Woman Evicted from Shopping Centre for wearing bikini top

[Yuppers]

This is an interesting story. Wearing nothing but a bikini top for swimming is acceptable but wearing a bra is offensive. :confused:


A WOMAN is outraged after she was kicked out of the Northern Territory's biggest shopping centre for wearing a bikini top.

Barbara Rilatt and her husband Neil, both 28, were furious to be asked by security if they had a T-shirt to cover up her upper body or to leave Casuarina Square last week.

Centre manager Ben Gill said the incident was a misunderstanding as bikini tops were not banned in Casuarina Square.

Ms Rilatt, a nurse of Lee Point, said the incident was upsetting.

"How could you offend someone by being comfortable?" she said.

"The security guard - a woman - came up and said put on a shirt or leave.

"It is fine to wear your jeans down your crack, but not to wear a bikini top?"

Mr Gill said he understood Ms Rilatt was wearing a bra and not a bikini top.

"If she was wearing a bikini, we have made an error," he said.

"I would suggest it came down to a misunderstanding.

"If someone was wearing underwear, then we would ask them to cover up."

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25048258-17001,00.html

[Pete Knight]

Perhaps if she had also taken the bra off she may have had a better reception, or maybe not!

Pete Knight

[Centauri4]

Do they have, "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" there?

I wonder if they would eject someone for wearing a Ski Mask and carrying a TOY gun?

"Ma'am, we do not allow weapons of love to be carried openly in the Centre."

~

[MoonShadow]

LOL

How prudish! Yes, it would have been alright for a bikini top but not a bra????? There is no difference. Criminy!

That would be one shopping center I would boycott personally and never go there.

[naturalmanwa]

From my observations, there are many bras that cover much more than bikini tops. I don't see the problem.

[Fitz1980]

That's the problem. At what point do you draw that line. How about a crop top (think Hooters or Britney Spears) would that be OK?

Plus some girls wear men's boxer shorts as outerwear. What is the appropriateness of that, do they need to have girl undies under them for it to count as outerwear?

[Fresh Air]

I sort of agree that the eviction may have been appropriate.

I mean, who in their right mind goes shopping in a bikini top?...seriously. She probobly thought about it and knew, just a little bit, what she was doing and what might happen. I doubt she was like, "hmmm, what should I wear today....there, this will be socially acceptable".

When we are in social situations, the rule is not just about our own personal comfort, but also about the comfort of others. If you own a social commodity, like a mall, then I would think it is in the domain of one's rights to evict someone if you perceived they were disturbing some sort of social/cultural balance.

We are nude where nudity is appropriate and around others who are comfortable with it. I wouldn't go to the mall nude and I wouldn't go to the mall half nude. Partially out of respect for myself, but more so, out of respect for others.

[Boreas]

We are nude where nudity is appropriate and around others who are comfortable with it. I wouldn't go to the mall nude and I wouldn't go to the mall half nude. Partially out of respect for myself, but more so, out of respect for others.<!-- / message -->

Does that mean you would not go to the mall without a shirt? If it is not okay for a woman to go to the mall wearing a bikini top, then it is not okay for a man to go there shirtless.

Is the Northern Territory experiencing the extreme heat? If so, she may have been just doing what was comfortable and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions.

[NudeAl]

I've been to this shopping centre once. What I was struck by is the number of folks going bare foot there. I was caught off guard by this. In the US you see lots of people going around in sandals however very few barefooters in public shopping areas. This particular shopping center is near a legal nude beach about a 20 minute drive perhaps less. I think this is just another case of someone throwing their weight around and adding their own sense of prudishness to come through. If I read the article right the security guard in question was a female. Perhaps she felt insecure, who knows. I am just glad they did say that a bikini top was legal there. Now I don't think the reaction would have been the same here in the US much more prudish here.

[NudonyII]

Is the Northern Territory experiencing the extreme heat? If so, she may have been just doing what was comfortable and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions.

Regional cultures do play a part. I worked retail for many years, in a store that was relatively close to the beach. It was not uncommon for female customers to come strolling in in just a bikini top and shorts. No big deal was made, no matter how small the bikini top; because it was just part of the local culture. One one occasion, a young lady came in with just a sarong-style top on; and it wasn't until she came up to the cash register that I noticed that her top was mostly sheer. Again, no one had noticed because her top just sort of blended with what many other people were wearing.

So I'm guessing that the lady in question's bikini top just totally stood out from the norm. And the staff had a knee-jerk reaction when they saw her. If she moved to the South near a beach, her outfit would have probably just blended right in.

[Fresh Air]

Does that mean you would not go to the mall without a shirt? If it is not okay for a woman to go to the mall wearing a bikini top, then it is not okay for a man to go there shirtless.

Is the Northern Territory experiencing the extreme heat? If so, she may have been just doing what was comfortable and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions.

Exactly. I would not go to the mall without a shirt.

[Fitz1980]

Does that mean you would not go to the mall without a shirt? If it is not okay for a woman to go to the mall wearing a bikini top, then it is not okay for a man to go there shirtless.

Is the Northern Territory experiencing the extreme heat? If so, she may have been just doing what was comfortable and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions.

Not necessarily. A guy can go into a place in an undershirt/tank top (which is commonly called a "wife beater" or "Guinea tee" in the parlance of our times)m which shows his nipples. Or a sheer shirt as goth guys wear, also showing his nips, while a woman wearing such a thing would be arrested.

[Boreas]

Not necessarily. A guy can go into a place in an undershirt/tank top (which is commonly called a "wife beater" or "Guinea tee" in the parlance of our times)m which shows his nipples. Or a sheer shirt as goth guys wear, also showing his nips, while a woman wearing such a thing would be arrested.

Why would she be arrested? Did you know that it is legal for a woman to be topfree anywhere it is legal for a man. There are severals that have the same ruling. She should not be arrested for this. While it may not be something I would wear, it is wrong to arrest her.

[Fitz1980]

Why would she be arrested? Did you know that it is legal for a woman to be topfree anywhere it is legal for a man. There are severals that have the same ruling. She should not be arrested for this. While it may not be something I would wear, it is wrong to arrest her.

That my be the case in your country of Canada my friend but here in that US that's only the case in a few states. I don't know about Australia where that story took place.

[Naturist Mark]

That my be the case in your country of Canada my friend but here in that US that's only the case in a few states. I don't know about Australia where that story took place.

Well in the US (and I suspect in Australia and Canada) this is not a matter of discriminatory law. It is a case of a private entity - the mall - deciding to evict people from its private property - the law is only broken when people refuse to leave - becoming trespassers.

In some cases US law does intervene if the the eviction order is used for a prohibited purpose since malls are places of public accommodation - thus ordering someone to leave because they are black, or Jewish, or handicapped is illegal. But manner of dress is not a protected category.