''R. v. Gowan'' is a March 1998 case tried by the
Ontario Court of Justice
The Ontario Court of Justice is the provincial court of record for the Canadian province of Ontario. The court sits at more than 200 locations across the province and oversees matters relating to family law, criminal law, and provincial offences. ...
which ruled that, while a woman being topless as form of protest and free speech is legal, her being topless while she engages in a commercial purpose such as prostitution is illegal.
[R v. Gowan March 1998Doc. Ottawa 97-20544 (Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Division).]
Details of the case
On June 3, 1997, 31-year-old
prostitute
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
J. Gowan took her shirt off and bared her breasts on Montreal Road in the
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of
Vanier.
Afterwards, Gowan held her breasts, pulled her nipples, and asked nearby car drivers several times if they "want to fuck" her.
On two occasions, Gowan did this while she was leaning into other people's cars during a red light.
Considering Gowan's behavior—rather than her toplessness itself—to be indecent, Cecile Couture reported Gowan to the authorities.
Ruling
In her ruling, Judge Jennifer Blishen stated that the evidence indicates that the purpose of Gowan's toplessness and provocative behavior was to engage in
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
and that thus, unlike the actions of Ontario woman Gwen Jacob several years earlier, Gowan's toplessness was commercial in nature.
In addition, Blishen stated that she "cannot find that the community would tolerate the use of a woman's bare breasts in public in order to sell any form of service or product" since "
ch conduct would appear to promote the objectification of women and the accompanying social harm."
Elaborating on this, Blishen wrote that Gowan's actions "portray women in a humiliating manner as sex objects, with the resulting loss of dignity."
Thus, Blishen found that Gowan's actions constituted an indecent act in a public place contrary to section 173(1)(a) of the Criminal Code" and that thus Gowan is "guilty as charged."
As a result of her conviction for indecent behavior, Gowan was fined $250.
Criticism
In her 2009 book ''Law's Dream of a Common Knowledge'', Mariana Valverde criticized this ruling by arguing that it ensured that "the women who have the best 'lawful excuse,' as law puts it, to go around topless are expressly forbidden from doing so."
Elaborating on this, Valverde states that a "new line has been drawn, between the speaking, rational, political woman, who can now bare her breasts even in the presence of unsuspecting children, and the whore of old, who must be covered while outdoors."
References
{{Prostitution
Ontario case law
Prostitution law in Canada
1998 in Canadian case law
1998 in Ontario