Boobs are taboo. I wouldn't go so far as to blame religion, but I would blame archaic societies based on the their religions. Its more of a societal thing after all, and from what I've read here, definateley an American societal thing.
Now if only our ancestors weren't a bunch of prudes we could have chest equality. Because after all, [sarcasm]thats the most important type of equality, and well worth protesting against![/sarcasm]

The problem lies in security, some men are sad little people who think that women naked then they must have sex with said women. They run up and try groping her, now what if there is no one to stop them? Not to mention a lot Americans are stupid and think the government are actually doing good.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=fp9EXg0J6jw

topless isn't really a big deal in mainland europe but you still can't show an errect penis on Tv and yet nobody complains about that

cuddly_tomato:

Helnurath:

Its religion in general that prevents girls from being topless. Most Americans(Damn puritans) like to keep a false sense of purity and righteousness by claiming it corrupts the youth whenever they see women as they naturally are.

Oh for the love of crap can we stop bringing religion into every damn thread? This is more of a stretch than blaming Winston Churchil for the downfall of the Dreamcast.

Get a classroom full of atheist 14 year olds, and then get a woman to teach them all topless. If you are going to claim it would all be fine then you are talking out of your ass. If you are going to say there might be a few difficulties then you can't blame religion for this one.

Newsflash - boobs are a sexual thing. I know this is going to come as a shock to a lot of folks here but this is true. And sexual things are generally not welcomed on busses, in resturants, in the hospital wards, and on the roadside at busy junctions.

Sheesh.

I welcome them ;)

I would actually argue that the sexually conservative nature of most western societies is in fact heavily influenced by religon. Religon is, ultimately, whether you're an Atheist, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Budhust or anything else, responsible for defining the morals and basic rules within society.
In past times the nature of society has been that men can do a lot of things women can't, in some cultures there are still very strict rules about what women can and can't do in public. And I'm sorry kids but this is influlenced by religon (hejabs, women not liking to be allowed out on their own etc). Men within society are accepted to be more sexually open and even encouraged to to suggest sexual engagements, women are encouraged against them. I can't give any definitive religous text saying that this is how things should be, off the top of my head, but it is a trend that has been present in society for hundreds of years, and therefore religon has at the very least encouraged it on some level, or far more likely created it.

Actually Islam demands that men also dress modestly topless men is a western thing

It is a cultural thing.

I for one am a nudist. I HATE clothes, simple as that. But, when I go out in public, I am always clothed, because I am not an Exhibitionist, following public norms is the easiest way for people to fit in, so out of the lemming ideals, we get, clothes on everybody.

We have put taboo on what can and cannot be shown in public, and from a professionalism stand point, this is a good thing. Because we have made women's breasts an object of high sexuality, it would be extremely difficult to change this cultural normality. Where in, most countries find that the actual sexual organs are still off limits some will find that showing of breasts is not as much of a deal.

cuddly_tomato:

Helnurath:

Its religion in general that prevents girls from being topless. Most Americans(Damn puritans) like to keep a false sense of purity and righteousness by claiming it corrupts the youth whenever they see women as they naturally are.

Oh for the love of crap can we stop bringing religion into every damn thread? This is more of a stretch than blaming Winston Churchil for the downfall of the Dreamcast.

Get a classroom full of atheist 14 year olds, and then get a woman to teach them all topless. If you are going to claim it would all be fine then you are talking out of your ass. If you are going to say there might be a few difficulties then you can't blame religion for this one.

Newsflash - boobs are a sexual thing. I know this is going to come as a shock to a lot of folks here but this is true. And sexual things are generally not welcomed on busses, in resturants, in the hospital wards, and on the roadside at busy junctions.

Sheesh.

i know this is completely off topic, but winston churchill had nothing 2 do with the downfall of the dreamcast, it was just an ABSOLUTELY CRAPPY PIECE OF S&1T :s
as for this topic, most people dont really want 2 see sum random woman walkin down the street with her boobs out unless they're a crazy pervert. especially not in a resturant or a hospital (plus, if guys cant walk with their wedding tackle out then y shud women walk around with their great big jiggly things on show?) :D

It's a health and safety issue.

