Recently, there have been several high-profile court cases around the country over whether it is discriminatory for women to remove their swimsuit tops on beaches and in swimming pools. At the same time, a wave of feminist demonstrations swept through Germany under the slogan “Equal breasts – for all!”.
The courts do not recognize the ban on the display of women’s breasts as discrimination, but city officials and pool owners have decided to make concessions nonetheless.
However, unexpectedly, there were very few German women who wanted to be naked. In Siegen, for example, 100,000, where topless was allowed last May, during all this time, according to the press secretary of the local mayor’s office, “hardly anyone took advantage of the new option”. The owners of the Cologne swimming pools always say “we’ll see”, but they don’t expect a big stir either.
At the same time, more than half of women in Germany are generally against allowing swimming in “topless” pools. Lifting the ban on topless is mostly supported by men, but not all either – 56%, according to a survey by Focus magazine.
The Germans, of course, managed to become world famous for their “free body culture” and public baths, where there is no division into male and female sections. But now most people in the country admit that they feel uncomfortable when having to undress in front of strangers.
