Every so often when a touring band
January 23, 1996
is playing at Hangar 9, a performer may poke fun at Carbondale, saying, I’d take my shirt off, but I’m not sure if I can, implying that the city is a Puritan’s haven.
These rockers are obviously aware of a part of the city’s liquor code which specifically prohibits any person, male or female, in the establishment to be topless or bottomless.
Although it is good that the city is attempting to make the ordinance equal on the basis of gender, the Daily Egyptian believes male performers should be able to take off their shirts if they so desire.
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City officials say the intent of the ordinance is to keep sleazy entertainment out of Carbondale’s bars. The DE feels this is a commendable goal and that the Strip is better off without topless dancing clubs.
The ordinance as it stands, however, is too extreme when it results in police officers entering bars and telling guitar players to put their shirts on.
In such a situation the ordinance probably does more harm than good. When an officer enters a bar and instructs a band member to put his shirt on, the patrons often see the move as the police entering a student party and bossing them around when it’s not necessary.
In a city where police/student relations are sometimes tense, possibly adding to the bad feelings just to get a band member to put his shirt on hardly seems worth the effort.
Rewriting the ordinance so the topless provision only applies to females would not be sexist. Today’s social mores distinguish the acceptance of upper nudity between males and females. A trip to the local swimming pool or beach provides evidence of this distinction.
Of course, this issue raises the broad question of why our society perceives a difference between the visibility of the male and female chest. Carbondale’s liquor code, however, is not an adequate forum for addressing this question. Nor can such a sociological question be addressed in a newspaper editorial.
It is ironic that as a result of the code, a bar can legally hold a female bikini oil wrestling event (provided the bikinis cover the buttocks to comply with the code) while male swimsuit oil wrestling would be illegal. Unless, of course, the participants wore swimsuits typical of the 1930s that covered the male torso.
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The DE encourages the City Council to consider changing the ordinance to allow male performers to take their shirts off. Admittedly, this is not a matter of extreme importance that needs to be addressed immediately.
The shirt requirement can be embarrassing, however. When a friend from Chicago visits town and goes to see a concert where the police tell the singer to put his shirt on, the friend may very well leave town with the impression that Carbondale is backwards.
It really doesn’t make sense; A man can sunbathe, mow his lawn, go to the city pool and even walk down the street without a shirt on. Why is it any different when he’s playing guitar in a bar?
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