If women were able to walk around topless they could be in danger of poking people's eyes out.

I don't care, although seeing a topless woman out in public in combination with my chronic lonliness may finally send me over the side of the bridge.

You know what,if women want to go topless anywhere a man can i say go for it.

Hey Joe:
It's a health and safety issue.

If women were able to walk around topless they could be in danger of poking people's eyes out.

The thing is,if it became commonplace people wouldn't stare anymore. Just look at those women in civilizations that do go topless,you can see them in National Geographic. Now If we are talking about women with Hollywood type breasts there still might be a problem with staring.

stoid7:

MrGFunk:
Because if women walked round topless, everyone would stare at them, or pretend not to and nothing would get done. Except maybe getting larger memory cards for our phones.

While funny, might not be true. Men spend a large portion of their day trying to get to see women naked/topless, whether they realize they are doing it or not. If they aren't having to hunt around to find it, maybe they would get more stuff done, since they are wasting less time in the pursuit of boobies.

That is exactly my point well said.

facaldo:
Why a man can go topless publicly all over the world while women can't ? It's not even widely practiced in USA. On beaches and on the roads you can find girls in bikni while men absolutely topless. (I'm not talking about "NO CLOTHES BEYOND THIS POINT AREAS")

Why can a woman get into more places with a bare midriff than guys can? Or why can a woman be less covered up at a formal affair than in an office, while a man puts on even more clothes?

It's a weird thing, this whole clothing and sexuality issue.

yeah, why cant girls go out without their shirt off? it's not fair.. if women want gender equality, they should take of their shirt and go out and show their skin like men do.. what? ahaha crazy but its just nice if this would happen... breasts everywhere.. hahaha

sirdanrhodes:
I actually think it's kind of sexist that women can look at men, but if men look at women with their top ON, the man would be a pervert.

Yes especially because some women do find men's chests to be a bit sexual.

odatnarat:
yeah, why cant girls go out without their shirt off? it's not fair.. if women want gender equality, they should take of their shirt and go out and show their skin like men do.. what? ahaha crazy but its just nice if this would happen... breasts everywhere.. hahaha

But of course, they would be arrested so..

More genrally, the problem is that female breasts are seen as private and sexual, thus revealing them in public is inappropriate, and has certain connotations.

In reality, any woman going topless outside of places where it is expected would likely find herself being hassled by men who would interpret it as a 'invitation' to rude behavior.

Aiden Rebirth:
hm...this topic is kinda disturbing, and coulda been solved with a "different strokes for different folks". every culture is different so they take things differently, and in no way will it change over night.

Please lets not bring "stroking" into this. :P

Because people are screwed up. The fact that this question even need exist justifies my quod erat demonstrandum.

Q.

E.

D.

In many places around Canada and I assume even the US, it it not illegal for women to do so and the local police oft get reminders of such every summer.

Quite uncommon still.

Watch me totally care.

Going around topless is not acceptable because
a) It's a Taboo, culturally.
b) Religion does play a large part with the more repressed demographics.
c) It's illegal, because of perverts and generally disturbing the peace (refer to a + b).
d) It's not practical, mobility or climate wise.
e) All of the above.

I couldn't give less of a crap what people do with their tits. This is all I have to say on this increasingly inane and insipid argument.

