WinsomeDefiance
Posts: 6719
Joined: 8/7/2007 Status: offline
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I have a couple thoughts on this, because the last couple days I've been coming back to it in my mind and pondering a few things. If Canadian law permits women as well as men to go topless, I'm assuming it is probably a socially acceptable situation and cultural norm in that region. I wonder at the conflicting message this gives a child, when his/her neighbor is seen topless and the parents react in the way they did. So, I wonder if even though it is legal, maybe it isn't all that socially acceptable or cultural norm, and that is why the parents acted as they did? I dont' really know. If the neighbor deliberately used partial nudity as a means to harass her neighbors, then it likely isn't. Unless her neighbors are an uptight minority who continues to sexualize and demonize female breasts, and not reflective of the typical mindframe of Canadians. I really don't know, but now I'm really curious to go visit my neighboring country. I've always done my best to keep the peace with my neighbors. I raised 4 boys, and trust me, this hasn't always been easy. My boys tended to make Denise the Menace seem rather angelic at times. Keeping the peace may not be easy, but it is preferable to having conflict in my life. I don't really understand the motivations behind people who can't allow for a little compromise and mutual respect in their lives. If I knew my son was annoying the neighbors by incessantly driving an atv all day long, I'd limit the time he could ride it. Not that I'd have ever let a five year old ride an ATV. The idea makes me cringe. I dont' know if what the lady did was inappropriate or not. If she did it, knowing it was shocking and inapproprate around a child then I believe she was wrong. If it was something the child could reasonably see elsewhere, because of the countries laws and cultural tempature regarding female toplessness, then no - I don't think she was wrong. I remember growing up, we had a neighbor that sunbathed topless. My dad just shrugged and told my little brother that there wasn't anything wrong with it. I just thought she had really sexy tits, and hoped to have a pair like that when I grew up. Because no one made a big deal out of it, most of us hardly ever paid her any attention after the first few days of curiousity. This brings me back to my first query. I'm not sure who was really the most damaging to the child. The parents that turned the topless image of a woman into a BAD thing that mustn't ever be seen, or the topless woman who used her breasts to manipulate a situation in her favor.
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