Women can now swim topless in Berlin pools

This week’s measure in the German capital is not only hailed as a step forward in gender equality, but is also a symptom of Germany’s fondness for Freikoerperkultur – literally translated as “free body culture” – that has its roots in the late 19th century.

Berlin authorities took action after a swimmer said she was not allowed to enter one of the city’s pools without breast cover in December 2022. The woman filed a complaint with the City Ombudsman’s office at the Department of Justice, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination Senate.

The authorities agreed that the woman was the victim of discrimination and said this week that all visitors to Berlin’s swimming pools, including women and those who identify as non-binary, are allowed to go topless.

This follows a similar incident at a Berlin water park in the summer of 2021. Frenchwoman Gabrielle Lebreton has demanded financial compensation from the city after security guards ordered her to leave the premises when she refused to cover her breasts.

She was there with her five year old son. The woman told the German newspaper Die Zeit about the incident: “For me – and I teach this to my son – there is no such difference. For both men and women, breasts are a secondary sexual characteristic, but men are free to take off their clothes when it’s hot, but women are not.”

The Berlin government confirmed this decision in an official press release: “As a result of the successful filing of a complaint of discrimination, the Berlin baths will in the future apply their rules for living and bathing in a gender-sensitive manner,” the statement said.

The head of the ombudsman’s office, Dr. Doris Liebscher, hailed the decision as a step forward for gender equality in the city.

The move is not unprecedented in Germany: Göttingen in Central Germany last summer became the first city in the country to allow women to swim topless in public pools.

The move also testifies to Germany’s fondness for the Freikoerperkultur, or FKK, which has its roots in the German Empire. The movement emphasizes the health benefits of sharing outdoor nudity while exercising or being in nature.

Keon West, Professor of Social Psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, has researched attitudes towards nudity across Europe and beyond.

“Most people understand that Germans are comfortable with nudity,” he told CNN.

“The main contrast in attitudes towards nudity in Germany compared to other countries is that naked people in Germany are not kept separate from others. Instead, nudity is simply accepted as another way of being.”

Germany’s passion for the nude has its origins in the wellness programs of the late 19th century. The country’s first FKK organization was established in 1898, and the concept quickly spread throughout the country, according to Deutsche Welle.

The cultural movement remains popular in contemporary Germany. Today, about 600,000 Germans are registered in more than 300 private naturist clubs.

Christina Denisyuk.