Topless New York: Exhibit, Calendar, and Book

 

Why Topless New York?

In 1986, several women in Rochester, NY were arrested and convicted for picnicking topless in public.  They sued to challenge the law prohibiting women, but not men, from being topless in public - and in 1992, New York State's highest court struck down that law as violating the state constitution's equal protection clause.  See the court's full opinion at http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I92_0160.htm.

So for the past twenty years, it has been completely legal all over New York State for a woman to be topless in any public place where men can be topless.  Although few people are aware of this, I have been photographing women topless in public all over the state for the past few years in an effort to raise awareness, celebrate New York's recognition of top-free equality in a tasteful and hopefully artistic manner, and promote similar thinking for the vast majority of states where it is still illegal for a woman to be topless in public.

How You Can Help

The library of photographs is nearly complete, and it's about time to start spreading the word.  I'm planning an exhibit in New York City late this summer, to be followed by a 2013 wall calendar and a coffee-table-style book.  But all this will take a significant investment, which I cannot afford on my own right now - printing and framing the photos for exhibit, creating exhibit label cards, and spec printing costs for both the calendar and the book.  In addition, I hope to have a website from which to sell prints, calendars, and books, and although I have friends who can help at a discount, good web design (even discounted) is still not cheap.

But you can help!  Please invest in this project, and help spread the word that New York is nearly unique, and is a special place for women who wish to be treated truly equally, in every way, alongside men.

Where Are the Topless Photos?

Kickstarter is a family-friendly website, with no age restrictions for those choosing to view the projects available for investment.  While these photographs are in no way erotic, pornographic, or otherwise "adult," I recognize that many people would consider it inappropriate for me to post images of topless women in my project description, so I have chosen not to do so.  However, both of the links I've provided will lead you to places where you can see the majority of the photographs that I've prepared for the project thus far.  At http://www.modelmayhem.com/toplessnewyork you'll have to turn off the "work-safe" default setting, and at http://toplessnewyork.deviantart.com/ you'll have to join DeviantArt (membership is free) in order to see the photos.

Can I Get Involved?

I've already done just about as many shoots as I'm going to need for the exhibit, calendar, and book to be complete, so I am not offering any more paid modeling gigs.  But if you are interested in donating your time and services, and supporting a great cause, by modeling for the Topless New York project, please feel free to contact me at toplessnewyork@gmail.com.

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