# Provocative Women **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 6, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735 "2006-01-06T13:38:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/1 "2006-01-06T13:38:22Z")
Why do so many women dress provocatively? Why don’t men? I see bare tummies and chest cleavage everywhere even during the winter, but even in the summer when it is hot, you won’t find anything provocative in the baggy shorts and bathing suits that men wear. A formal evening will reveal men completely covered while quite a few women will show legs, breasts(including the occassional nipple), and every so often butt cleavage. If I watch the olympics, sprinting for example, I’ll see the men covered from the neck down to several inches below the crotch, while the women show a large expanse of abs above a bikini bottom that definitely requires a regular effort to trim and [shave](http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040715/040715_edwards_vmed_630p.widec.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5633626/&h=437&w=298&sz=18&tbnid=2eMcUf0kWf4J:&tbnh=123&tbnw=83&hl=en&start=16&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dolympic%2Bsprinter%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG). So exactly what are provocative women exactly trying to communicate? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/2 "2006-01-06T13:43:09Z")
It is almost as if human beings are sexual beings and enjoy expressing their sexuality through dress, women more so than men. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/3 "2006-01-06T14:48:44Z")
I don’t know why women dress more revealingly than men; but I do know that I am glad that it is that way. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/4 "2006-01-06T15:03:04Z")
There is a lot of social pressure on men to not dress that way, from both other men and women. It is seen as somewhat unmanly to be the object of someone’s desire. There is a passivity associated with being looked at that doesn’t go well with traditional masculinity. Men are socialized to be the subject and the looker, after all, not the passive observed object. \*Lacanian Caveat: the observed inevitably returns the gaze of the observer, and as the observer is aware sees himself objectified through the observed’s eyes. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/5 "2006-01-06T15:06:57Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > Why do so many women dress provocatively? Why don’t more…many,many more. ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/6 "2006-01-06T16:38:15Z")
I always thought this was an interesting phenomenon. In formal wear, a man wears a tux…covered completely from the neck down. A woman wears tight, sparkly revealing clothing. I’m not sure there is a deep meaning to this. It’s just the way it is. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/7 "2006-01-06T16:42:59Z")
I saw a standup routine that touched on this… “A man can pull up to a stoplight, look in his rear-view mirror, see a woman in the car behind him, guess what she looks like from the neck down, meet her, fall in love, get married, have kids and grow old, all while waiting for the light to turn green. Women usually need a little more information about guys they see before they begin to get attracted, details like names and such…” Most of the women I have heard discussing this say that the kind of guys they get attracted to visually, it doesn’t matter what they’re wearing. It’s not the clothes, or what they reveal, that’s attractive to them, so it’s not so much what your clothes _show_ about you, it’s what they _say._ ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/8 "2006-01-06T17:10:59Z")
I tell you what — you lay down a description of provocative, revealing attire that I, as a male, can wear which will inspire upsurges of lust instead of fits of giggles in the women who see me in it, and I’ll wear it. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/9 "2006-01-06T17:22:49Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I tell you what — you lay down a description of provocative, revealing attire that I, as a male, can wear which will inspire upsurges of lust instead of fits of giggles in the women who see me in it, and I’ll wear it. I think you’ve hit on the real reason. Men and women tend to react differently to revealing clothing, so each gender wears the clothes that get the reaction it wants. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/10 "2006-01-06T18:51:48Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I tell you what — you lay down a description of provocative, revealing attire that I, as a male, can wear which will inspire upsurges of lust instead of fits of giggles in the women who see me in it, and I’ll wear it. Short wetsuit with the top zipped down. Surfboard under your arm is optional. _droool_ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/11 "2006-01-06T18:56:59Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > Short wetsuit with the top zipped down. Surfboard under your arm is optional. > > _droool_ In my case, that would cause a panicked run for the exits. We are not all movie stars. Besides, I’m from Ontario. We don’t really do surfing here. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/12 "2006-01-06T19:02:23Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > In my case, that would cause a panicked run for the exits. We are not all movie stars. > > Besides, I’m from Ontario. We don’t really do surfing here. Um hello, not all women look good in a skintight, revealing dress either. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/13 "2006-01-06T19:06:42Z")
Okay, let me say a little more. The real question in the OP is “Why do really hot women – like elite athletes and movie stars – like to show off their bodies.” The answer is that they are showing something to the world, which our society values highly and which they have worked damn hard to achieve. Men do the exact same thing when they have super hot bodies. Normal average women do not make a huge effort to wear extremely revealing clothing. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/14 "2006-01-06T19:23:59Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > Normal average women do not make a huge effort to wear extremely revealing clothing. I don’t know about that. I see plenty of “plus sized” women wearing tight and/or revealing clothes. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/15 "2006-01-06T19:34:28Z")
