Topless And Homeless In Idaho
The idea for Daisy Mace's unorthodox business began when she and her friends found themselves short of rent money and decided to hold a car wash. They found that ripping off their shirts wasn't bad for business.
But on Thursday, the topless car wash held to raise rent money was drained when some of the bare-breasted businesswomen were kicked out of their communal home.
City officers served trespassing notices on five of the 11 residents Wednesday, threatening arrest if they returned, Police Chief Dan Weaver said. The residents do not have a lease and not subject to formal eviction procedures, he said.
The action came at the behest of landlords David and Sis Clift, who said the residents were not paying rent.
"This has nothing to do with the toplessness," David Clift said.
But Daisy Mace, the 22-year-old woman leading the carwash, said rent has been paid and they were kicked out because of neighbors' complaints.
Clift said the person at the house responsible for paying him the entire rent bill reported the five tenants had not paid their share for July. He also said complaints have cropped up since news reports of the sudsy spectacle surfaced.
Civic leaders and rival car wash owners who don't feature similar services want the washers to cover up and are trying to shut down Mace's topless car wash.
Moscow, home of the University of Idaho, is a liberal anomaly in a staid state. Still, the City Council is hastily trying to enact a law to prevent topless car washes. The debate has bogged down over how much of a breast can be legally uncovered.
"Idaho state law says there is no difference between topless men and topless women," Mace, 22, said this week. "The councilmen are trying to impose their own morals."
The latest proposal, to be voted on Monday, sets a minimum of covering the areola with a length of material running in a straight but narrow line across the breast, said Council member Peg Hamlett.
Five times in the past month, the entrepreneurs — including several topless men — have set up shop on the streets of Moscow with hoses, rags and soap. They don't have set hours, but once they tack up a few "Topless Car Wash" signs, customers magically appear.
Patrons are asked only for donations, with most paying from $15 to $20, Mace said. There is a party atmosphere, with barbecue and music.
The competition is rough for Tony Heath, owner of T.C.C. Car Care. His business has dropped by more than $100 a day since the unclad competitors set up shop.
"They have no business license," Heath complained.
Moscow has a long tradition of battles over breasts. Several years ago, three women decided to go topless to protest a local law that banned bare-breasted women in public, but allowed bare-chested men.
The three were arrested, although the subsequent legal fight ended with the city's ordinance being struck down as too vague.
"We're the first to take advantage of the lack of an ordinance," said Loni Kirchner, 20, of Hamilton, Mont., a car washer who nevertheless declines to work topless.
Idaho state law requires only that genitals be covered in public, Hamlett said.
Mace acknowledged there is some exploitation of her body. But she stressed the signs say "topless car wash," not "topless women car wash," because men are included.
The car washers shoo away any gawkers or anyone with a video camera. Guys who want more than one car wash are sent packing. When a truck load of guys got a bit frisky, Mace hosed them down.
The entrepreneurs are resigned to being put out of business. When car washer Cristiana Anderson, 18, is asked what she would do after that, she glumly replied: "Job."