The Top 12 Places to Observe Go Topless Day 2017

Here at LawnStarter, we love the outdoors. After all, it’s not all about mowing the lawn. It’s about becoming one with nature, too, and that can take many forms.

For some, becoming one with nature means baring (almost) all for a cause. On Aug. 28, thousands of bare-chested ladies (and gentlemen) in the U.S. will take to the streets for Go Topless Day, a day of protest aimed at exposing one brand of gender inequality: In the U.S., men are allowed to go topless in public, but for women, it’s illegal in many places.

“We’re going topless for the purpose of encouraging women to exercise their rights,” Nadine Gary, president of Go Topless, tells TimeOut New York. “It’s a celebration of our bodies and putting the shame behind us.”

A spiritual leader named Maitreya Rael founded the Go Topless movement in 2007. Go Topless Day coincides with Women’s Equality Day, which is held every Aug. 26. That’s the date in 1920 when American women gained the right to vote.

Two women participate in Go Topless Day activities in Columbus, OH.
Photo: Flicker/Robert Batina

‘Topless Tested’

To commemorate Go Topless Day, we decided to get to the bottom of which American cities are the best for observing it. We started with the Go Topless movement’s list of “topless tested” cities in the U.S. Fifteen cities appear on the pro-toplessness list, but we removed three of them — Key West, FL; New Orleans; LA; and South Miami Beach, FL — because toplessness in those places is limited to a specific event or a specific spot.

That left us with 12 contenders for our list of the Top Cities for Observing Go Topless Day. To rank them, we considered three statistics and evenly weighted each factor:

• Average high temperature in August (lower number is better).
• Average rainfall in August (lower number is better).
• Percentage of time in August when temperatures are “comfortable,” defined as 65 to 75 degrees (higher percentage is better).

Now, we present our ranking of the 12 breast — uh, best — cities for celebrating Go Topless Day. Health tip: If you’re in one of these cities and planning to participate in Go Topless Day, be sure to slather yourself in sunscreen.

A bare-chested woman chats with two non-topless women in Columbus, OH.
Photo: Flicker/Robert Batina

1. Portland, OR

Average high temperature in August: 81 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 0.67 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 31%

2. Eugene, OR

Average high temperature in August: 83 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 0.59 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 23%

3. Asheville, NC

Average high temperature in August: 84 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 3.43 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 49%

4. Boulder, CO

Average high temperature in August: 85 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 1.85 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 35%

5. New York City, NY

Average high temperature in August: 83 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 4.13 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 49%

6. Madison, WI

Average high temperature in August: 79 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 4.25 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 38%

7. Santa Fe, NM

Average high temperature in August: 83 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 2.24 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 31%

8. Columbus, OH

Average high temperature in August: 84 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 3.11 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 41%

9. Keene, NH

Average high temperature in August: 81 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 3.82 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 37%

10. Washington, DC

Average high temperature in August: 84 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 4.88 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 38%

11. Honolulu, HI

Average high temperature in August: 89 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 0.55 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 3%

12. Austin, TX

Average high temperature in August: 97 degrees
Average rainfall in August: 2.36 inches
Percentage of time in “comfortable” temperature zone in August: 23%

Data sources: Go Topless, US Climate Data, WeatherSpark

John Egan

John Egan is the former editor in chief of LawnStarter.com. Now, he is a freelance writer extraordinaire. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Posts by John Egan