As of late, top surgery has become extremely appealing to me and I love the idea of being flat chested. While thinking about being flat chested, a somewhat silly thought popped into my head. After surgery, could I go without a shirt in public?
I'm not very interested in taking testosterone, so I wouldn't be quite masculine. Though I have been mistaken for a prepubescent boy.
I don't think I'm the type of person to just randomly take my shirt off in the middle of the street. But hypothetically, could I?
Depends on where you live and the laws, etc. If you are generally identified by other people around you as female it could be a problem as the sight of a female nipple (no matter how flat chested or pre-pubescent) is pretty much verboten and sends people into irrational spasms of fear and loathing. If you're sure peope would see you as male it could work. Even so, these days guys really only take their shirts off in certain settings (beach, parks, pools, etc) those that do wander the general urban environs shirtless, even on excruciatingly hot days, usually seem a bit weird and out of place...
Yeah, I kind of figured as much. Don't worry, I don't think I'm really the kind of person to wander around shirtless in public. That ought to be an interesting post-op exercise though. See how long I can wander around without a shirt before the police show up.
Not really though, that's a terrible idea.
Check the local laws. You'll be fine regardless in some places.
Less likely the cops, and more likely the arbiters of morality - still if you and I were both to go topless, what would they do? A preop t-girl and a post-op t-guy. >:-) Makes me laugh - but not doing it. ;)
Well one this is for certain, we couldn't get into most restaurants.
In the City of Portland, Oregon, USA it is legal for anyone of any gender to go topless in public. It is a strange cultural phenomenon in our city that whenever the temperature goes above 75 degrees F., it is very common for many men of all ages to remove their shirts as they go about their daily business. Not so much with women, but for any woman who does decide to remove her top and go about her daily business, within the City of Portland, it is perfectly legal.
You can walk down Broadway in New York City right now topless if you want. A few years ago New York dropped their laws restricting women from going bare chested in the city. I follow on the web a lively group of pulp fiction enthusiasts who get together most every summer weekend to lie topless and read in open spaces of Central Park and other visible areas.
That said, I've never really cared for seeing male chests bared in public, myself. I'm kind of glad that most restaurants make people wear shirts.
In Portlandia I expect that, not so much in Central Park.
Darn and I was in Portland fully clothed last week. See ya topless outside of PSU next summer ;)
j
Ontario, Julie. Unless you are entering a restaurant, tops are optional regardless of gender, have been for decades. Of course, I would recommend that you would pursue that in the summer months. It's a tad uncomfortable to be topless here at this time of year ;)
Quote from: JulieBlair on January 13, 2015, 01:38:40 PM
In Portlandia I expect that, not so much in Central Park.
Darn and I was in Portland fully clothed last week. See ya topless outside of PSU next summer ;)
j
Hang on Julie, we have the nude bicycle ride to consider later this year as Portland's motto of Keep Portland Weird rings true to form.
Back to the question, yes I like to think that new and brave hearted souls keep pushing the envelop open. Please do be out, open and, of course, safe. Funny but I never liked going topless before while some T guys can't wait. How fun.
Quote from: JulieBlair on January 13, 2015, 01:38:40 PMDarn and I was in Portland fully clothed last week. See ya topless outside of PSU next summer ;)
j
Show me yours, I'll show you mine.... :embarrassed:
OMG thank you for the fun and spot on Tutor Turtle remembrance Barbie. From classical music to the wisdom of sages cartoons rock!
It would be hard for me to go topless in boy mode any more with the bikini tan and pokie boobs I have, I could get away with it on the beach in San Francisco but in this small town I live in near Lake Tahoe I'm afraid I would be chased out of town with pitchforks ;)
Love Portland! Been to long since we've been there, must go back one of these days!
I still wonder on this topic. I'm a MAAB not currently on HRT but have a bit a gynecomastia and wax my chest because body hair is, I'm sure most of you agree, is gross...I really doubt they could really do anything to me, in my current situation, in fact, I'm pretty sure if they did, I could sue the hell out of them...especially if I was wearing guy's board shorts...but if I were to be wearing a men's Speedo...or would it make any difference if I were to be wearing a women's bikini?
I always wondered why:
1) Why guys with large breasts can go topless but gals with flat or near flat chests can't?
2) Why guys are not allowed to wear t-shirts or other chest covering in public swimming pools but gals can wear any full coverage (or minimum coverage) swim suits?
3) Why is it not acceptable for a guy to wear a bra even if he has obvious breasts but optional for a gal to wear a bra or not to wear a bra no matter what the size of her breasts?
4) Should there be a uniform legal and social standard and if so what should it be?
In the state where I live it is technically absolutely legal for any one of any gender to go topless. That said, try it in our capital city and the police will swarm you on any day thats not the Gay Pride parade (I mean that, from personal experience), many municipalities have laws on the books that specifically define that "female" breasts must be covered. Some municipalities say the nipples, but others say mid breast and bottom of the breasts, while others say nipples and mid breast/bottom breast. I don't think any of them have caught up to the idea of trans people, and almost not have defined female specifically enough to account for non-binary people as a whole.
To be honest, I wouldn't even know which would trump - state or municipality.
Then there is the whole other issue of safety. We have nudist colonies I would fee extremely safe in - for cis binary or "passing" trans binary/nonbinary presentations. And then there are so many places where its just unsafe to be non-binary, trans, genderqueer, gender fluid.
I can see so much joy in the thought of a little piece of freedom in your query I almost hate to bring up the dangers.
I suppose can you go topless really depends a lot of geography, safety, risk factor and risk tolerance.
It's funny how sexualized they are. True story: I had my top surgery from a well-known surgeon. For my pre-op he has a nurse in the room, because well I am "a woman" though not legally at all. I have male ID and presentation. For the post-op, he takes off bandages and so on, and no nurse is in the room. Because, and it can only be, that I have no female breasts. That's clearly the only reason.
--Jay
Quote from: aleon515 on March 11, 2015, 02:16:03 AM
It's funny how sexualized they are. True story: I had my top surgery from a well-known surgeon. For my pre-op he has a nurse in the room, because well I am "a woman" though not legally at all. I have male ID and presentation. For the post-op, he takes off bandages and so on, and no nurse is in the room. Because, and it can only be, that I have no female breasts. That's clearly the only reason.
--Jay
So true Jay! I spent a lifetime career in surgery and obstetrics and started in a nursing school that denied me an obstetrical rotation because I then appeared male. We were taught to have a third party in the room for many intimate conversations and treatments. Judging books by the cover is sadly as common among medical and nursing professionals as any other group of people. On the other hand we are seeing strong interest from these health professions to get up to speed. We have had many of them come to our local trans support meetings and actively seek to understand us. It is a new day :D
The other weird thing, kind of annoyed me, was that after top surgery, a got a letter that said this surgery essentially made me male. No surgery does this. I recognize this is a surgery for birth certificate purposes but they need another way of wording this one.
Book by the cover indeed.
--Jay
Quote from: Tessa James on March 11, 2015, 12:26:04 PM
So true Jay! I spent a lifetime career in surgery and obstetrics and started in a nursing school that denied me an obstetrical rotation because I then appeared male. We were taught to have a third party in the room for many intimate conversations and treatments. Judging books by the cover is sadly as common among medical and nursing professionals as any other group of people. On the other hand we are seeing strong interest from these health professions to get up to speed. We have had many of them come to our local trans support meetings and actively seek to understand us. It is a new day :D
#freethenipple