2016.12.17 Stuff
An ethics debate sprang up at Wellington's Free the Nipple Beach Day on Saturday, as 22 topless women lay in the sun at Oriental Bay.
"It might be legal to come down and take photos of these women, but it's really disrespectful to do things without someone's consent," Pollyanna Besley, organiser of the event said, as she bared her breasts on the sand.
The event was aimed at promoting gender equality and desexualising the nipple, Besley said.
It attracted a huge amount of attention, including criticism from Family First director Bob McCoskrie, who labelled it "offensive behaviour".
Others suggested that the women were putting themselves at risk of being photographed or harassed due to the location's outdoor, public nature.
Brent Higham parked himself and his camera lens on a table on the footpath next to the women so he could take photos of them.
When asked if they gave consent, he replied "it's a public place".
"I am not a sleaze or a pervert, I photograph what I like, things that stand out.
"At the moment it's something we don't see."
Initially, he said his photos would appear "nowhere" but later said he may enter one in a photography competition.
Upon being told the women felt uncomfortable with his camera pointed at them, Higham left.
Besley said it came down to respect for people and their personal privacy.
"There is quite a crowd, and there are a lot of people who are taking our photos, look at them – they're all staring."
One woman walked past the event with a pronounced scowl on her face. Others didn't bat an eyelid.
"No tan lines," one man said to his beach companions as he passed the topless women, "good on them".
It was a perfect summer's day in Wellington so Oriental Bay was buzzing, but some admitted they had come down with the intention of taking photos of the women, and had no desire to seek their consent.
The crowd grew soon after midday. Although hundreds had said they would come, a total of 22 women and seven men took part.
A group of women who were laying nearby said they were fully supportive of the event, but didn't feel relaxed enough to go topless, due to the crowd.
"There's no respect for privacy," said Alice Plier, who was fully clothed.
"If they want to upload it [to social media] they can do it themselves."
Wellington man Tim Pate also got his shirt off for the event, and said he was acutely aware that people were staring.
"To sit there and watch is weird. I wonder if I could have gone up there and said something intelligent and asked them what's going on.
"We need to normalise things like the nipple and it [shouldn't be] sexualised. It's already in the media, it's on TV, it's in music videos, what's so different about on the beach?"
Besley said: "In an ideal world, there would be no reason to have this kind of event and people would feel completely comfortable."
The group collected donations for Women's Refuge and the Wellington Rape Crisis Centre.
