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Going bare chested refers to a man wearing no clothes above the waist, exposing the entire torso. It is also known as "stripped to the waist", or "being shirtless". The term topless is usually only applied to women, since it is much more common for men to be bare chested than women, and the male chest is usually considered less erogenic than the female breasts; yet both are forms of partial nudity.

Cultural attitudes

Throughout history, many men, especially labourers such as farmers and miners, have worked bare chested. This was, and is, particularly normal in warmer climates, with the exception of very hot climates where protection from sunlight becomes more important than ventilation. But various times and places have been more strict and uneasy about the practice. During the Victorian period, polite society in Western cultures deplored nudity of any degree, even bare-chestedness, and people took great pains to cover themselves up. In societies so affected, attitudes began to relax in the 20th century. Going bare chested in public was again acceptable. At first, the rules relaxed only for men on beaches and swimming pools — in New York City, a man could be fined for removing his shirt in Central Park as late as 1960 — but permissiveness gradually grew and crossed gender lines. Most recently, it has become quite common for women on beaches in Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia to go bare breasted, though it is by no means universal. It is still unusual on most beaches in North America.

Throughout much of Asia, bare-chestedness in either men or women is generally disapproved of, and may be highly offensive, even at the beach. In many of these regions, for example South Korea, most adults still swim almost fully clothed. Some countries, such as Thailand, though they disapprove of toplessness among women, condone it in order to keep attracting European tourists. In Muslim countries, women are religiously encouraged (or required, as in the case of Iran) to cover nearly all of the body. In Europe and North America, people remain who take offense at bare-chested men, and many shops will refuse to serve bare chested people, having policies of "no shirt, no shoes, no service".

Famous bare chesters

Famous bare chesters include:

Musicians

Many male artists perform bare chested. This may add to the visual attractiveness of the musicians and their performance, and is also practical because of the intense heat from the studio/arena lights. Tattoos and body art such as nipple piercings are often displayed by bare chested rock musicians.

Other Performers

Other performers, such as actors and models, and sportsmen, such as wrestlers, also often appear bare chested.

Fictional bare chesters

Some characters in TV shows or films are well known for their shirtlessness.

See also

Oben ohne | Oben ohne | Topless | Topless | Yläosattomuus | Topless | Топлес

Clothing | Nudity

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Barechested".

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