Last Sunday afternoon, two dozen women and their supporters converged on Venice Beach, California, for a very unusual demonstration. All the women were topless – while the men sported bikini tops.

The march was organised by GoTopless, a US campaign for women to have the same constitutional right to be bare-chested in public places as men. Its members are committed to helping women perceive their breasts as noble, natural parts of their anatomy, and the demonstration had been organised for late August apparently not just because of the hot weather, but to make a feminist point. Campaigners noted that it was in August 1920 that women in the US were given the right to vote, and even in the 21st century, women need to stand up and demand that equality in fact – not just in words.

US soul singer Erykah Badu has paid a $500 (£322) fine and will serve six months' probation for stripping naked on a Dallas street for a music video.

She ended filming by re-enacting the moment when President John F Kennedy was shot dead in 1963 in the city.

The singer was charged with disorderly conduct when a few tourists complained.

In March, the star performed a walking striptease as part of the video for Window Seat, before falling to the ground as if she has been shot. The filming took place at Dealey Plaza, the location where President Kennedy was assassinated.

A mother of two boys has sparked a debate in Italy over topless sunbathing after she reported a woman to police because the way she applied suntan lotion was troubling her sons [Sounds unlikely, more likely enjoyed by the sons and troubling the mother].

The 26-year-old woman, identified only as Luisa under Italian privacy laws, was questioned by officers after they were brought to the scene by the unnamed mother.

She had initially asked the woman, an assistant in a fashion store, to cover herself up as her ample breasts and the act of rubbing cream on her body had troubled her sons aged 14 and 12.

The woman, who was sunbathing on a public beach at Anzio south of Rome, refused and so officers were called – much to the amusement of other holidaymakers who looked on as she remonstrated still topless.

The case has triggered a debate in Italy about topless bathing. Lawyer, Gianluca Arrighi, said: Something like this happening in 2010 is absurd. My client was approached and asked to cover up by the woman and she simply asked her what her problem was. The fact a file has been opened is compulsory following the complaint but I can't imagine any judge in 2010 convicting a woman for sunbathing topless. Let's be clear my client is tall, brunette and has an ample breast and is therefore going to naturally be sensuous when she applies cream to her chest.

Arrighi said that it was not illegal to sunbathe topless on a public beach, unless there is a local bylaw.

Topless sunbathing has dropped out of fashion in recent years. In both France and Italy far fewer people abandon their bikini tops when on the beach.

British morality police. Spoiling the fun of the many, on the complaints of the few

The owner of a swingers' club says a council could face legal action under anti-discrimination laws.

Stewart Hobbs owns Club Tease in Over, which was shut down last week after a raid by police and council officers.

But he is claiming victimisation and has continued running the venue, despite a closure order from police.

Enforcement officers from South Cambs District Council, along with police, were given a court warrant for a breach of planning control on the land, which they served on Hobbs.

The club has proved controversial since it opened in 2008, when villagers expressed concerns about its morality. Its owners applied for planning permission for a change of use at the building, from light industrial to private members' club with rooms for sexual activities on June 5, 2008.

The application was rejected and an appeal by the club was lost on the bollox grounds that as no public transport was available, extra car journeys in the village would disturb residents and make the development unsustainable. [Is that the best they could come up?]

But Hobbs justifiably believes he is being singled out because of the nature of his business. He told the News: They are using sustainability as a reason but what about the other businesses in the estate which have a lot more traffic? I have some gay, transsexual and lesbian clients and I have been keeping them abreast of the situation. They are looking at taking the council to court for discrimination.

I feel really victimised. Why are they going to all this trouble and the cost to taxpayers of having six council officers and two police officers coming to my club to shut me down with a warrant just for little old me? It's just got totally out of hand. The club has 2,500 members and average numbers at the venue at weekends are around 40, according to Hobbs.

A council spokesprat said: We know another appeal has been lodged with the planning inspectorate and we will follow what happens. As an enforcement notice was issued on the club, and the compliance period for that has expired, any further activity is now a criminal offence. After executing our warrant at the club at the end of July we submitted a prosecution file to our solicitors who will decide whether to take this further.

Update: Still Open

23rd August 2010. From informedconsent.co.uk

From Club Tease:

Club Tease IS still open. Oblivion is still running. The newspaper should be running a retraction saying the club is still able to run due to planning being granted.

They have had to deal with do-gooders going against all applications for planning since they opened. Morally-anal people who don't like our kind upsetting the village etc etc. I doubt it will end any time soon. There are people who won't just let dogs lay.

GoTopLess.org is calling for a public protest after an image at the organization's Facebook page depicting the Statue of Liberty with bare breasts was removed by Facebook staff. The disputed image was a photo of a painting by GoTopless member Donna Grabow.

The incident began when GoTopLess president Nadine Gary received an e-mail from Facebook staff on July 18 explaining the reason for the photo's removal. It read, in part:

You uploaded a picture to 'NEW YORK National Go Topless Day: A March for Women's Equal Rights! AUG 22 that violates our Terms of Use, and this picture has been removed. Facebook does not allow photos that attack an individual or group, or that contain nudity, drug use, violence, or other violations of the Terms of Use.

Brigitte Boisselier said:

I'm asking all my friends on Facebook and those who believe in equal rights for men and women to post the picture that was taken down, Boisselier said. Some frustrated individuals can't see a nipple without freaking out or feeling offended, but we've already had enough discrimination against the female body. I'm asking all women on Facebook to stand for equal topless rights by posting this photo to their own pages. And I'm also asking all men who can appreciate a female body without feeling guilty to do the same.

The female chest is beautiful and children shouldn't be told it's sinful to look at it. That sort of repression causes frustration and guilt that they will experience as adults, which is such a ridiculous waste. Bare female breasts are seen on all European beaches at this time of year, but as far as I know, incidence of rape and other sexually violent incidents is lower in Europe than in America.

Artist Grabow agrees that Facebook's action was discriminatory and wrong.

Censorship of this painting denies freedom of speech and expression and reflects American prudishness, she said. What's funny is that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French government, and all the French people I know smile when they see this feminized painting. In fact, Europeans just laugh when they learn that Facebook is censoring innocent images like this one. After all, images of nude statues are displayed everywhere else without protest, including in school books.