The recent legislation permitting women to swim topless has been hailed as a victory for gender equality in the German capital, it is also a sign of Germany's affinity for Freikoerperkultur, or "free body culture," which dates back to the late 19th century.
In many countries, except for nude beaches, women have to wear swimsuits or a bikini top and bottom, but men get to swim topless.
Many Europeans don’t think women should swim wearing tops as it negates the principle of gender equality. They feel like men and women should be able to remove their tops if they are hot as men do and breasts are a 'secondary' sexual organ.
Berlin's officials responded after a female swimmer said that in December 2022, she was prohibited from using one of the city's pools without covering her chest.
The woman complained to the Senate Department for Justice, Diversity, and Anti-Discrimination, which houses the office of the city's ombudsman and they passed a law that permits everyone to swim topless even though it was not officially prohibited in the city.