First and foremost, why?
But then there a slew of secondary questions. Who decides what is proper? Who are these people? Are they you?
Let’s start with …. What is proper? Well, it depends on where you live. It depends on whether you’re a woman or a man. It’s different too for little girls and little boys. It depends on what you‘re doing. And it depends on a bunch of other inconsequential things. It’s fairly complicated.
Why is it cute when two-year-olds run into the room without any clothes, but it’s a problem when the man of the house does it?
Do you live in the Middle East? Are you a woman? You better cover up. Are you going to work in Kansas City? Bare arms and legs are OK in Kansas City but maybe not bare shoulders. Going to the beach in Malibu? Paste something over your erogenous zones and you’re good to go.
But let’s take a simple case. An adult man wants to eat at a chain restaurant, let’s say Denny’s or Big Boy‘s. Can he sit down with no shirt? No. Why not? Is a man’s chest so offensive? Is it the bare chest or the bare nipples? Could he sit down and eat if he wore pasties? Well, no. So it’s not just the nipples. But male nipples are OK at the beach.
It’s all about context, isn’t it? But why?
There’s also the question about whether I sound like a nine year old even asking these questions. Aren’t we supposed to come to terms with society’s arbitrary demands by the time we’re ten? Yes, we are, but again, why? Why should anybody tell me what to wear? Maybe this is an “out of the mouths of babes” situation. Maybe those nine year olds are on to something.
And aren’t these “arbitrary demands” based on shifting sands? I remember reading that men once wore suit and tie to baseball games and also when taking a flight on a plane. Who wears a suit to a game now besides the owner of the team? And nobody gets thrown off a plane for wearing cut off shorts and a sleeveless shirt.
The notion of a man or woman sitting down to eat in public in nothing but underpants seems bizarre, but why? (Sorry, “why” seems to be the main question here over and over again). Well, I think I have an answer. It’s considered bizarre only because people just decided it’s out of bounds. There’s no safety reason (unless you’re welding while eating), no reasons relating to hygiene or preservation of health. You’re just not allowed “because”. Because daddy said so. Because a bunch of busybodies at the next table, instead of concentrating on their friends and their food, are worrying about your clothing or lack thereof.
(Come to think of it, even if I were welding, I should be allowed to do so without any clothes. It seems like the risk is all mine.)
I’ll admit that some bodies are gross. We don’t really want to see them. Those of us who have gross bodies probably don’t really mind covering up since it spares us the embarrassment of being seen. But …. shouldn’t that be up to us? If you mandate hiding gross ugliness, you might have to impose on some people who do have their clothes on.
OK, I suppose I’ve wasted enough time pointing out inconsistencies and complaining about restrictions. I’ll get to the point.
What I wear is nobody’s business but mine. If I choose to go buck naked, people ought to just put up with it.
But what about the children? How will we answer their questions about the naked man? Easy. We tell them it’s none of their business. If they learn at an early age maybe people will mind their own business.
This whole topic sounds so puerile. I’m almost sorry I brought it up. Next week: "Public urination. What’s the problem"?