History Forum / General / British History / July 2006

Hmmmmmmmm...

Smashing!

Will British men also be barred from indulging in one of their favorite
pastimes, baring their arses, especially on USENET?

DSH
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"Men may be banned from daring to bare their chests"

By STEVE DOUGHTY, Daily Mail, 26th July 2006

"Men may be barred from baring their chests - and stomachs - in public under
new local laws being considered by town halls.

They would stop men stripping off their shirts in crowded town centres and
give powers to police to remove any who defy the cover-up laws.

The proposal has been inspired by the least attractive side effect of the
heatwave - the tendency of a number of often middle-aged men to go about in
nothing more than shorts and trainers.

Last week the Daily Mail highlighted the wave of revulsion among most of the
public at the summer's least welcome fashion trend, and pictured a series of
the worst examples in the hope of shaming offenders into keeping their
T-shirts on.

Anti-social

Now local authorities have been circulated with a scheme for using by-laws
to require shirts in town centres and to brand men who won't wear them as
anti-social.

The laws would operate in a similar manner to local statutes that ban
drinking on the streets or which prevent gangs of youths from congregating.

The politician behind the plan is former local government minister Nicholas
Bennett, who has canvassed councils across the country for support.

"There is a problem," Mr Bennett said yesterday. "In my part of the country
we are trying to revitalise the main shopping precinct.

"But one of the things that is depressing for anyone going shopping is the
numbers of shaven-headed men, mainly in their 30s and 40s, who seem to think
people want to see their torsos."

He added: "It is only a small minority, one in a hundred people. But these
men do look aggressive and occasionally behave aggressively. You would see a
big difference in the shopping centre if they were made to put a shirt on."

"It is nice weather and most of us are wearing fewer clothes. But a town
centre is not the beach and taking your top off is going too far, for men as
well as women.

"It is an unfortunate thing, but those men who like best to bare their
stomachs are the ones who have too much stomach."

Officials in Bromley, in south east London, have responded warily to the
proposal, suggesting that implementation might prove 'difficult'.

However by-laws governing local behaviour and giving police powers to act
against those who infringe them can be pushed through by town halls if the
win approval from the Home Office.

Mr Bennett, now a senior councillor in Bromley's ruling Tory group, said:
"We already operate by-laws covering on-street drinking and a 'dispersal
zone', where police have the right to break up groups of youths and ban gang
members from coming back for 24 hours."

Mr Bennett, who runs a property company, was a minister with local
government responsibilities under John Major in the 1990s."
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DSH