While the upper classes had turned clothing into fashion, those who could not afford otherwise continued to swim or bathe openly in natural bodies of water or frequent communal baths through the 19th century. Acceptance of public nudity re-emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Philosophically based movements, particularly in Germany, opposed the rise of industrialization. Freikörperkultur ('free body culture') represented a return to nature and the elimination of shame. In the 1960s naturism moved from being a small subculture to part of a general rejection of restrictions on the body. Women reasserted the right to uncover their breasts in public, which had been the norm until the 17th century. The trend continued in much of Europe, with the establishment of many clothing-optional areas in parks and on beaches. In Australia, indecent exposure laws only refer to the genital area, so technically both male and female toplessness is legal. However, many local councils impose their own rules, and have the power to ask topless people to leave an area. [109] Additionally, women who go topless are sometimes slapped with more vague charges such as being a public nuisance, or offensive behaviour. [110] The cultural tendency to hide the female nipple under clothing has existed in Western culture since the 1800s. [7] [8] [9] As female nipples are often perceived an intimate part, covering them might have originated under Victorian morality as with riding side saddle. Exposing the entire breast and nipple is a form of protest for some and a crime for others. [9] [10] The exposure of nipples is usually considered immodest and in some instances is viewed as lewd or indecent behavior. [11] Suzanne MacNevin. "Topfreedom: The Fundamental Right of Women". The Feminist eZine. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023 . Retrieved 21 July 2017. There are no laws in Spain that officially prohibit public nudity (in a non-sexual context), [88] and because of this, both topless sunbathing and naturism (the latter on a smaller scale) are frequently practiced without any issues in all beaches throughout the country, [89] while the amount of partakers may vary depending on the location and the day. It is very common in the Balearic Islands, [90] Canaries, Costa Brava and Costa del Sol (a few municipalities, such as Barcelona, have created by-laws to forbid public nudity, including female toplessness on their streets, not on the beach). [91] Due to the widespread practice of topless sunbathing, the municipalities of Galdakao and L'Ametlla del Vallès decided to legalize female toplessness on their public pools (in March 2016 and June 2018, respectively), [92] [93] and it is tolerated in many others, like in Madrid (without the need of a specific rule). It is less common on private or condominium pools, and a few have by-laws to ban it. Moreover, there are some surveys indicating that more than 40% of the Spanish women who were interviewed (aged 18 or older) reported to have been topless on a beach at least once. [94] [95] Sweden

C. Willett Cunnington and Phillis Cunnington, The History of Underclothes. London: Faber & Faber, 1981. ISBN 978-0-486-27124-8 In 2009, the appellate court declared both women to be innocent, [86] because the city staff were unable to prove that anyone at the beach was indignant or scandalized by their toplessness, and no complaint was ever reported. On the contrary, some visitors stood up to their defense. There were no signs at the recreation area against what is otherwise legal. [84] The appellate court's decision was binding, but it also created an aura of ambivalence, with topless sunbathing in public declared acceptable only if nobody else including families with children formally objects to it. [82] [87] Spain Charleston, Beth Duncuff (October 2004). "The Bikini". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 15 August 2013. Breastfeeding in public places is a legal right in Australia. Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, no business or service provider can discriminate against a breastfeeding woman. Women can still breastfeed even if no other food/drink is allowed in the area. If a special baby care room is available for breastfeeding, women are not required to use it unless they wish to. If someone abuses a breastfeeding woman or forces her to leave, this may come under state/territory harassment laws. These protections also include women who are expressing breast milk for their baby. [111] New Zealand Before the 1962 film Dr. No shot Connery to worldwide superstardom, Edinburgh-born Connery would frequently earn extra cash as a life model for the Edinburgh College of Art, taking advantage of the bodybuilder muscles he’d developed to impress the local young women.

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Film making in other centres were not subject to the Hays Code, but were subject to various national censorship regimes. The Italian film Era lui... sì! sì! (1951), for example, also had a French version which included topless actresses in the harem scene. This version was especially made for the French market, where censorship was less rigorous than in Italy. [160] Social and official attitudes to toplessness and nudity had eased by the 1960s and the Hays Code came under repeated challenge. For example, in Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) all Tahitian girls were topless and there was a long native dance scene, though the topless female dancers' breasts were covered by leis. The historical epic film Hawaii (1966) also featured scenes of topless native girls, their breasts being strategically covered by leis. [ citation needed]

The artifacts in the Ancient Siam open-air museum near Bangkok depict Thai women topless. The Ramakien Mural representing the epic lives of the Thai people found at the Wat Phra Kaew Temple depict women wearing only a skirt in public. [ citation needed] Iggy Pop himself praised the ‘very nice vibe’ in the room, and had a novel way to stave off boredom during the twenty-minute sittings: “The way I got through it, without going crazy, was listening to my own songs from my albums in my head,” the singer said. A more recent study of 116 college-age women in Australia found that those who had gone topless were more accepting of toplessness generally, more sexual, and had higher self-esteem and higher body image. [44] In contemporary society, the extent to which a woman may expose her breasts depends on social and cultural context. Women's swimsuits and bikinis commonly reveal the tops and sides of the breasts. Displaying cleavage is considered permissible in many settings, and is even a sign of elegance and sophistication on many formal social occasions, but it may be prohibited by dress codes in settings such as workplaces and schools, where sexualized displays of the female breast may be considered inappropriate. In a number of cultures, including Europe and other Westernized countries outside the United States, there are fewer social restrictions against sunbathing or swimming topless. [49] Despite being illegal or socially proscribed in many places in the United States, topless beaches have majority legislative support in some areas. [50] Nudity not necessarily an offence". Stuff. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023.a b c "Why Are Women Expected to Keep Their Nipples Covered?". 14 February 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023 . Retrieved 13 August 2017. Deciphering Gender in Minoan Dress, p. 116, Mireille M. Lee in Reading the Body: Representations and Remains in the Archaeological Record, 2000 Riverdale star Lili Reinhart posed nude on the balcony of her Venice, Italy, hotel during the 2022 Venice Film Festival.