Top Freedom

[JohnH]

Men can go topless because they ain't got breasts.

You should have said most men don't have breasts - apparently you did not read my posting above.

John

[Jim]

Men can go topless because they ain't got breasts. The equivalent of a topless woman is a man with naked groin. That is not about fashion freedom but freedom of expression. That's a different animal.

Men do have breasts. It is breast tissue that gets breast cancer and men get breast cancer. With hormones, men's breasts get bigger and men can even lactate. Men with more womanly breasts can go topfree. Women with manly breasts or none can't.

But feminine breasts are not equivalent with the genital area, but other secondary sexual characteristics, such as a beard or Adam's apple.

It is a matter of fashion:

During the 16th century, women's fashions displaying their breasts were common in society, from Queens to common prostitutes, and emulated by all classes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toplessness#cite_ref-19

If we men want fashion freedom, we need to stick up for similar freedom for women.

[Brad]

There are a few points about top freedom that I find confusing and illogical.

Women can expose a lot of their breast so long as the nipple and areola are covered. Therefore, it is implied that it is the nipple and not the breast that is erotic and must be hidden. But if nipples are erotic, why are men permitted to expose their nipples?

Breasts are not a sexual organ. They're designed for nursing babies. However, many women get erotic pleasure from their breasts. So are they then a sexual organ?

As was previously noted, some men have enlarged breasts too but are able to expose them. I saw a TV news segment about a man who had breasts that are the equivalent of a woman's C cup and the efforts that he makes to wear clothes to hide them and avoid embarrassment. Should he be forced to cover them?

Some women have small breasts. Should they be allowed to uncover them?

Many woman enhance their perceived breast size by wearing certain clothes and lingerie. Wouldn't it be better if they didn't have to cover them?

[JohnH]

I might also add that there are men that have nursed babies - actually lactating.

And there are women who have AA cup breasts while men including myself, have B cup or larger breasts. So there should be no difference between men and women in being permitted to be topless.

At one time men had to cover their chests at the beach or be arrested for indecency - before the 1930's.

John

[renesm1]

Yes - up to about 1935 (my guestimate) men covered up. If you look at old pictures of people by the sea or pools, you will find that their swimsuits are almost identical to the one-piece swimsuits available for women!

[Jack Williams]

I think it depends on the body type in general. All should be able to have own discretion, but then there's no accounting for taste!

[Sinned]

Up until the late 1950's and even early 1960's ( before the advent of package holidays ) the working men would wear to the beach full gear - shirt, tie, jacket, trousers. I have seen lots of pictures of this and my relatives probably have some as well. No fear of a man showing a nipple - or even an ankle.

[crfriend]

Up until the late 1950's and even early 1960's ( before the advent of package holidays ) the working men would wear to the beach full gear - shirt, tie, jacket, trousers.

I was doing that in the mid 1970s -- not so much out of a misplaced sense of modesty, but rather because I was so rail-thin that I looked like a concentration-camp survivor.

[skirtilator]

If male and female breast are treated equally, a man should be able to look at a woman's naked breast without having to bother about sexual harassment charges. That's real equality. It is just a breast, no sexual organ, right? Feminism = goodies for women without the inevitable moral costs.

[Jim]

If male and female breast are treated equally, a man should be able to look at a woman's naked breast without having to bother about sexual harassment charges. That's real equality. It is just a breast, no sexual organ, right?

Of course a man should be able to look at a woman's breast with having to be concerned with sexual harassment charges. Harassment is not in the looking, but in the overall behavior. Just don't stare and use the normal courtesy you should always use and that you'd wish your wife and daughters would receive. At beaches that allow top freedom, or nudist resorts, this becomes normal very quickly.

How do you want people to treat you when you are wearing a skirt in public?