Protesters Plan 'Go Topless Day' in Venice Beach, Because Aliens Told Them To

By Simone Wilson Tue., Jul. 26 2011 at 2:15 PM

PHOTO BY ERIN BROADLEY

The Venice Beach Boardwalk is about to get a little weirder.

What could be more fun-lovin' and lighthearted than a local celebration of national Go Topless Day, in which a bunch of free-titted gals (save for pasties, some engineered to look "EXACTLY like nipples") march down the Venice Beach Boardwalk, chanting for their right to be busty or saggy or however they may be, all out in the open and stuff? Activism!

But the August 21 protest, in its fourth year now, has some strange-ish philosophies behind it, if you for some reason happen to care why you're parading around in nipple-looking pasties.

Turns out the group behind Go Topless Day is the one-and-only Raëlian cult:

Those same freaks, if we may be so bold, who believed some French dude in the 1970s when he said aliens, who control humans via remote computers, had instructed him to start a religion. From the manifesto:

RAEL had a dramatic encounter with a human being from another planet, at a volcano park in the center of France, known as "Puy de Lassolas". This extra-terrestrial gave him a new detailed explanation of our origins and information on how to organize our future, as recorded in the book: Intelligent Design. After six consecutive meetings in the same location, Rael accepted the mission given to him, to inform humanity of this revolutionary message and to prepare the population to welcome their Creators, the Elohim, without any mysticism or fear, but as conscious and grateful human beings.

Since then, Raëlians have taken up various harmless (if kooky) causes, including human cloning, sensual meditation (don't ask), and -- bringing us to Venice Beach on August 21 -- the right to go topless.

Rael.org

Rael wants the ladies of the world to exercise their alien-given rights

In the words of the almighty Raël himself: "As long as men are allowed to be topless in public, women should have the same constitutional right. Or else, men should have to wear something to hide their chests."

(Couldn't have anything to do with the fact that Rael likes him some topless titties, now could it?)

As we were speaking with Bob Morton, executive director for Naturist Action Committee, a nudist advocacy group, about another naked situation down on the Camp Pendleton beach today, he expressed concern about the topless group's "agenda":

"I'm not opposed to it," he says. "I just dont know what their motivation is, necessarily -- I don't know whether this will please the aliens, or displease them."

Some have speculated that the protests are just another way to recruit members to Raël's alien cult. And Morton says if the Raëlians really cared about defending nudist beliefs, they wouldn't be calling him up about "where it's safe and legal for a woman to be topless. My point to them is, if you're only going to do it where it's already legal, whats the point?"

Go Topless Day, likewise, avoids breaking any real rules, what with the nipple pasties.

Taking Morton's side, Huntington Beach attorney Allan Baylis says the L.A. city ordinance that bans toplessness should be tested -- that it's "treading on thin ice, constitutionally" and would almost definitely be struck down if it reached a higher court, like it recently did in New York.

Anyway. Enough of this legal babble -- you want pics! Last year's NSFW finest, after the jump.

Tags:

cults, Go Topless Day, nudists, nudity, protesters, Raelism, Venice Beach Boardwalk

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gotopless.org

As the president of Gotopless.org and a female Raelian priest, I thought it necessary to correct several statements and innuendoes, some quite defamatory which you made in your article published Tuesday July 26, 2011 in the LA weekly. (please note that a copy of this letter was sent to the editor of the LA Weekly and of the OC Weekly that picked up your story yesterday through Matt Coker.) While you had a couple of the facts right, the light in which you presented them was obviously purposely negative. Most errors could have been easily avoided had you taken only a couple of minutes and interviewed a Gotopless spokesperson for your article. Let us be very clear about the purpose of Gotopless.org. It is indeed an activist group that stands up for a woman's issue: women's constitutional right to go topless in public in the name of gender equality. It's not about "tee hee, we're topless...giggle..." It's quite the opposite because its goal is to specifically remove that Puritanical, even juvenile attitude when it comes to women's breasts. Your "well! I've seen it all now" undertone only goes to show that you are missing the entire point - precisely that the woman's breast is seen as something sexual because of sexual repression in society. Sexual repression leads to unhealthy and especially unhappy people. Look at the countries with the most sexual repression. They are the most violent countries on Earth. This needs to be recognized and few people want to face that. Would you not agree that violence is infinitely worse than getting hung up on "boobies"? You are also correct that Spiritual leader Rael founded Gotopless.org. Raelians do explain that life on Earth was created by people from another planet, the Elohim, thanks to genetic engineering and that they created humans in their image (breasts and genitals included). The Raelian message is that the human body is literally a masterpiece from Elohim and that any feeling of shame and guilt about it must be lifted along with the inhumane and unconstitutional laws (hence Gotopless.org) that perpetuate those feelings detrimental to our personal health and the general well being of our society. Furthermore, the Raelian Movement is not out to recruit members with Gotopless.org. Nor are we are out to recruit members by building the hospital in Africa where women can receive, free of charge, the minor surgery which repairs the clitoris of women who have been victims of the horrible practice of Female Genital Mutilation. Nor are we looking to recruit members by setting up NOPEDO to force the world to finally discuss the terrible crimes of pedophilia so rampant in the Catholic Church as well as many other religions which teach people to repress their sexuality, thus leading to perverse behavior in taking advantage of the world's most innocent, children. The continuous undertone of your article may get a few more readers but at the end of the day, how will you have helped this world to heal? THIS is our motive, Simone. It must be further noted that your article includes defamatory remarks such as "strange-ish", "cult", "freaks" when referring to our minority atheistic religion and its members. Your way of addressing spiritual leader Rael is also most disrespectful and we demand a public written apology for this as Raelism deserves the same respect as any main stream religious group - even more, because our philosophy, very similar to Buddhism, teaches complete nonviolence and embracing of each other's differences. Finally, you criticized Gotopless women for not challenging unconstitutional topless laws openly enough and quoted Mr. Morton about us wishing to remain on safe ground during our protest. Understand that the reason we don't protest where it is illegal is because we are here to change laws, not break them. Do you break laws in order to change them? Also, had you taken the time to interview us, we could have told you that we have indeed, been seeking the representation of an attorney (expressly in the nudist community) who could represent our women challengers pro bono because as you may know, the legal battle to overturn even the most unconstitutional law can be lengthy and therefore costly in our country. There are several more things you missed. Should you like to ask, we would be happy to provide you with answers.Sincerely, Nadine GaryPresident, Gotopless.orginfo@gotopless.org-- Please don't forget to sign the petition and to pass it on to your friends! http://www.thepetitionsite.com... "If slavery was America's original sin, Puritanism was its original curse." Ted Rall

nudiarist

With topfree equality, it's important for women to exercise that right, even in places where the baring in public of the female breast is already legal. It's about public awareness and holding onto rights which are fragile in a society which criminalizes the display of the human body.

I agree with Allan Baylis that the bans against topfreedom need to be tested, but it's also important for people to be aware of the places where women have the same topfree rights as men, such as in New York state.

It's easy to ridicule others for their beliefs. The Raelians are no more "kooky" than Scientologists, Mormons or Catholics. (I was raised Catholic, I am now athiest).

GoTopless day is not about people ogling women's breasts, it's about equality, the de-sexualization of the female breast, and to give women the right to remove their shirts (the same as a man) without being arrested for indecent exposure.