3 ms·

You haven't answered the parent comment's request for your country, which is very relevant as things differ a lot. Here in the UK (which is what the article is

You haven't answered the parent comment's request for your country, which is very relevant as things differ a lot. Here in the UK (which is what the article is about), it is illegal for either (/any) gender to expose their genitals in public [1] - that is called "indecent exposure". Breasts are not genitals and it is not illegal to show them. Admittedly, it would be very unusual to see a topless woman walking down a UK high street. But it is not that unusual to see one sunbathing on a beach. Probably the main factor restricting that is the attention she would get from people who do not object. Breastfeeding in public is not only allowed but legally protected. [1] That includes if you are on private land but have a reasonable expectation that you could be seen from a public location. I recall a court case a few years ago where someone was regularly nude in their kitchen but could clearly be seen from a public footpath. The court decided that it still counted as indecent exposure.

adolph 4y ago
> Breastfeeding in public is not only allowed but legally protected. The law is an interesting mirror and anti-mirror of social norms. My guess is that if some activity needs legal protections there are significant social norms prohibiting that activity.
AlecSchueler 4y ago
Hi, I didn't answer that point because I worried that it would de-rail the conversation a little bit by focusing on the particular laws of one country and applying that to the wider shared culture of our global HN community. To answer, though, I'm from Northern Ireland, where breastfeeding in public is legal but not protected. Northern Ireland is actually part of the UK, so what you're saying is incorrect and I'm not sure where you're getting your information from? Over here we have ad-hoc solutions were businesses can mark themselves as friendly to mothers (see: https://www.breastfedbabies.org/ https://www.breastfedbabies.org/) while the presumed norm is that mothers should go elsewhere. I'd say it could be a good idea to check out this article from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country) if you want to balance out your views about what's going on outside of your local area.
- quietbritishjim 4y ago
  > Northern Ireland is actually part of the UK, so what you're saying is incorrect and I'm not sure where you're getting your information from? As a sibling comment says, the law differs between the nations. I was just referring to England and Wales. Sorry, I don't know why I didn't just say that (I think I assumed you were American and thought that much detail would complicate things). Anyway, here in England and Wales, breastfeeding is indeed protected. E.g. from a random law company's website: "According to the Equality Act of 2010, treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding a child of any age is considered sex discrimination. This applies to any business or premise providing services to the public, including public institutions, associations and higher education bodies. Service providers dealing directly with the public must not discriminate, harass or victimise a woman because she is breastfeeding. Discrimination includes refusing to provide a service, providing a lower standard of service or providing a service on different terms." > I'd say it could be a good idea to check out this article from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country) if you want to balance out your views about what's going on outside of your local area. Are you saying that because I claimed England and Wales' law applies to the whole UK? Apologies again for that, it was a slip. But, ironically, you seemed suggest that your local laws apply to the whole world! That's what caused my initial reply in the first place. > Legally yes, a woman has to cover her upper body while men do not.
  - AlecSchueler 4y ago
    Apologies for the confusing wording, I actually meant "we" more as the global community of HN users and had the article I linked in mind, rather than we here in Northern Ireland. Thanks for recognising it at a mistake to say the UK when you mean England and Wales. It's very common to see that and it only gets more and more annoying the older you get when you come from one of the forgotten nations. Do you know when the whole UK got abortion access for example?
NeoTar 4y ago
> Here in the UK (which is what the article is about), it is illegal for either (/any) gender to expose their genitals in public [1] - that is called "indecent exposure". Breasts are not genitals and it is not illegal to show them. That's not correct in England and Wales law (UK law varies between the nations). The current law (as amended in 2003) says: A person commits an offence if— he intentionally exposes his genitals, and he intends that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress. It may well be different in practice though. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indecent_exposure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indecent_exposure
- quietbritishjim 4y ago
  Oh, very interesting, I didn't realise intent was part of it. There's even advice from the CPS (linked from that Wikipedia page) about what to do about someone claiming to just be generally a naturist [1] [1] https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/nudity-public-guidance-handling-cases-naturism https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/nudity-public-guidance... It includes this: > Nudity in public alone with no aggravating features is very unlikely to amount to [public nuisance] (or any other) offence.

adolph 4y ago

> Breastfeeding in public is not only allowed but legally protected. The law is an interesting mirror and anti-mirror of social norms. My guess is that if some activity needs legal protections there are significant social norms prohibiting that activity.

AlecSchueler 4y ago

Hi, I didn't answer that point because I worried that it would de-rail the conversation a little bit by focusing on the particular laws of one country and applying that to the wider shared culture of our global HN community. To answer, though, I'm from Northern Ireland, where breastfeeding in public is legal but not protected. Northern Ireland is actually part of the UK, so what you're saying is incorrect and I'm not sure where you're getting your information from? Over here we have ad-hoc solutions were businesses can mark themselves as friendly to mothers (see: https://www.breastfedbabies.org/ https://www.breastfedbabies.org/) while the presumed norm is that mothers should go elsewhere. I'd say it could be a good idea to check out this article from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country) if you want to balance out your views about what's going on outside of your local area.

quietbritishjim 4y ago
> Northern Ireland is actually part of the UK, so what you're saying is incorrect and I'm not sure where you're getting your information from? As a sibling comment says, the law differs between the nations. I was just referring to England and Wales. Sorry, I don't know why I didn't just say that (I think I assumed you were American and thought that much detail would complicate things). Anyway, here in England and Wales, breastfeeding is indeed protected. E.g. from a random law company's website: "According to the Equality Act of 2010, treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding a child of any age is considered sex discrimination. This applies to any business or premise providing services to the public, including public institutions, associations and higher education bodies. Service providers dealing directly with the public must not discriminate, harass or victimise a woman because she is breastfeeding. Discrimination includes refusing to provide a service, providing a lower standard of service or providing a service on different terms." > I'd say it could be a good idea to check out this article from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_laws_by_country) if you want to balance out your views about what's going on outside of your local area. Are you saying that because I claimed England and Wales' law applies to the whole UK? Apologies again for that, it was a slip. But, ironically, you seemed suggest that your local laws apply to the whole world! That's what caused my initial reply in the first place. > Legally yes, a woman has to cover her upper body while men do not.
- AlecSchueler 4y ago
  Apologies for the confusing wording, I actually meant "we" more as the global community of HN users and had the article I linked in mind, rather than we here in Northern Ireland. Thanks for recognising it at a mistake to say the UK when you mean England and Wales. It's very common to see that and it only gets more and more annoying the older you get when you come from one of the forgotten nations. Do you know when the whole UK got abortion access for example?

NeoTar 4y ago

> Here in the UK (which is what the article is about), it is illegal for either (/any) gender to expose their genitals in public [1] - that is called "indecent exposure". Breasts are not genitals and it is not illegal to show them. That's not correct in England and Wales law (UK law varies between the nations). The current law (as amended in 2003) says: A person commits an offence if— he intentionally exposes his genitals, and he intends that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress. It may well be different in practice though. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indecent_exposure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indecent_exposure

quietbritishjim 4y ago
Oh, very interesting, I didn't realise intent was part of it. There's even advice from the CPS (linked from that Wikipedia page) about what to do about someone claiming to just be generally a naturist [1] [1] https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/nudity-public-guidance-handling-cases-naturism https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/nudity-public-guidance... It includes this: > Nudity in public alone with no aggravating features is very unlikely to amount to [public nuisance] (or any other) offence.