# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/21 "2006-01-07T00:38:14Z")
I, for one, welcome our new provocative woman overlords. ---
**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, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/22 "2006-01-07T00:39:07Z")
I just thought of another reason, applicable at least to Southern California. Increasingly, I’m seeing guys who wear shorts _all the time_…during winter evenings as well as summer afternoons. Given that, I can see how you’d rather not wear 1970s style shorter shorts. That never applied to me though, since I simply don’t wear shorts when it’s cold out. Or actually at all anymore, since I think they’re too damn long.\* well OK, I do wear shorts at the gym. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/23 "2006-01-07T00:45:13Z")
Men wear skimpy or revealing clothing too, if they can get away with it. They might wear sleeveless or tight shirts or no shirts at all to show off muscles (works for some of us better than for others). ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/24 "2006-01-07T00:47:18Z")
Well, when women dress skimpily, they’re usually showing off sexual or sexualized body parts. Cleavage, thighs, bums, etc. Men don’t really have similar “sexy” body parts that would be sexy all on their own. I mean, I love a great set of shoulders on a guy. How do you show of shoulders? Go shirtless, wear tank tops, wear tight T-shirts. None of those would really be seen as a “provocatively” dressed guy though, guys walk around with no shirt on all the time in the summer. I think we’re also used to seeing women as “sexual” more of the time. When I’m in a totally non-sexual place, like the grocery store, and I see a hot chick with a low cut shirt and a great rack, it’s sexy - I’ll probably get a little turned on. But if I was to look over and see a stranger with a giant bulge in his pants, my first instinct would probably be to giggle. As for why so many women dress provocatively? Attention, I’ll guess. Everybody likes to feel like a head-turner every now and then. ---
**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, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/25 "2006-01-07T02:02:07Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > guys walk around with no shirt on all the time in the summer. > > . True, we do have that privilege, but it’s narrowly circumscribed. In any public place other than the beach or a swimming pool, we’re just as much expected to cover our chests as women are. We can’t go to the grocery store, post office, or a bank in such a state of semi-undress. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/26 "2006-01-07T10:41:03Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > We can’t go to the grocery store, post office, or a bank in such a state of semi-undress. You obviously don’t live in NZ. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/27 "2006-01-07T11:52:00Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Besides, I’m from Ontario. We don’t really do surfing here. [http://www.lakesuperior.com/online/226/226surf.html](http://www.lakesuperior.com/online/226/226surf.html) ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/28 "2006-01-07T12:16:46Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > You obviously don’t live in NZ. :: …walks to the bank is his brand new [stubbies](http://coc13060s1.puccini.2day.com/movies/stubbies.mpg) :: (Direct link to MPG file) ---
**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 7, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/29 "2006-01-07T14:01:54Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > There’s 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. So true. Your statement resurected a memory into my conscience that hadn’t occured to me for 50 years! I was strolling along a beach past a guy sitting on the sand facing the shore with his knees brought up and spread. I could clearly see his scrotum peering out from the sides of his bathing suit. This was at a time when even two piece bathing suits for women covered their navels and even had an extra patch of material that obscured a frontal view of the crotch. The term camel toes was non existent, yet the volume of the male bulge could be deduced right down to the cubic centimeter. And with regard to the shorts, it appears to me that these voluminous shorts that men wear today are quite reminiscent of the skirts that women used to wear. With the freedom and empowerment that women now have, are their subtle preferences with regards to male dress dictating a lack of freedom in expressing male sexuality? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/30 "2006-01-07T17:45:43Z")
What is the old line? “Women look good in all stages of undress - men in none.” That pretty much sums it up for me. Woman in dishabille = hot. Man in knee-high business hose-socks, tighty whiteys and a t-shirt = not so hot. ---
**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, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/31 "2006-01-07T19:11:53Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > And with regard to the shorts, it appears to me that these voluminous shorts that men wear today are quite reminiscent of the skirts that women used to wear. > ? Everytime we have one of these threads and someone mentions that, I can’t help but remember once when I saw a photo of some of the Lakers, standing up in a convertible in one of their victory parades, and those voluminous shorts and oversized jerseys looked like bright yellow sundresses! AS for me, I’ll wear a Speedo on the beach. I know people are probably giggling and it’s not cool, but I say to hell with them, and with that. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/32 "2006-01-07T22:13:59Z")
> [@Banquet Bear](#): > > :: …walks to the bank is his brand new [stubbies](http://coc13060s1.puccini.2day.com/movies/stubbies.mpg) :: > > (Direct link to MPG file) Beige, with chocolate piping? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/33 "2006-01-08T01:02:59Z")
