Barechested

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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".

Men commonly swim or bathe barechested in public, most women avoid doing so topless- Hot tub in downtown Toronto.
Men commonly swim or bathe barechested in public, most women avoid doing so topless- Hot tub in downtown Toronto.

The term topless is usually only applied to women, since it is much more common for men to be bare chested than women, while the male pectoral muscles are considered either equally or less erogenic, in various homo- or heterosexual evaluations, than the female breasts; yet technically both constitute partial nudity with quantatively nearly identical skin exposure. Local decency rules outside Muslim countries rarely consider male barechestedness to be problematic, whereas female toplessness in public is often frowned upon or even proscribed.

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[edit] Cultural attitudes

Throughout history, many men, especially labourers such as farmers and miners, have worked barechested. 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.

Many sports, such as rock climbing, can be or are done barechested
Many sports, such as rock climbing, can be or are done barechested

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 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 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. In Europe and North America, people who take offense at bare-chested men remain, and some firms refuse to serve bare chested people, having policies of "no shirt, no shoes, no service". In relatively permissive western societies, posing shirtless (or, the suggestive variation, with open shirt) is generally regarded as a very acceptable, 'innocent' degree of intentionally sexy display of the male physique, generically known as beefcake.

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.
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.

In rural South Asia, men traditionally wear a loincloth-type garment, often barechested. 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 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.

[edit] Barechested activities

Youths boxing in a Minoan fresco on the island of Santorini
Youths boxing in a Minoan fresco on the island of Santorini

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.

Yağlı güreş tournament in Istanbul.
Yağlı güreş tournament in Istanbul.

This is also true of various combat sports, such as oil wrestling (where the grip is of crucial importance) and most boxing disciplines.

Another common activity done barechested is sleeping, done by males of virtually all ages.

Boys, notably of sexually unripe age, commonly go barechested (or even naked), especially around their homes, even with friends.

[edit] Famous bare chesters

The Carlson Twins modeled for many, including very prestigious photographers and magazines, sometimes in notoriously erotic and/or nude poses.
The Carlson Twins modeled for many, including very prestigious photographers and magazines, sometimes in notoriously erotic and/or nude poses.

Famous bare chesters include:

[edit] 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.

[edit] Other Performers

Other performers, such as actors, models (of either gender) and sportsmen, such as most (kick)box discipline-practicioners and some wrestlers, also often appear barechested.

In many combat disciplines, participants traditionally perform barechested, e.g. Eh Phu Tong, Meas Chanta and Pich Arun in Cambodian kickboxing
In many combat disciplines, participants traditionally perform barechested, e.g. Eh Phu Tong, Meas Chanta and Pich Arun in Cambodian kickboxing

The majority of actors who have gained a reputation as either a matinee idol, teen idol, sex symbol or 'hunk', generally have gone bare chested at some point.

A 2002 documentary entitled Hollywood's Sexiest Men (IMDb link) on the American Movie Classics (AMC) cable channel, surveyed Hollywood's leading men from silent film star Rudolph Valentino to today's young stars.

On television, shirtlessness in drama is often associated with soap opera (with large female audiences). There have been extensive shirtless scenes in series such as Sunset Beach, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. Other series have included Baywatch and the teen comedy Malibu, CA. The former reality television celebrity Eric Nies frequently presented the music show The Grind shirtless, virtually the only television presenter to do so.

Trent Sovde has become famous for going topless in events across the nation. His shirtlessness has earned him his own group on facebook titled People in favor of Trent Sovde putting his shirt back on. The site has gained enormous success by providing plenty of pictures of him without shirts.

[edit] Fictional bare chesters

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

[edit] See also

[edit] 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.
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