The Berlin state government announced Thursday that it will soon allow women to swim topless in public pools— if they wish— just like men.
The new ruling follows on the heels of a discrimination complaint filed by an unidentified topless female swimmer who claimed she was prevented from entering a public pool in December 2022, CNN reported.
The Berlin Senate for Justice, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination issued a written statement claiming that the Berliner Baederbetriebe, which runs Berlin’s pools, changed its clothing rules in response to the female swimmer’s complaint and an ombudsperson’s involvement in the case, according to the Associated Press.
“The ombudsperson’s office very much welcomes the decision of the Baederbetriebe, because it establishes equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female or non-binary, and because it also creates legal certainty for the staff at the Baderbetriebe,” Doris Liebscher, head of the ombudsperson’s office, announced.
Women In Berlin Allowed To Go Topless At Public Pools https://t.co/1GD2QPETRo
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The decision should draw praise from those who support Germany’s free body culture, also known as ‘Freikorperkultur,’ the BBC reported. “Most people understand that Germans are much more relaxed about nudity than Britons or Americans,” Keon West, a social psychology professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, told CNN. Foreign visitors are usually surprised and “sometimes downright disconcerted” by Germany’s relaxed views on public nudity, the BBC claimed. (RELATED: Topless Woman Allegedly Saves Family From Drowning)
It is not clear at this time when the new ruling will go into effect.