Berlin will allow all swimmers to go topless in public pools after a quarrel about equality
Date: 2023-08-22 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: NU ART, TRAVELS
All swimmers in public pools in Berlin will be allowed to swim topless, city officials have confirmed.
The new decision comes after a woman filed a lawsuit in response to being kicked out of an outdoor pool in the German capital for topless sunbathing.
The woman, whose identity has not been released, has approached the Senate Ombudsman's office for equal treatment to argue that women should be allowed to go topless if they so choose.
The authorities agreed that they were victims of discrimination and said that all visitors to the Berlin pools now have the right to go topless.
As a result of the complaint, the Berliner Baederbetriebe, which manages the city's public swimming pools, has changed its dress code accordingly.
“The Ombudsman’s office greatly welcomes the Baederbetriebe’s decision because it establishes equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female or non-binary, and because it also creates legal certainty for Baederbetriebe employees,” said Doris Liebscher, head of the Ombudsman’s office.
“It is important now that the rules are applied consistently and that no more expulsions or house bans are issued,” Ms Liebscher said.
Adherents of the German freikörperkultur, or "free body culture", are likely to be pleased with the result.
The country is known to have a relaxed attitude towards nudity for all genders.
Several cities introduced topless swimming in public pools in 2022, including Siegen in North Rhine-Westphalia and Göttingen in Lower Saxony.
The capital of Lower Saxony, Hannover, also changed its bathing rules at the end of 2022, mandating that only the "primary genitals" should be covered "in the wet area" of the municipal baths.
While sauna culture in Scandinavian countries has long been comfortable with nudity, the continent has also seen some unexpected developments when it comes to exposure.
