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.

Going bare chested

There is not necessarily anything sexual about going bare chested in public. Most bare chesters do it because they want to, or because it is hot and they find wearing a shirt is uncomfortable.

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Apart from social aspects and temperature, reasons for wearing a shirt include:

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• protection against sunburn, plants, animals, etc.
• pockets