As of yesterday, October 4, women can now swim topless in Amsterdam’s pools. This plan has been in the works since May of this year when Berlin got rid of the obligation to wear a bikini top in the pool.
That’s right, no more strategically shifting your bikini to try and tan without tan lines — just take the whole top off! 👙
Washing away an outdated law
Up until now, the legalities of swimming in pools without a top were in rather muddy water. Understandably, councillor Ilana Rooderkerk wanted to make sense of the situation.
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So, she gave a speech in May that shared the sentiment of many other women and said, “Free the nipple!” (Literally, that’s how she ended her speech in May, according to Het Parool.)
@pilgrimagegirl There’s nothing better then a dip in the lake to start the day ✨ It’s a hot and sunny weekend here in the NL 🥵 ☀️ have a good one and stay hydrated! 🫶 • • • #thenetherlands #summer #cottagecore #slowliving #gentlelife #dayinthelife #wildswimming #pinterest #pinterestaesthetic #vlog #romanticizeyourlife #cottagetok #naturetok ♬ original sound – Kalia 🎤❤
Councillor Rooderkerk worked alongside sports councillor Sofyan Mbarki, who also wasn’t very sure of the rules at the time. After some months and a few phone calls, it’s now official: let the nipple be free, ladies, and enjoy a topless dip!
A trip back in time
Despite how old-fashioned this news feels, it was actually very normal for women to swim and tan topless in the 80s.
Then, we became a bit more prudish over time, and now we’ve gone full circle back to the 80s.
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Lately, though, there’s been much more discussion among Europeans about women’s rights to kick back topless by a swimming pool. It’s not a very heavy discussion at all — just, you know, about the inescapable sexualisation of the female body. Light stuff. 🙃
Either way, the nipple has been freed. Hoera!
How do you feel about this new policy? Tell us in the comments!
What better way to be free and uninhibited when meeting others. After a normal nervousness quells and settles.
I lived in the Netherlands in the 90’s for a year. At that time, Dutch people were quite open with their bodies, and had no shame. It was refreshing after growing up the prudish and repressive USA. But I have noticed Dutch, German, Scandinavian, and especially French women becoming much more prudish over the last 20 years. Even on holiday in a place like Spain— where local women go topless routinely— women from these places now rarely go topless. It is a shame to allow American prudishness and commercialization of women’s bodies to take hold in Europe. I hope Dutch women of all shapes sizes and ages embrace their bodies, say “screw prudishness”, and go topless whenever they want to.