Breasts of a woman are Sexual. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS!!!!!!!!!!! Europe chooses to ignore it and hope to see as many titties as possible pop out from the woman who are suffering from a number of emotional issues. And I tell you the truth.. in these countries where its "normal" to see porn everywhere, the women and children of these country are more at risk to be sexually assaulted. Sexual assaults go OFTEN IGNORED IN THESE COUNTRIES.. I CALL THAT REPRESSION!!!! Having amounts of modesty should NEVER BE SO GROSSLY MISREPRESENTED AS TO CALL NORMAL AMOUNTS OF MODESTY REPRESSION, Fools

Women have breasts, men don't. Breast are socially constructed as part of "sexuality" because they relate to reproduction. "Sexual" things are a taboo to expose(why both men and women always wear bottoms). Therefore, women must cover them up or risk a taboo. Simple and logical.

i'll tell you what.. i have more feeling in my breasts than my oonie. So no matter what, physically as a woman, our body tells us to cover them from the public. its actually ABNORMAL to want to take your top off as a woman in the public. Its a perversion on the womans part.. i dont care how much a woman will refute it.. they are a pervert if they take their top off in public. when we say it "means nothing" we lie like the devil. Woman have to be protected from women.. the more sex is open in the culture, the more sexual assault is present in that culture (and kids really suffer a lot from this).

candi1984:
i'll tell you what.. i have more feeling in my breasts than my oonie. So no matter what, physically as a woman, our body tells us to cover them from the public. its actually ABNORMAL to want to take your top off as a woman in the public. Its a perversion on the womans part.. i dont care how much a woman will refute it.. they are a pervert if they take their top off in public. when we say it "means nothing" we lie like the devil. Woman have to be protected from women.. the more sex is open in the culture, the more sexual assault is present in that culture (and kids really suffer a lot from this).

First off, I am going to criticise the punctuation of this post. Capital letters and apostrophes make text much easier to read. Also, you are probably allowed to use the correct terminology for female genitalia here, rather than "oonie". We're not ten years old, you know.

Secondly, why would sexual openness lead to more sexual assault? Think of it this way; A man grows up, seeing what the opposite sex looks like, including breasts. He no longer views the breasts as sexual, because they eventually just become another part of the body to him. However, the fact that they have been made "Taboo" in the current society means that they are strongly sexual, and regarded as more intimate than most other body parts. Because of the intimacy associated with the breasts, those who would commit sexual assault would tend to view them as their "Goal", in a very odd sense of the word.

However, I would like to point out that because of the sensitivity of the breasts(as the quoted post mentions), it would probably be impractical (and very uncomfortable) to walk around topless for an extended period of time.

Ummm....there's not many perverted women who would grab a mans chest in public.

Go look at the internet and see if the reverse is true.

Anyways they are seen as sexual so there's many people who look down on anything like that.

Most of what I think has already been said by countless other people here.
Don't blame religion for this, its stupid.

Actually, I think that if you do not make such a fuss about the occasional breast here and there, whether it's on TV or on a beach, then kids wouldn't be hurt at all. There's no sexual context in that case. However, by being very uptight about it, in a "won't somebody please think of the children" kind of way, you make every context regarding breasts a sexual one. And then you get interesting effects like a delay on public television to prevent the off chance that a nipple might be visible in a flash during prime time.

In fact, though I must say that I am not a psychologist, and this opinion is not grounded in theory but in personal observation, I think that a more relaxed view on what constitutes 'things sexual' in a culture actually *reduces* sexual assault and the number of sexual perverts.

candi1984:
Breasts of a woman are Sexual. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS!!!!!!!!!!! Europe chooses to ignore it and hope to see as many titties as possible pop out from the woman who are suffering from a number of emotional issues. And I tell you the truth.. in these countries where its "normal" to see porn everywhere, the women and children of these country are more at risk to be sexually assaulted. Sexual assaults go OFTEN IGNORED IN THESE COUNTRIES.. I CALL THAT REPRESSION!!!! Having amounts of modesty should NEVER BE SO GROSSLY MISREPRESENTED AS TO CALL NORMAL AMOUNTS OF MODESTY REPRESSION, Fools

Aha, that was pretty good. You know, people often say sarcasm is harder to convey over the internet, but I can't really imagine wild, over the top, foaming-at-the-mouth sarcasm working in real life.

The funniest thing about this whole issue is that there's less fervour surrounding the breast in general, as there is the nipple. It switches from "isn't that kind of indecent" to "cover yourself immediately! Think of the children!" Such fun.

