Fewer Spanish women are opting to sunbathe topless due to increasing concerns about unwanted images being captured and disseminated online, according to recent research. A YouGov survey from last year indicated that 37 percent of Spanish women frequently sunbathed topless, with an additional 13 percent doing so occasionally. This represents a decrease from a 2017 Ifop survey, which found that 49 percent of women in Spain engaged in topless sunbathing regularly or occasionally.
The trend is notable in Spain, where toplessness and nudity on beaches have historically been viewed as normal, a form of self-expression, and a legally protected practice. However, a report by the Spanish newspaper El Pais suggests that women feel less safe engaging in the activity. "It's a vicious circle. There are fewer women doing it because they feel less safe, and when others see fewer women doing it, they feel less inclined to do it themselves," one study respondent, Maria, 44, stated.
While the Spanish interior ministry has reported no evidence of a widespread problem on beaches, El Pais collected numerous accounts from women who reported being photographed while sunbathing between 2008 and 2025, with the images later shared online or among friends. Experts highlight the growing concern surrounding 'sex-spreading,' the non-consensual online distribution of sexual images.
Sociologist Silvia Semenzin noted a perceived increase in unsafety compared to the 1980s, when public decency laws were abolished in Spain. "Back then, going topless was seen as an act of rebellion and sexual freedom," Semenzin said. "Today you have no control over your body, the gaze doesn't stay on the beach, and that sexual freedom doesn't go hand in hand with the security that the internet doesn't offer us."
Participant Monica, 58, shared that she no longer goes topless at the beach, opting instead for a towel. "My friends don't either. Times have changed, and there's an awareness of the dangers of social media," she commented.
Some women also cited increased self-consciousness due to unrealistic beauty standards and judgmental stares as reasons for covering up. One younger participant suggested that internal feelings of body shame, rather than external factors like photography, might be a primary influence. "I don't think men or the photos they might take of our breasts have anything to do with it. I think it's something we've imposed on ourselves because we're generally ashamed of our bodies," she said.
Toplessness and nudity have been common on Spanish beaches for decades, legally protected and culturally understood as a non-sexual expression of personal freedom. This practice became legal following the abolition of public decency laws after the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship in 1975, a period marked by significant social liberation.