On September 10 the University of Utah brought home a victory at Rice Eccles Stadium against their opponents from Southern Utah University. While the men on the team had great success, winning 73-7, two women in the crowd weren’t received as highly.
Two women who remain unidentified attended the game wearing body-painted T-shirts. This has gained attention in local news and was featured in the New York Post.
As to be expected, numerous remarks have been made against the body-painted women by members of the community and at the game. A female officer approached the women and asked them to put shirts on, to which they complied.
Following this event, the university released a statement “The university follows state law at all athletic events.” Many news sources following the September 10 football game have suggested that the University of Utah is seeking disciplinary action against the topless women.
A report on the events from The Deseret News features a headline photo of Utah fans, four of whom are topless men with the letters “U-T-A-H” painted across their stomachs, nipples fully exposed on some of the men. While the University’s response seems appropriate in such a case, it raises a larger question regarding equality among genders.
Why are women’s bodies still being discriminated against and sexually objectified in public places? In Utah Criminal Code, 76-9-702, regarding lewdness (effective 5/4/2022) states that a person is guilty of lewdness if an individual “exposes his or her genitals, the female breast below the top of the areola, the buttocks, the anus, or the pubic area.” It then says, “A woman’s breastfeeding, including breastfeeding in any location where the woman otherwise may rightfully be, does not under any circumstance constitute a lewd act, irrespective of whether or not the breast is covered during or incidental to feeding.”
This narrative perpetuates the idea that women are only allowed to have their breasts exposed for childrearing purposes, whereas men are allowed to run about topless without repercussions. Is it that women are only entitled to the same bodily autonomy as men if they use their bodies for motherly duties? Are women only of value to society if they bring children into the world?
What about women who choose not to have children? Or people who do not conform to the traditional gender binary? With gender becoming an ever more fluid concept, why are people with enlarged breasts repeatedly ostracized for the body they were born into?
This issue is not just present in Utah. A Colorado court case just three years ago, in September of 2019, ruled to make it legal for women to go topless in public in all areas of the 10th Circuit’s district, including Utah. It was expected to go to the Supreme Court, but they rejected hearing the case earlier this year in February.
YouTube influencer Melea Johnson spoke out against the dress choice of the women at the game, saying, “As a Christian mother, I felt like I needed to create awareness of this issue, so a permanent change is made to the University’s policy immediately,” and “Mothers need safe places for their children to attend without fear they will see something lewd or involving nudity of any kind … visuals that are typically only deemed appropriate for those over age 18.”
The message that the state of Utah and people like Johnson are sending continues to perpetuate the distortion that women’s bodies are bad, that victims of sexual assault are “asking for it,” and the stigma that the level of respect that someone deserves is equivalent to the way they dress, placing the blame onto the victim rather than the responsibility set where it lies, on the abuser.
Why are women’s bodies still sexualized and punished when men are allowed to “free the nipples” at any given time, regardless of context? And will anything actually be done to bridge this discriminatory gap?
Megan Nelson
Megan Nelson is a first-year master of social work student at the University of Utah. She received a bachelors’s in family science from Utah Valley University and is working towards being a certified sex therapist.