> [@](#): > > The real question in the OP is “Why do really hot women – like elite athletes and movie stars – like to show off their bodies.” > > The answer is that they are showing something to the world, which our society values highly and which they have worked damn hard to achieve. Men do the exact same thing when they have super hot bodies. > > Normal average women do not make a huge effort to wear extremely revealing clothing. No, you’re asking (and answering) a slightly different question. As noted, even women with far from perfect bodies often dress thuis way, and in most circumstances even men with very good bodies don’t. You rarely see an Olympic champion or a Hollywood male sex symbol at a restaurant or the opera wearing only a Speedo, or wearing pants but only a muscle shirt on top. Yet you’ll find women wearing considerably less and showing more skin than men. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/16 "2006-01-06T19:40:14Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > Short wetsuit with the top zipped down. Surfboard under your arm is optional. > > _droool_ It’s going to make for rather unorthodox office wear. Still, I’m filing that info away 😉 What else? ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/17 "2006-01-06T23:14:26Z")
The reason women dress more scantily than men is because in our society women are supposed to be beautiful and sexy and show a lot of skin. This is not a biological preference, merely a social one. There have been/are other societies where men were expected to be attractive and dress/wear makeup to attract women. As **saoirse** noted, the current societal view is that a man who dresses in skimpy clothing is homosexual. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/18 "2006-01-06T23:47:34Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > There is a lot of social pressure on men to not dress that way, from both other men and women. It is seen as somewhat unmanly to be the object of someone’s desire. There is a passivity associated with being looked at that doesn’t go well with traditional masculinity. Men are socialized to be the subject and the looker, after all, not the passive observed object. . There’s always been that, but a more pertinent question is probably why has it become so extreme nowadays. The women have _skiiiiiiiiimmmmmpy_ shorts, tops, and swimwear, and men have \*bbbbaaaaaagagggggggyggyyyyyy XXXL shorts, trunks, and workout gear. If you go back 20 or 30 years, society _still_ dictated in a similar way, but here’s the thing: in those days, sure, men’s shorts were longer than women’s–but only by an inch or two! I’m sure I’ve seen a Chevy Chase movie where he’s bicycling in short track shorts that would have given Richard Simmons a run for his money. Going back further, before the advent of the bikini, a man’s bathing suit was likely to be more revealing than his wife or girlfriend’s. Which is too bad. Going to the beach or pool, or even just being out in the sun, is a sensual activity. If it weren’t physically pleasant we wouldn’t do it. The more skin bared, the more pleasure there is in swimming or walking on the beach. IMO anyway. Perhaps one reason is the obesity epidemic; probably most men do look better covered up, so we dress that way, which further encourages us to neglect our bodies. And so the cycle goes. I only hope that we will one day return to “barity parity”. ---
**Author:** ![PsychoWench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9a140/32.png) [@PsychoWench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsychoWench)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/19 "2006-01-07T00:16:40Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > Why do so many women dress provocatively? > > Why don’t men? > > I see bare tummies and chest cleavage everywhere even during the winter, but even in the summer when it is hot, you won’t find anything provocative in the baggy shorts and bathing suits that men wear. A formal evening will reveal men completely covered while quite a few women will show legs, breasts(including the occassional nipple), and every so often butt cleavage. > > If I watch the olympics, sprinting for example, I’ll see the men covered from the neck down to several inches below the crotch, while the women show a large expanse of abs above a bikini bottom that definitely requires a regular effort to trim and [shave](http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040715/040715_edwards_vmed_630p.widec.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5633626/&h=437&w=298&sz=18&tbnid=2eMcUf0kWf4J:&tbnh=123&tbnw=83&hl=en&start=16&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dolympic%2Bsprinter%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG). > > So exactly what are provocative women exactly trying to communicate? Personally? I feel comfortable in them. I don’t do it all the time, 7 out of 10 it’s as a costume (I do Rocky Horror) but baggy clothing feels best on my period, don’t want it on all the time. Most girls I know are the same way, they wear what they feel comfortable in that day, depending on how appropriate it is for what they’re doing that day. In the Winter, our tighter clothing is often leather or vinyl, which is very warm, so heat isn’t really a problem. Generically? Who knows. It has been rather ingrained, I guess. Oh, and as a RHPS person, I know just as many provocatively dressing men as women and I find them hot. On the shallow side, Leather pants, tank top, and color added to either hair or eyes is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/20 "2006-01-07T00:32:51Z")
It does seem to be entirely cultural rather than biological. I remember hearing about a tribe in South America where the men go around naked, except for a sheathlike ‘garment’ over the penis, while the women cover up a bit more. On another note, this gender dichotomy in our culture is one reason I advocate clothes free recreation. If you’re bare, you’re bare! and everyone’s equally bare. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735.md?page=2)