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Can I go topless on any Australian beach?
I'll start of with a quick little disclaimer that none of this is legal advice. All information here is based purely on my own experiences going topless on beaches around Australia. And based on my own experiences, I can say that yes, all Australian beaches are topless.
Before we dive in further, let's make a distinction between nude beaches vs "topless beaches". With the exception of Queensland, all Australian states and territories have designated nude beaches. If you're looking to get your full kit off, then you probably want to take a look at one of Australia's offical nude beaches. However, since indecent exposure laws across the country are "restricted to the genital area", this means that as long as your actual genitals are covered the police generally don't care what else is uncovered. For women, femme-presenting peeps, and queer folx with breasts, these laws mean that you can legally sunbathe topless anywhere that you see men and masc-presenting peeps going topless.
In my personal experience going topless at regular, public, non-nude beaches, most Australians don't care too much about whether or not you go topless. At most beaches, you will generally see at least a handful of women sunbaking on their towel with their top off. I find that once at least woman starts sunning topless (usually me), others start to follow suit! After all, don't we all usually feel a bit more comfortable doing something percieved as taboo, once we see someone else doing it?
Of course a nipple is just a nipple! And it's the sexualisation of the "female" nipple that can make us feel uncomfortable or exposed when we go topless at the beach. However, I strongly believe that it's only through showing off our nipples at the beach, and in other scenarios where men have no hesitation going topless, that we can remind everyone else and ourselves, that nipples really are just another neutral body part.
And these reminders really work! While I have had a few furtive glances from folks on some of Sydney's more conservative beaches, most responses, especially from other women, have been incredibly positive. Not only have other women also gone topless once seeing I was topless, I've also had women come up to me and chat or give me compliments on my decision to go topless. On one walk around Sculptures by the Sea, while I was wearing top that was barely there, I had a group of older women cheer me on: "if the men get to display their nips at the beach, we should be able to too!"
Will you join me in going topless at the beach?