Still, it's not like it's the only strange taboo in this odd little culture of ours. It's hardly the most nonsensical, either.

you are right it is not fair! all woman should burn their bikini tops and walk around topless!

Helnurath:

TheDean:

facaldo:
Why a man can go topless publicly all over the world while women can't ? It's not even widely practiced in USA. On beaches and on the roads you can find girls in bikni while men absolutely topless. (I'm not talking about "NO CLOTHES BEYOND THIS POINT AREAS")

Do you think it's Islamic impression of morality on all the communities of the world or a general in born approach of morality left in people.

WOW! This is something i've thought aboiut for a couple of years now. It's part of my 100% equality thing i do. And yes, i think if men are topless, women should be too. It bothered me once when thre was a topless man on a TV ad, and i wanted to know why there was never a topless woman.

Your take?

lol! Moobs! Girlfriend mentioned that a few weeks ago she saw a man with a rather large pair of moobs, and it offended her. So are women offended by large moobs?

That is silly. HOw can you be offended by someone's appearance? Seriously. It's not like the guy was trying to annoy her by having moobs, he didn't intentionally try to insult her. Why was she offended? It was clearly her fault--> she chose to be offended.

Ever heard of no shoes, no shirt, no service?

Wolvaroo:
In many places around Canada and I assume even the US, it it not illegal for women to do so and the local police oft get reminders of such every summer.

Quite uncommon still.

I heard in New York it is legal but not commonly practiced.

Reaperman Wompa:
Ummm....there's not many perverted women who would grab a mans chest in public.

Go look at the internet and see if the reverse is true.

Anyways they are seen as sexual so there's many people who look down on anything like that.

First of all, some women would,scond of all since men going topless is commonplace it is no big deal.

TheDean:

Helnurath:

TheDean:

facaldo:
Why a man can go topless publicly all over the world while women can't ? It's not even widely practiced in USA. On beaches and on the roads you can find girls in bikni while men absolutely topless. (I'm not talking about "NO CLOTHES BEYOND THIS POINT AREAS")

Do you think it's Islamic impression of morality on all the communities of the world or a general in born approach of morality left in people.

WOW! This is something i've thought aboiut for a couple of years now. It's part of my 100% equality thing i do. And yes, i think if men are topless, women should be too. It bothered me once when thre was a topless man on a TV ad, and i wanted to know why there was never a topless woman.

Your take?

lol! Moobs! Girlfriend mentioned that a few weeks ago she saw a man with a rather large pair of moobs, and it offended her. So are women offended by large moobs?

That is silly. HOw can you be offended by someone's appearance? Seriously. It's not like the guy was trying to annoy her by having moobs, he didn't intentionally try to insult her. Why was she offended? It was clearly her fault--> she chose to be offended.

Actually this is a good point, if it is about what the breasts look like why are men with huge breasts allowed to go topless while women with small breasts aren't?

[quote="Fr331anc3r" post="18.80114.1038649"]It is a cultural thing.

I for one am a nudist. I HATE clothes, simple as that. [quote]

Who likes clothes?
I bet most people here don't either.
I understand what you're saying though.

It doesn't seem like it just has religion based reasoning to me the female chest area compared to a male has a reproductive purpose as an optional source of nutristion for newborns and as such maybe covering them to prevent the constant clensing became common place

... Also like stated before that female breasts are more attractive to males than vice versa tends to be true in most circles.

When you think about it, it's not even the entire breast that's the problem, but rather the nipples. The top, side, and bottom are all fair game, but heaven help you if you have a "nip slip".

If you ask me, the whole thing is rather silly. Most of the allure is that seeing a woman's nipples are that they're somehow "forbidden". So I say, let women go around topless, but of course the same rules apply: "no shirt, no shoes, no service".

needausername:

avykins:
Because the type of girls that ususally go topless are exactly the type you do not want to see. Think 40-50 year olds with their nipples hanging around their waists. >.<

No thanks...

Heh, if I was allowed, I would be most of the time. :D But that's just me. May be you guys are in the wrong part of the world?