The great big cover-up: Pushing back against prudishness
Toplessness is on a steep decline in Europe, while in Ireland, toddlers splashing about in their altogethers seems to be a thing of the past. Jessie Collins looks at the forces at play in influencing us to cover ourselves and our kids up
An old black and white photograph used to hang on our sitting-room wall. It was an image taken when my mum visited a friend in the south of France in the mid-70s. It showed five or six long, lean, smiling friends, men and women, standing in the long grass, arms around each other in a haze of dappled summer’s light. It looked like an album cover, with everyone in embroidered waistcoats and high ...
