Since we occasionally traveled to Rehoboth Beach, Del., when I was a kid, I thought I’d point you all to this little nugget from my childhood vacation destination.
The News Journal reports that some transgender women decided to bare their enhanced breasts on a public, non-topless beach over Memorial Day weekend, and the incident has left the city in a real uproar. Beach-goers complained to lifeguards, who asked the trans women to put their shirts back on and called police. The trans women complied before police arrived, but it wouldn’t have mattered. The police chief acknowledges that they didn’t break any laws, since they have male genitalia. According to Rehoboth law, “A male is guilty of indecent exposure if he exposes his genitals or buttocks under circumstances which he knows his conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm to another person.”
One city commissioner says she plans to revisit the law in response to the incident. And the director of a local gay group is criticizing the trans women:
“Technically it wasn’t against the law,” said Steve Elkins, executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, a nonprofit based in Rehoboth that aims to promote a positive environment for the gay and lesbian community. “However, there are situations where people who — because of feelings about their birth, because of who they are — perceive themselves as females. I think we have to respect that, but on the other hand since they chose to identify themselves as females, they have to respect the law.”
This reminds me of the recent marriage between a transgender woman and a cisgender woman in Texas. Some gay-rights advocates criticized the couple for taking advantage of a loophole in state law, saying the marriage only creates more confusion. In both cases, I tend to disagree. What do you think?
This case is a bit different and personally I think they were exploiting a loophole just to shock people.
I have never understood the prohibition against topless sunbathing for women but not for men, so unless we want to go back to the old 1890’s full body suits, I think it’s just a silly prohibition.
Would I do it? Heck I wear a t-shirt at the beach, some people just should never be seen topless!
Unfortunately, we live in a society that continues to demonize and sexualize the female body. Baring my chest is considered indecent and a man’s is not?! Ridiculous. But until we can cross this prudish hurdle, it is inappropriate for any one woman (cis or trans) to go around displaying her knockers. I’m sure they are great but definitely not appropriate to display in public.
It’s like a nice car…you paid good money for those puppies, so why not show them off!
I agree with Carl !!! This situation is like a double-edged sword.. Cut to harm, and cut to defend.. if they don’t want to give equal rights to this transgendered person then there is nothing they can do to force him to wear his top if he chooses not to..
There is no law on the books that says a man with tits can’t be topless and until this rule changes, I will cheer for all future trannies who do it also. Here Herre.. .Wooo Hooo.. You ROCK ladies!!
I looked around a little to see if I could find Gender Identity protection in Delaware’s non-discrimination policy. Unless I’m mistaken I didn’t find it there. If that’s the case, I’m with Wagner on this one: if you want them to cover up, treat them like women. That includes legally.
Jade I see your point from a policy point of view but I’m sorry you can’t have it both ways. If you want society to recognize you as a woman then you need to behave like a woman. I guess I see things differently b/c I when I see a transwoman I see just a woman. For any transwoman to go parading their knockers around when they KNOW it’s not legal for a cis woman to do it is just plain disrespectful. Now I would be all about going to this DE beach and having a women’s liberation rally and we all bare chests. Let’s see how many of us get arrested but I’m not gonna defend you if it is you using your male privilege when it’s convenient.
The police said even had they not covered up before they got there, there was no law broken since the people in question had male genetalia. So at least he was following the law and didn’t make it up as he went, right? Although I suppose they weren’t exactly going to tell them to drop their pants to prove there was a penis. Catch 22.
I for one am all for ussing male privlage as a woman of a certain history to make the self apointed gender police upset. The more we rattle cages the more attention we get to our cause. Only the squeeky wheel gets the grease.
Unfortunately dissenter in the sexually repressed culture we live in the grease the squeaky wheel gets will probably not be what you are hoping for. As seen in the council member deciding to revisit the law.
According to one person familiar with these guys, they’re men. FtoMs. Hence the confusion of the cops, some hadn’t had top surgery, yet did have beards.
Source – Feministe https://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2010/06/04/topless-trans-women-told-to-cover-up-but-not-arrested-because-of-male-genitalia/