There’s only one naturist beach in South Florida, but topless sunbathing seems to be gaining tacit acceptance at a couple of beaches, especially those where Europeans gather.
In Fort Lauderdale, it’s not unusual to find European women going topless at the beach near Las Olas Boulevard or behind some hotels.
At the Lago-Mar Hotel, some Europeans remove their tops at the pool or their swimsuits at the shower.
“We explain to them that it’s not customary in the United States and ask them to put their clothes on,” says Debbie Banks, the hotel’s vice president of sales and marketing. But nobody chastises them.
Along Miami Beach, topless sunbathing is commonplace between 13th and 15th streets.
That’s not to suggest it’s legal for women to shed their tops at any beach in South Florida, except Haulover in northeast Dade. But some police and city officials are taking a more relaxed attitude.
“If someone complains to a lifeguard or a police officer, they’ll ask them to cover up. Otherwise, our policy has kind of been, ‘hands off,'” says Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle.
The same is true for Miami Beach police, who say they ask topless bathers to cover up only if there’s a complaint.
A spokeswoman for the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department says she doesn’t know of any complaints of topless sunbathing.
State law prohibits men and women from exposing sexual organs in a “vulgar or indecent manner.”Public nudity is banned except in designated areas, such as a stretch of Haulover Beach in northeast Dade.
Fort Lauderdale City Prosecutor Scott Walker says a municipal ordinance bans nude swimming or bathing in the city. Females over age 9 are banned from exposing their breasts. Violators can receive 60 days in jail and/or up to $500 in fines. But police say few topless sunbathers are ever arrested, and most comply if asked to cover up.
Naugle envisions a nightmare at the city’s beaches if a lot of women were to sunbathe topless near State Road A1A: Namely, traffic chaos.
The city banned female hot dog vendors from wearing thong bikinis because of a string of accidents involving male drivers whose eyes were not on the road.
“The reason we clamped down on hot dog vendors in thong bikinis – and I say this with a straight face – is public safety,” Naugle says.
