This article is about barechested males. For barechested females, see Toplessness. Bare-chested refers to the state in which a man or boy is not wearing any clothes above the waist, usually in a public place, exposing the torso and arms. It is also known as "stripped to the waist", or "being shirtless". A bare-chested woman or girl is usually referred to as topless or, less frequently, as topfree.
Cultural attitudes
A Bangali boy wearing a lungi with single knot. In Muslim Bangladesh (here Narail village), lungis are typically worn with a short-sleeved shirt, often collared. Around the house and in the streets, it is worn down; while working, particularly as rickshaw-wallahs or in the rice paddies, it is tucked up.
Throughout history, many men, especially labourers such as farmers and miners, have worked bare-chested. This still 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 Western society deplored nudity of any degree, even bare-chestedness, and people took great pains to cover themselves up.
In many 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 at 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 and the Caribbean to go topless, though it is by no means universal. It is still unusual on most beaches in North America. In Europe and North America, people who take offense at bare-chested men remain, and some businesses refuse to serve bare-chested people, having policies of "no shirt, no shoes, no service". Still circumstances vary: in countries with a beach-oriented lifestyle, such as Greece, any seaside business will gladly cater to a customer in the skimpiest of swimwear. In relatively permissive Western societies, posing shirtless (or, the suggestive variation, with open shirt) is generally regarded as an acceptable display of the male physique, generically known as beefcake.
In rural South Asia, men traditionally wear a loincloth-type garment, often bare-chested. In some parts 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 women being topless in public, condone it in order to keep attracting European tourists.citation needed In 2004, a British man carrying packs of ecstasy pills in his trousers was arrested in Thailand, but charged for not wearing a shirt.[1] In Muslim countries, women are encouraged (or required, as in the case of Saudi Arabia) to cover nearly all of the body for religious reasons.
Bare-chested activities
This is also true of various combat sports, such as oil wrestling (where the grip is of crucial importance) and most boxing disciplines.
Many sports, such as rock climbing, are done bare-chested.
In informal sporting matches, such as a game of football or soccer in the park or playing cricket on the beach, players will often be ill equipped regarding separate shirts or bibs for the two teams. In these situations, a common option, at least for male teams (e.g. in soccer and basketball), is to play Shirts and Skins: one team goes bare chest and are hence said to be 'Skins', whereas for reasons of identification the other team keep their tops on and are called 'Shirts'.
Men are also seen bare chested when running or jogging.
In some sports, the male standard-attire is bare-chested, especially in most aquatic disciplines such as swimming, diving, surfing or water polo, and in the beach version of other sports, such as beach volleyball, and various activities in or on the water, as swimwear is generally appropriate.
Many boys and men go bare-chested when doing yard work or when they are outside, e.g. cutting the lawn. The motivations for doing so are usually comfort-related, most commonly to facilitate loss of body heat in warm weather. Also, some may wish to get a suntan or showcase their bodies.
See also
References
External links
- Shirtless Men World A site about bare chested men, with article on why to go bare chested, where to do it, and famous people who do it.
- Shirtless Lifestyle This group provides a forum in which members can discuss the shirt-free lifestyle, assist others in gaining the confidence they need to lose the shirt, and exchange stories of their shirtless experiences.
- Topfree Equal Rights Association
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