女性有没有解放上半身的权利?

 The weather is starting to heat up again, and it’s becoming ever more tempting¹ to peel off a few layers of clothing to cool down. But where you are, and what gender² you belong to, may determine just how much you can strip down.

天气逐渐升温，人们越来越难抗拒脱掉几件衣服凉快凉快的诱惑。不过，你在哪里和你的性别或许决定了你能脱到什么程度。

In the United States, some cities and states allow both men and women to go bare-chested–no shirts, tank tops or bras required. But the laws vary wildly. New York State may allow women to walk around topless, but cross into neighboring Massachusetts, and the same action becomes an obscenity. 

在美国，一些城市和州允许男性和女性“赤膊上阵”——可以不穿短袖上衣、背心或胸衣。不过，不同地方的法律却也大相径庭。纽约州允许女性裸露上身外出，而到了相邻的马萨诸塞州，同样的行为就变成了淫秽色情。

女性有没有解放上半身的权利?

A movement has been launched in response to these laws, calling itself the “Free the Nipple” campaign. Its latest battleground is New Hampshire, where state legislators have been debating whether to change the state’s laws toward bare-chested women. 

近期针对这些法律开展了一项叫做“解放上半身”的运动。新罕布什尔州是这项运动的最新“战场”，该州立法者正在讨论是否针对赤裸上半身的女性而修改法律。

It all started in September 2015, when members of a local “Free the Nipple” group decided³ to forgo⁴ their tops on a public beach in Gilford, New Hampshire. They were arrested, and the incident inspired state Republicans to introduce a series of bills, aimed at making exposed female breasts illegal. 

一切始于2015年9月，新罕布什尔州当地“解放上半身”组织的成员决定在吉尔福德镇的公共海滩上脱掉上衣，随后遭到逮捕。由此，该州共和党成员提议了一系列新议案，意图将女性赤裸上半身列入违法行为。

The controversy⁵ received national attention when one of the lawmakers commented on Facebook that a man should have the right to “stare and grab” at a woman’s nipples, if she is allowed to leave them exposed. “After all... It’s ALL relative and natural, right?” he wrote.

一名立法者在脸书上就此事发表的评论引发了争议，引发了全国关注。他认为在女性自愿赤裸上身的情况下，男性应拥有“盯着看或者触摸”女性上体的权利。“总之……这都是自然而然的，不是吗？”他这样写道。

Just last week, on May 11, New Hampshire debated the latest attempt to rein⁶ in exposed boobs, by having each city decide what people could wear on its public property. The bill is unlikely to pass, but the drama in New Hampshire has reignited the nationwide debate over upper-body nudity.

就在上周，5月11日，新罕布什尔州就管制裸露上身的措施而开展了辩论，最新提案试图让各城市自己决定居民应该在公共场所穿什么样的衣服。虽然这项议案很难通过，但新罕布什尔州上演的戏剧性事件已再次引发全国针对上半身裸体的争论。

Ironically, both sides claim they’re protecting women from being sexualized. For proponents⁷ of keeping women covered up, the breast is first and foremost a sexual organ. Showing it off is simply too provocative⁸, they argue, and young children should not be exposed to such naked sexuality.

讽刺的是，持不同意见的双方均声称他们是为了让女性免受性别歧视。支持者认为女人应穿着得体，因为胸部是最主要的性器官。暴露胸部简直太过挑逗，而且青少年和儿童不应该看到这么赤裸裸的性特征。

The counterarguments, naturally, say the exact opposite. Breasts are no more sexual than earlobes or lips: Just because they can be used during sex doesn’t mean they are sexual organs, per se. Free the Nipple advocates also argue that women can be as attracted to shirtless men as men can be to shirtless women. The only difference is, the law reflects a male perspective, not a female’s.

而显然，反对者们则持完全相反的意见。胸部并不比耳垂、嘴唇更具有性暗示：仅仅因为在性行为中胸部能起到作用，并不意味着它本质上就是性器官。“解放上半身”的拥护者还提出，女人能被赤膊的男人吸引，男人同样也可以被赤膊的女人吸引。两者之间唯一的区别就是，法律反映的是男性的需求，而非女性。

Free the Nipple is a cause championed by celebrities⁹ like singer Miley Cyrus, model Chrissy Teigan and pop star Rihanna. But how to protest this issue has become a problem all on its own. Some advocates believe the best route is to “normalize” female breasts, by wearing them uncovered as much as possible, as casually¹⁰ as possible.

“解放上半身”运动受到了歌手麦莉?赛勒斯、模特克莉茜?泰根、歌星蕾哈娜等名人的拥护。然而如何对此进行抗议示威本身又是一个问题。一些支持者认为最好的方法就是随意、经常、尽可能多地赤裸上身，将女性胸部“平常化”。

But activist¹¹ groups like Femen have made exposed boobs a gimmick¹² to gain press attention. Topless protesters have demonstrated against rape¹³, homophobia and even Republican presidential contender Donald Trump¹⁴.

不过，一些激进组织如费曼组织就把赤裸的胸部当成了吸引媒体的花招。裸露上身的抗议者针对强奸、仇视同性恋，甚至共和党总统竞选人唐纳德?特朗普进行了诸多游行示威。

1 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 forgo   

v.放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够，他不得不放弃做准备工作。
• She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵，她愿意放弃生日宴请。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

7 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

8 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

9 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

10 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

13 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

14 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。