Barcelona City Council has urged all municipal swimming pools to drop regulations – if there are any – prohibiting people from going topless in public.
The 14 municipal centres that have a swimming pool have been told that the topless ban is discriminatory. The new regulations do not apply to privately owned businesses.
It came after Barcelona’s Office for Non-Discrimination issued a report stating that the imposition of “specific dress standards on women means a restriction of their freedom of choice and discrimination on the grounds of gender”.
Janet Sanz, the acting deputy mayor, said on Tuesday that "there is no type of regulation that prohibits this practice in municipal swimming pools" and that it therefore must not be prohibited.
The topless ban was lifted in Barcelona after Mugrons Lliures (Free Nipples), a female pro-nudity group, filed a complaint about perceived gender discrimination with the Office for Non-Discrimination several months ago.
The campaigners have applauded the council’s decision, saying that Barcelona has now become “egalitarian and free”.
INFORMACIÓ DE SERVEI L’@bcn_ajuntament ha demanat als Centres esportius municipals que revisin normatives i retirin les que prohibeixen el topless. Al @CemCiutadella ja han fet el canvi i s’espera a la resta. Cc @CNAB_oficial, @clubsclaror Bcn ja és més igualitària i lliure!
— Mugrons Lliures (@mugronslliures) August 4, 2019
There are no laws against nudity in Spain, but until now, each public pool could set its own rules regarding the use of swimwear or its absence. So for some pools, the new regulation means nothing new.
However, according to the Catalan Media Corporation, most sports centres had previously enforced a topless ban in place in indoor pools, while allowing people to go naked outdoors.
Out of the 42 comarques (counties) in Catalonia, there are now four comarques where public pools have no topless restrictions, and a dozen where nudity is partially allowed.
