Yeah, the reason for being topless seems ... contrived. When I don't want to get dusty or dirty, I either put on other work clothes or coveralls. I've never once thought while painting a house, "I might get paint on my clothes - I'd better strip down to my chonies."
Other than the weird reason, it's hard for me to connect "sex offender" and "topless woman". I remember during one of the big droughts in Santa Barbara, the local liberal paper was encouraging families to shower together to save water. Also, in an age where teenage boys can call themselves "female" and use the girls locker room - enforced by the school district - maybe lets look at what's out of bounds and what isn't.