It'll never catch on

There are two local articles, the first one by Ronnie Polaneczky in The Philadelphia Daily News and the second one by Dr. Jill McDevitt, a nationally recognized sexologist and the only person in the world with a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree in human sexuality, making her the most formally educated person about sex on the planet, at thesexologist.org, on women going topless on the street:

Polaneczky: I wanted to write something snarky about Moira Johnston, because what she's doing kind of begs for snarkiness. But, after hanging with her in Rittenhouse Square, where her bare breasts caught the morning sun, elicited picture-taking and drew a blasting honk from a Roadway Express truck, Johnston won me over to her cause.
Which is this: women should be allowed to go topless anywhere that men are allowed to.
Maybe it was the flowered pasties that covered Johnston's nipples. Or the glorious breeze. Or the guy who grinned at Johnston's chest and said: "God bless ya, babe!"
Mostly, though, it was Johnston's demeanor that made her exposed boobs seem like no big deal. She wore paisley-patterned harem pants and flats, carried a big old shoulder bag and yoga mat and had the teeniest bit of pudge on her hips. With her no-fuss hair and big sunglasses, she came across as the cute girl next door, not the aggressive sexual tease that naysayers presume her toplessness telegraphs.
She looked more wholesome, while wearing less, than some women do while wearing more. A suburban Philly native, Johnston, thirty, became an advocate for mammarian freedom last summer after getting booted from a New York City yoga class for removing her shirt. All she wanted was to be as comfortable as the bare-chested men on the mats. And, besides, New York City law doesn't require women to cover their breasts.
Peeved by society's ignorance of the law, Johnston spent the next few months educating the public by wandering New York City sans coverage: shopping in Whole Foods, reading in Union Square, swaying on the subway. She got arrested, once, when a mom complained to cops that Johnston's nude boobs endangered the children who saw them. But the charges were dropped, and Johnston stayed half-naked until the leaves turned.
She's now exposing her ta-tas in Philly in between her gigs as a private yoga instructor. So I figured it was time for Johnston, aka Topless Moira, to answer a few questions:

Q: First things first: Is it okay for me to look at your breasts? Or is this one of those, "Yo, my eyes are up here!" situations?
A: I don't mind if people look. I know this is out of the ordinary.
Q: How has Philadelphia reacted?
A: Philadelphia has been really supportive. More so than New York City.
Q: But New York City is home of the Naked Cowboy, who plays guitar in his underpants in Times Square. I'd have thought the reaction to your bare chest would be meh.
A: New York City has so many foreigners from other cultures, and they can be hostile about women's bodies. They also didn't know that New York law supports toplessness. They assumed I was doing something illegal.
Q: What's your routine? Do you wake up and say: "I think I'll air out the girls today?"
A: I go topless in my free time, when it feels comfortable outdoors, sometimes inside. Last night, I was allowed to be topless at a yoga studio, because the men were allowed to be.
Q: And?
A: People seemed surprised. But no one said anything to me.
Q: Have you inspired any women to bare almost all?
A: Last week, a lady in Rittenhouse Square said she'd totally do it if she had pasties. So I gave her an extra pair of mine. I feel a little more covered up and protected when I wear them.
Q: Where does one buy pasties?
A: At E-Zone on South Street, or in sex shops. They're disposables.
Q: Are there any places you won't go topless?
A: I'll pretty much go topless any place where it's legal for a man to be topless. I carry Mace, but generally I feel safe. If anything, people act a little scared of me. I think any potential predator thinks, whoa, that's a little too obvious. I'm almost too visible.
Q: You've said that breasts have been so sexualized and commercialized, it's skewed how society looks at boobs.
A: It has. Some people think even breast-feeding a child is sexual.
Q: But you used to dance topless. That was sexual and commercial, wasn't it?
A: Yeah. But context is everything. It's up to the woman to decide when her breasts are sexual and for what reason, whether private or commercial. Just because we can't control society's reaction doesn't mean we should adjust our behavior.
Q: But how would someone who meets you topless in the park know your context?
A: Perhaps they wouldn't. But I define it, not them. I only have so much control over someone's interpretation of my ideas and the way I express myself.
Q: Any reaction from women who wear burkas?
A: Yes! I get the most support from them! They even take pictures with me. We really respect each other's choices.
Q: Maybe it's because it's obvious that you've both thought a lot about how to present yourself, physically, to the world. Your thought process unites you.
A: Exactly.
Q: What does your family make of your activism?
A: My mother is a breast-cancer survivor, and she generally supports my decision. My younger sister worries a little that someone will try to hurt me. But my other sister approves.
Q: How long will you keep this up?
A: Whenever I have free time and am in a location that allows me to exercise my rights to the fullest extent.
Q: Weather permitting?
A: Weather permitting.

Dr. McDevitt: Yes, it was hot out there this weekend, but one man may have been a bit too underdressed. I was on a family bike ride this Saturday at a local park when a man on his bike sped past us wearing nothing but shorts and sneakers. No shirt. I stopped and did a double take because I was in such shock. It’s one thing to shed your clothes when it gets hot, but this guy was taking it to an entirely different level.
I could tell by the smirks, awkward laughs, and disgusted scowls that the other bikers, joggers, and dog walkers in the park were in shock as well. Some giggled. Some stared in disbelief. A few took out their phones and took pictures of him.
“Oh lord, look at this”, said one woman with an eye roll when she saw the topless man ride by.
“Wow, it takes all kinds…” said another.
A third person said, “This is offensive. That shouldn’t be ok, especially with all these little kids around here.”
I approached him and inquired why he was doing this. He said he has the right to a bare chest, even in the middle of a crowded public area. I asked, “But is this something kids should see?”  He said he didn’t think it was harmful.
Along with the attention this man received came some trouble with the law.
The police were called and he was detained and handcuffed. The police officer told him, “If you want to look like this, go dance at a Chippendales strip club."
He was given a citation for failure to disperse, not for nudity. Why? Because although he was topless, his nipples were covered and "technically" he was not nude. Nevertheless, the police and the district attorney's office are still looking into the legality of his topless bike ride. 

Do you find this story ludicrous and inane? Are you perplexed by the trivial outrage?
It sounds ridiculous, but it’s all true! Well, actually it is two parts of two true stories put together. It is true that I went on a bike ride this weekend and saw a shirtless man. But I wasn’t offended. And no one gawked, stared, or called the police. No one told him that if he wanted to be shirtless, the only appropriate venue would be on a strip club stage.
Those elements of the story originally came from a Fox 29 news report about a shirtless woman in Rittenhouse Square. My modified version is nearly verbatim from the report. The only real difference is that in my writing you can’t hear the condescending voice of the news anchors.
Now knowing that it was actually a woman who was bare chested in public, does the outrage still seem trivial? The story inane? If not, let me gently point out to you that you are a hypocrite.

Rico says he's not sure how many women will be comfortable with displaying their breasts in public, but he's all for their right to do so...