Why is it that breats of women can be exposed
as long as their nipples are covered?
(IE… Nipple tassels or small bars over the
nipples) For example, in ads or on tv shows, I see almost an entire breast with the exception of just the nipple. This doesnt make sense since the nipple is something both genders share. I am not saying Im offended by exposed breasts, Im just trying
to figure out the logic behind it.
Warning The surgeon general has determined life is hazardous to your health
I’m sure this won’t address your question but in Toronto (Canada) women are not discriminated against by law from going bare chested in public places just like men. In fact, one hot and rainy summer night, as my wife and I were walking out of a restaurant (just after the law was passed) we saw about a dozen senior highschool aged kids (guys and girl) walking topless right past us down the street. They were in faded baggy jeans and had their white t-shirts hangind from their back pockets. It was like a live Calvin Klein commercial. I still can’t get the picture out of my mind because it was so unexpected and yes… erotic.
Personally, I see nothing wrong with women going topless in public places. Then again, I’m a devoutley heterosexual male… what else did you expect me to say?! 
Anyway, back to your OP…
It’s also legal for a woman to show her breasts, nipples and all, publicly in New York. Unfortunately, unlike QuickSilver, I haven’t had the benefit of seeing any women exercising this right.
Im not really talking about laws. Mostly about cencorship in media. My point is really why just cover a ladies nipples and allow the rest to show when men have nipples?
I was aware that Europe and other places allow for full exposure, and in some places total nudity.
For all our vaunted “commitment to freedom,” Americans, in general, remain uptight, prudish, blue-nosed busybodies. <shrugs> It’s what gives our country it’s down-home charm.
P.S. does anyone know the etymology of “blue-nose”?
If Cecil Adams did not exist, we would be obliged to create Him.
Shouldn’t someone go to court for this? I think all the men of America could throw in a couple of bucks, and then find a really hot woman to spearhead our cause. There’s certainly more payback than giving your money to the church (sorry, God, but it’s nipples! You just can’t compete).
Does anyone even notice men’s nipples?
“I never forget a face, but in your case I’ll make an exception”
–Groucho Marx
An article in Playboy some years ago discussed why the female nipple is so taboo in America. The conclusion: when a female is aroused, the nipple becomes erect. The powers-that-be find it unacceptable to have any public display of sexual arousal.
Correct? I dunno, but it’s as good an explanation as any.
aschrott: Yes. Women notice men’s nipples.
MaxTorque: Men’s nipples often become erect when they are aroused.
I think that the male/female difference in “decency” laws is a vestige of the time when women’s ankles were considered private parts.
::sings::
In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, now heaven knows, anything goes!
::stops singing, with apologies to Mr. Porter::
Men make the laws (although that is slowly changing) and men look at women’s breasts as highly sexual. Therefore, they must be kept covered.
The laws are changing, as was mentioned above. Unfortunately, society and laws do not change simultaneously. The one time I tried to avail myself of NY’s new law, I was so hooted and hollered at that I put my top back on. And it was hot as hades that day, which is why I took it off in the first place.
I’m shocked. I’m stunned.
I didn’t know it ever got hot in Toronto.
Feel free to correct me at any time. But don’t be surprised if I try to correct you.
That’s not the half of it - the law was passed in the middle of November.
Grean Bean:
Really? (I’m being serious here) What about them do you notice? I notice women’s nipples because breasts turn me on…do women find men’s nipples sexy? I’ve never heard a woman mention it–about me or any other guy.
Not contributing to the debate, but genuinely curious…
Allen
Sure, aschrott, I notice men’s nipples. I have a thing for men’s upper bodies. I see a nice, wide, set of shoulders…then I look down and see a rippling chest (which has nipples! :). Then down to the abs, then down to the…
MaryAnn
“I don’t care if it’s the queen!”
Okay, Allen, I will try to explain:
As MaryAnn so aptly explained, nipples are part of the whole package. Women’s breasts turn you on. Men’s chests (sometimes) turn me on. Nipples are part of the chest. Therefore, they get noticed.
I also notice nipples that are somehow unusual–like if they are particularly large or something. I do not find big nipples on men sexy, but I imagine that there are some women who do.
I personally prefer men’s nipples to be as unobtrusive as possible. This contradicts my original assertion to some degree. I said that women notice men’s nipples, but I prefer the least noticeable ones–the ones that I would not tend to look again at. Strange.
I did date a guy for a while who had a pierced nipple. Wowzers! I vote yes on that! Of course that contradicts what I just said about me preferring unobtrusive nipples. A pierced nipple is certainly obtrusive.
Well, it just goes to show you, nothing makes sense in love and war.
I do think it would be fair to say that the average hetero man is more concerned with women’s nipples than the average hetero woman is concerned with men’s. That is not to say that the average hetero woman is not concerned. She is just, let’s say, less obsessed than that average man. One possible explanation for this is that women’s nipples are “private,” whereas men’s are “public.” The private is always more intriguing, no?
By the way, I absolutely HATE the word “nipples.”
Thanks for explaining, and not just assuming I was being a moron :). I tend to forget that I even have nipples.
Nipples that stick out on the end of a breast are a visual signal of female sexuality and availability for breeding for male homo sapiens. A mature breeding female will have obvious nipples on developed breasts. A female who isn’t ready to breed–won’t. In the wild, this protects juvenile females from unwanted and possibly dangerous breeding attempts by the adult males.
Nipples=breeding=sex. No nipples=no sex. Some cultures are more comfortable than others with having this kind of sexual advertising going on. The Minoan culture of Crete in the year 1500 B.C. was–21st century Americans aren’t.
Here’s an experiment you can try at home to test this:
If you get a fine-point Sharpie marker, preferably brown, and draw nipples on Barbie and on Ken, it immediately changes them from being neutral plastic toy-objects, into something unspeakably obscene, almost frightening.
Or maybe it’s just me…
P.S. Don’t borrow somebody else’s Barbie and Ken to try this on, unless you WANT to have to explain it to the owner’s enraged mother, not to mention possibly the police and a team of social workers from DCFS.
An interesting addition to this debate may be something that occurred recently on The Man Show.
The guy who made a bet that he’d get breast implants (in order to win $100,000) was on as a guest. He unbuttoned his shirt to share them with the audience, and they had little pieces of tape over the nipples! So, a man with “women’s” breasts is also censored! I was fascinated. (by the way, the whole thing was pretty gross)
Hmmmm. My nipples get erect when it’s cold outside, too. How could they tell the difference?
Well, they’re men. They think everything a woman does, voluntarily or involuntarily, secretly means “I find you incredibly arousing.”