What started as a small-scale fight has turned into a major win for the 'Free the Nipple' movement, a global gender equality campaign that emphasizes women's rights to choose how they display their bodies. Since the 10th Circuit encompasses six states - Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma - the decision means it is now illegal for any town in those states to create a law forbidding public toplessness.
It's an outcome that affects more than just one town. The decision stems from a multiyear legal battle in Fort Collins, Colo., where a city ordinance forbidding women from going shirtless in public has now officially been ruled unconstitutional. states are now effectively allowed to be topless in public, according to a new ruling by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
