NSFW Video: Topless Book Club Starts Topless Conversation About Topless Ladies Who Read In Public While Topless

With Mayor de Blasio and the Daily News clutching their pearls during a slow summer news cycle over the painted ladies in Times Square, this seems as good a time as any to remind you that it is 100% legal for women to go topless in NYC.

You might already be aware of this fact, thanks to the many topless activists and topless photographers around the city. You might be aware because there is a Go Topless Day dedicated to spreading awareness about topless rights. Or you might know about it thanks to the Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society, who have been reading books and baring their breasts in public for many, many years now.

So this might be old (topless) hat to you, but as the women interviewed in the Salon video below put it, it's not old (topless) hat to everyone. "I think everyone's just so used to double standards, that they don't notice them," one member said. "That's what's great about this club, it starts a conversation about why isn't it okay for women to be topless."

As long as they don't ask for any cash, women around NYC shouldn't have any problems from police anytime soon. As for the creepers who stop to gawk at them, well, as one woman put it: "I think for women on the streets of NY, walking around is always a hazard, no matter how many clothes you're wearing."

This year's Go Topless Day is coming up next Sunday, August 23rd. If you happen to go to the event, or if you run into any of these ladies—or any woman who has decided to shed her top and enjoy the fresh air—don't be like the men in the video—don't ogle them, don't try to subtly take photos (unless they ask you to!), don't point and laugh with your Bros. Maybe you once were a 13-year-old boy who made Mr. Skin his homepage, but you're not anymore.

And if you are a 13-year-old boy, then what the hell are you doing reading Gothamist on one of the last beautiful days of summer vacation? Jesus. Go do something any normal 13-year-old enjoys, like skateboarding in Columbus Circle or helping your parents choose multi-million dollar apartments.