (2022, December 6). Nantucket beaches have been officially approved to allow both men AND women to go topless – a win for gender equity (& tan lines☀️) [Tweet]. X. https://x.com/RepDylan/status/1600249110992297985
(Joyce, 2025).
No one is surprised that women's breasts get more interest than the equivalent area on a man. But the extreme taboo about seeing female nipples is hard to understand. It's illogical but then it's the nature of taboos not to be logical. How does seeing a nipple harm someone? If all women walked around on the beach or elsewhere with no tops on, as was common in many parts of Europe in the 80s and 90s it would have no more impact than if they were wearing swimsuits. Going topless in Europe is nowhere near as popular as it was in the late 20th century but it hasn't completely disappeared. In Spain for example a woman walking around on the beach in just bikini bottoms generally wouldn't cause any alarm even if she was the only one not wearing a top.