Category Archives: German politics

German politics

More outdoor public pools in Germany are allowing women to be topless!

The featured photo is of a pool I encountered in Miami, Florida some years ago. I took that photo from the balcony of our hotel room.

Since I didn’t manage to escape the house this weekend, thanks to COVID-19, I have decided to write another post about German culture. It stands to reason that I would write about nudity, because I’ve written about it a bunch of times in this blog… and I have noticed that my posts about nudity are among my most popular. There are obviously many people out there who are titillated by such content. 😉

I aim to please, so here’s a post about some recent news that my German friend made me aware of a few days ago. I already knew that many spas in Germany have nude areas, if they aren’t already entirely nude, like the Schwabenquellen in Stuttgart is. Well, as it turns out, progressive lawmakers in many German towns have now made it acceptable for women to be topless. According to the link, which is in German, but Chrome is your friend for a translation, Jacob Kammann, from the Volt Party in the North-Rhine Westphalian town of Siegen, proposed to the Siegen city council that women should be allowed to be bare chested at public pools.

Kammann came to this conclusion after an incident that occurred last year at a pool in a town called Göttingen. A non-binary person with female sex parts wanted to swim topless. However, when the person tried to do as males are allowed to do, they were not allowed. A male lifeguard kicked the person out of the pool, because their breasts were like a female’s breasts, and the lifeguard considered the person female. Females are forbidden from swimming topless at many German public pools.

The non-binary person complained, and Kammann, who leads the Volt Party in his area, considered their argument and decided it was time to challenge the long standing rules regarding female nudity. Kammann states that he wants to contribute to equality by making this step, allowing people with female breasts to be topless if they wish to be. The rule remains that the primary sexual characteristics must remain covered, but female breasts are not considered as such.

Allowing women to be topless at the pool also helps desexualize breasts, which are really supposed to be for feeding babies. I have seen many German mothers happily bare their breasts in public for the purpose of feeding their babies. That makes sense to me, because who wants to eat in a public restroom, or with a blanket over their head? Breasts should not be taboo. They are essential to life itself.

It may take some time for the females and non-binary people of Göttingen to feel comfortable enough to swim topless, but at least it’s allowed now. I don’t wear bikinis myself, so this wouldn’t apply to me. But I have no issues whatsoever, going to a nude spa and enjoying being in my birthday suit. I find it very liberating. Hopefully, the topless enthusiasts will enjoy their new freedom… and they won’t forget to wear plenty of sunscreen on that newly bared part of their anatomies. Wouldn’t want them to get skin cancer or a sunburn!

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German politics

Political Schwag that is sooo German!

Bill got home last night. He and Arran had a joyous reunion. Both of them cried… Arran cried with joy when he sniffed Bill and realized his favorite person was home, and Bill cried with relief having survived three weeks of TDY. He had a challenging three weeks. Don’t get me wrong– he was in the Army for 30 years and has endured all kinds of stuff. But that doesn’t mean it’s not stressful for him and for us.

I don’t tend to pay a lot of attention to the stuff in our mailbox or on our doorstep, unless it’s something that looks important. Just before the recent elections, someone left a little bag of political schwag for us, not knowing that, alas, we aren’t locals. Bill finally looked in the bag this morning and was very amused. Behold…

  • The Christian Democratic Union party is all about enjoying and promoting life…
  • They gave us a bottle opener for our beer…
  • And a little packet of wildflower seeds!

I’m delighted by the seeds, especially. Our poor backyard has really suffered over the wet winter months and Noyzi’s insistence on running back and forth like a crazed shepherd. I like to plant flowers and spruce things up, and since the “lockdown” has sort of lifted a teeny bit– Germans can get haircuts, buy books, and visit the garden section of their hardware store– this seems like an especially appropriate gift to voters. Who doesn’t love flowers? Except for those of us with allergies. In any case, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an American politician give out flower seeds or bottle openers as a means of bolstering political support. I think it’s cool… and very GERMAN.

Although yesterday’s bipolar weather might cause us to put off gardening for a week or so.

As you can see by the featured photo, our village’s Easter decorations are up. It makes things look a little more normal, at least, even though the COVID-19 restrictions continue. What a bummer… but at least Bill is finally home again. I have missed him, and this morning, when I felt his hand on my shoulder, I realized how much I have missed human contact. I guess this pandemic is teaching me to appreciate some of the small things in life.

A year ago, we tried to adopt a dog and that effort turned into a tragedy. This year, we’re still healthy and reasonably happy. And we have Noyzi, the Kosovar street dog, in our midst. He has really been a great asset to our family and is turning into a really loving and adorable friend. I live for his daily tail wags, goofy smiles, and poop zoomies/crazy dog. I think he was meant to be ours, against all odds. That being said, I hope to hell those vaccines get out soon, so we can go back to a somewhat normal lifestyle and do some traveling again.

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