Bare chested

"Bare chested" refers to the state of not wearing any clothes above the waist. If someone is bare chested, then their entire torso is exposed. It is also known as "stripped to the waist", or "being shirtless", or "topless", although the latter is usually only applied to women. It is much more common for men to be bare chested than women, since in most places it is illegal for a woman to be bare chested. See also topfree equality.

Attitudes to bare chesters

For centuries many men, such as farmers and miners, worked bare chested. This was, and is, particularly true in hot climates. During the Victorian period, nudity or partial nudity such as being bare chested was seen as wrong, and people took great pains to cover themselves up. During the 20th Century, attitudes began to relax, and going bare chested in public was no longer seen as shocking. Originally men were bare chested only at the beach, swimming pools, etc. In New York City, removing one's shirt in Central Park was an occasion for a ticket as late as 1960. More recently, it has become quite common for women on beaches in Europe, the Caribbean, and Australia to go bare breasted as well, although it is by no means universal and it is still unusual on most beaches in North America.

Related Topics:
Farmers - Miners - Victorian period - Nudity - 20th Century - Beach - New York City - Central Park - 1960 - Europe - Caribbean - Australia - North America

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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 areas, for example South Korea, most adults still swim almost fully clothed. In some areas, such as Thailand toplessness among women is disapproved of, but is still widely present due to large numbers of European tourists. In Muslim countries, people, women in particular, are encouraged (or in some cases, such as Afghanistan while under the rule of the Taliban, obligated) to cover up, and shoulders and thighs must not be shown. Even in Europe and North America, there are some people who do take offence at a bare-chested men, and many shops will refuse to serve bare chested people, having policies of "no shirt, no shoes, no service".

Related Topics:
South Korea - Thailand - Muslim - Afghanistan - Taliban - Europe - North America

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