Booby prize

Yesterday Auckland again had the Boobs on Bikes parade to promote the adults-only Erotica Expo. Last year, Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard called the parade “morally repugnant”. This year he called it “Auckland’s day of shame”. Last year, he tried to ban the parade, but this year he bowed to legal advice that banning the parade wasn’t legally possible.

In New Zealand, exposing female breasts isn’t considered “indecent exposure”; exposing genitals is. However, if a group of women walked down the street topless, they could be charged with disorderly behaviour. Women riding bare-breasted on the backs of motorcycles (or on military tanks, dubbed “tits on tanks” by some) can’t be charged with that because, as a public and publicised event, people had the option of avoiding the event.

Mayor Hubbard has pledged to revise bylaws to again attempt to ban the parade next year, if he wins re-election this year. He has two opponents, an extreme right wing (and widely despised) former mayor and the other is the organiser of the Erotica Expo and Boobs on Bikes parade, who is always called a “porn king” by the media. Should be an interesting election.

The usual suspects condemned the parade, predictably. Boring! On the other side, the NZ Herald said a 21-year old man commented that “breasts were natural and should be allowed to be shown in public”. Because they’re “natural”—yep, I’m sure that’s what he was thinking about.

Anyway, most Aucklanders gave the event a big yawn, not caring whether it happened or not. Once again, ordinary people are clearly far more sensible than politicians and self-appointed moral guardians.