# Men--when do you go shirtless? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299 "2013-06-30T23:32:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/61 "2013-07-04T22:18:30Z")
Never. I’m a ginger and thus I burn when someone mentions the sun. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/62 "2013-07-04T22:45:29Z")
At a pool, beach or anywhere swimming, around the house doing yard work. Happy just to whack on a pair of shorts and nothing else while round the house but if I went off my property I put on a singlet or shirt. ---
**Author:** ![IgnoranceIsMyExcuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ea666f/32.png) [@IgnoranceIsMyExcuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IgnoranceIsMyExcuse)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/63 "2013-07-05T02:13:48Z")
I have a damn fit upper body, but I only go shirtless in public when I’m (1) running, (2) swimming/at a pool or beach, or (3) playing a sport (e.g., tennis, basketball, etc.). For anything else, including physical labor, I wear at least a t-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/64 "2013-07-05T12:30:18Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Never. I’m a ginger and thus I burn when someone mentions the sun. Reminds me of an old Woody Allen routine : " I don’t tan. I stroke . " ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/65 "2013-07-05T12:43:47Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > But if there is someone else in your house, you will feel comfortable sleeping shirtless? 😕 I just mean that it’s not a function of whether anyone is going to see me. Even if there’s no one else in the house, and even if I’m just sleeping, I still wear a t-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Matt37](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4da419/32.png) [@Matt37](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matt37)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/66 "2013-07-05T13:38:18Z")
> [@Katie\_Mae](#): > > Sadly, it’s never the RIGHT men…when traveling Europe, I noticed this universal vanity extended to Speedos despite some specimens being 40+ years past the point of physical viability I’m relatively certain they don’t do it for your benefit. To their credit, they’ve not been encumbered with the silly prudishness we Americans seem to embrace. I, for one, don’t give the first rat’s a\*\* whether you enjoy what I wear or not. I’m not wearing it for your entertainment. Wearing shirts or those silly baggy long swimsuits on a beach or while you’re swimming seem ridiculous to me. In direct response to the original question, however, I run and do my yard work shirtless, wash the cars shirtless, and so forth. If someone has a problem with it, they’ve never voiced it (nor would I care if they did, really). ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/67 "2013-07-05T13:42:39Z")
Whenever I can, which is hardly ever. The last time I went shirtless somewhere out of the ordinary was while playing bocce in the community park in the noonday, June sun. It felt good, especially since I don’t get outdoors too much, but it felt awkward being the only one, so it lasted about 15 minutes. Around here, though, wearing a shirt is not about self-image or sunburn; it’s the mosquitoes. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/68 "2013-07-05T14:33:01Z")
Never. Not interested in doing it, nor seeing it in anyone else. Put a damn shirt on! ---
**Author:** ![Matt37](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4da419/32.png) [@Matt37](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matt37)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/69 "2013-07-05T14:44:35Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Never. Not interested in doing it, nor seeing it in anyone else. Put a damn shirt on! Maybe you should consider just looking in another direction? I don’t believe anyone would force you to look at anyone else. I never understood this “I don’t want to see it so you shouldn’t do it” mindset. If it bothers you, look somewhere else. That seems like a relatively unobtrusive and simple solution. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/70 "2013-07-05T14:59:47Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > I thought the stained white “wife-beater” t-shirt was _de rigeur_ for detention, but I suppose the fashions are always changing. That was when people used to dress for crime. [These days they don’t even put a shirt on for robbery.](http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2013/07/this-is-a-picture-of-burglar-hogtied-and-left-to-rot/) I swear, if you’re trying to elude police, just put on a button down shirt and tuck it in. You’ll disappear in front of their eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/71 "2013-07-05T22:16:54Z")
> [@11811](#): > > In my apartment… Yep, this. Only in 11811’s apartment. mmm ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/72 "2013-07-06T01:00:05Z")
> [@Matt37](#): > > Maybe you should consider just looking in another direction? I don’t believe anyone would force you to look at anyone else. > > I never understood this “I don’t want to see it so you shouldn’t do it” mindset. If it bothers you, look somewhere else. That seems like a relatively unobtrusive and simple solution. Well that is what I do, obviously, because I have no right to insist anything like that. But in my head I am wishing I wasn’t forced to somehow not look at something that would ordinarily be in my field of view. It makes my neck hurt, and I am at risk of crashing into a tree. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/73 "2013-07-07T23:50:20Z")
When I was in shape, any excuse will do. Now that I’m not, I pretty much keep the shirt on. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/74 "2013-07-08T00:16:33Z")
> [@panaccione](#): > > When I was in shape, any excuse will do. Now that I’m not, I pretty much keep the shirt on. But I thought you could do 30 pullups in a row? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/75 "2013-07-08T00:52:03Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > My body makes women swoon so much that I’m pretty much restricted to going shirtless only at the beach, and even then I have to register with the local authorities. I saw those pictures of you on the NSA website. Wow. I felt a little dizzy. I want to know when the women go shirtless. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/76 "2013-07-08T01:08:58Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > But I thought you could do 30 pullups in a row? NM, that was a three-year old post I was referring to. :o ---
**Author:** ![kurdtvana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kurdtvana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurdtvana)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/77 "2013-07-08T03:33:45Z")
TSA screening. Just want to get through the process quickly. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/78 "2013-07-08T03:47:23Z")
i just discovered another shirt-off occasion: On return to the hotel room from [Summerfest](http://summerfest.com/) (closes at midnite) with your two buddies, you’re not really tired yet and there’s plenty of beer. You watch a couple Pawn Stars and pull bourbon straight from the bottle while they microwave pizzas. Not a shirt in sight. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/79 "2013-07-08T14:33:02Z")
Off my property? At the pool or a beach. Or once in a long while, I’ll get hot enough on a long bike ride that my shirt’s soaked through with sweat, and I’ll take it off. Outdoors in my yard? When washing something (usually my car) that will involve getting a lot of water on me. Or maybe if while mowing the yard or doing other lawn chores, my shirt gets soaked through with sweat, I might break down and take off my shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299/80 "2013-07-08T17:48:43Z")
Probably a result of having read this thread, but over the past holiday/weekend, I noticed a large number of men shirtless in many situations. I saw several yesterday in a park near a lake, watching a band, but some were just walking down the street. It has been warm, but not ungodly hot - low to mid-80s. Not so hot that a t-shirt would be unbearable IMO. And yes, a majority of the guys I’ve seen shirtless had bodies you would just as soon not see displayed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-when-do-you-go-shirtless/662299.md?page=5)