Take off your shirt, Canada!

Stéphane Deschênes

In this oppressive heat wave, all Canadians should be going topless, said Stéphane Deschênes. So why aren’t we? Thirty years ago this week, Gwen Jacobs—then age 19—was arrested for taking off her shirt on a hot day in Guelph, Ontario. A fiveyear legal battle ensued, with the Ontario High Court eventually overturning her conviction and ruling that women could go topless wherever men could. Yet the sight of a bare-breasted Canadian woman is still remarkably rare, since societal norms are “far more effective at controlling behavior and attitudes than laws.” Even children’s chests are still being policed—in 2015, an 8-year

old girl in an Ontario public pool was told to put a top on, a misguided attempt to protect a prepubescent body that actually served to sexualize it. These days, not only are women and girls keeping covered, so are Canadian gents. Thanks to a slew of superhero movies featuring Hollywood stars with impossibly ripped abs, “men are now perceptibly suffering from body shame,” which is why you see so few bare-chested fellas. As the owner of a nudist park, I invite all Canadians to join me in taking everything off. You’ll be more comfortable in our new, hotter climate—and more comfortable in your own skin.