Swedish student explains why she posed topless for school photo

Hanna Bolander says she bared her breasts to encourage a debate over public sexuality

Hanna Bolander, 19, argued that, as a feminist, she should be free to reveal as much flesh as the opposite sex (Hanna Bolander/Facebook)

A student has defended her decision to pose topless for her school photo.

Hanna Bolander, 19, from Växjö in southern Sweden, says she bared her breasts to encourage a debate over public sexuality.

Ms Bolander told The Local: “I just thought: Why shouldn’t I be able to do that if guys can take their tops off?

"It was kind of spontaneous but I do really care about these questions.”

When her class suggested one of the girls bare their breasts in a photo for the school yearbook, Ms Bolander vounteered.

She argued that, as a feminist, she should be free to reveal as much flesh as the opposite sex.

The student also pointed out that she had seen men with bigger breasts than hers, and they had never been asked to cover them. She said reactions to the photo had been mostly positive.

Writing on her blog, Ms Bolander said: "In my opinion, women should have the right to show their breasts as publicly as boys.

"I think that everyone should have the right to decide for themselves."

She added: "Blaming biology is a poor argument because there is no biological difference! Women are not objects, women are people.

"And by playing down the female body so that it is seen as just as natural as a man, so we have come a step closer to equality."

Earlier this year, Kim Kardashian-West and Emily Ratajkowski posed topless to highlight women's right to celebrate their sexuality without shame.