In ruminating over the OP, I was trying to figger out WHAT would be revealing mens clothing. At which point I rememberd my favorite Vocab word from last week (learned on this board). Revealing men’s clothing would show: **Testicleavage!** I’m glad men don’t dress provocatively. ---
**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 8, 2006, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/34 "2006-01-08T04:17:09Z")
> [@Unintentionally Blank](#): > > In ruminating over the OP, I was trying to figger out WHAT would be revealing mens clothing. At which point I rememberd my favorite Vocab word from last week (learned on this board). Revealing men’s clothing would show: > > **Testicleavage!** > > . Not necessarily. These days, any pair of shorts that hits above the knee would be ‘revealing’. Gotta say I agree with you on the testicle cleavage though, nobody wants that! ---
**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:** [January 8, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/35 "2006-01-08T04:51:26Z")
I’ve always wondered why women like to wear skirts, when they seem so very ‘exposed’ by their very nature. It must sometimes feel like not wearing anything below the waist at all. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/36 "2006-01-08T05:57:06Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’ve always wondered why women like to wear skirts, when they seem so very ‘exposed’ by their very nature. It must sometimes feel like not wearing anything below the waist at all. Eh, not really. I generally wear a pair of spankies or Spandex shorts under a skirt that’s above the knee or under any skirt if it’s hot out. Once they get to be tea-length or longer, they offer about the same amount of coverage as a pair of pants. And if I’m wearing pantyhose or tights under a skirt, I actually feel more covered than I do with a pair of pants, even though I’d feel completely exposed if I was wearing nothing but a shirt and a pair of pantyhose. > [@amaranta](#): > > Well, when women dress skimpily, they’re usually showing off sexual or sexualized body parts. Cleavage, thighs, bums, etc. An interesting thing to note is that when clothing covers more of the female body, then the parts that are revealed are sexualized. Well, in Western culture at least. For example, the Victorians found arms and ankles/feet to be highly provocative. Catching a glimpse of a woman’s ankle as she climbed into a carriage was sexy, partly because it was taboo – a gentleman wouldn’t look. Women tried to squeeze their feet into as tiny a shoe as they could, to appear more feminine. Praise was heaped on women who had round, plump arms. Meanwhile, I’m not aware that anyone has ever seen a guy’s ankle, and gone, “What a masculine ankle! That . . . just, grrr, baby.” Is there any body part that hasn’t been sexualized today in our culture? It makes sense, as the taboo around exposing flesh has become less, that women are more comfortable exposing themselves at all times of the day and more frequently than just formal evening events. I think it ultimately goes back to women (and their bodies) being seen as commodities. Men can be overweight or bald, i.e.: genetically undesirable, and still be more successful than a woman with similar physical “flaws.” There is more pressure on women to have the complete package. That’s not to say that there isn’t pressure on men to be physically attractive and desirable, but a man can still be more successful than a similar woman in his chosen field or profession simply by virtue of being male. Women have to market themselves, both physically and mentally, aggressively to be taken seriously. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/37 "2006-01-08T06:13:32Z")
> [@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. [Here you go!](http://www.tripoint.org/wedhitit.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/38 "2006-01-08T10:37:14Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Beige, with chocolate piping? Oh yeah, and blue and white jandals. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/39 "2006-01-08T11:47:33Z")
Same reason it’s a lot easier to find women prominently featured in porn or swimsuit calendars or various other states of public skimp/undress. Men like to look at near-naked women. Women like to look at near-naked women. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’ve always wondered why women like to wear skirts, when they seem so very ‘exposed’ by their very nature. It must sometimes feel like not wearing anything below the waist at all. Not really. It just feels like shorts, except you have to remind yourself that people can see up them if you’re sitting wrong. (I’m male, but my high school used to have a Cross-Dressing Day. I wore a skirt for a day. Yeah, Southern California, why’d you ask?) ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735/40 "2006-01-08T15:48:36Z")
> [@](#): > > _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._ > > [Here you go!](http://www.tripoint.org/wedhitit.jpg) You made my wife spew coffee all over her laptop. Her response: ‘That’s not lust I’m feelin’.’ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/provocative-women/338735.md?page=3)