I live in Europe, and it is not uncommon for a number of young ladies (and an even larger number of old ladies) to remove their bikini tops at the beach. It is not a big deal, just part of the experience. But I was with a couple of friends at the beach the other weekend and the wife scolded her husband for ogling a topless woman who was lying on a beach blanket sunning herself topless. She told her husband that if the woman was sitting or standing, she wanted to be ogled, but if she was lying down, it would be rude to stare.
Curious social norm, but I can see a certain amount of logic: if your objective is to get a tan, you would have to bare yourself lying down, whereas in an upright position there isn’t much tanning effect, hence you must be seeking attention.
What other curious social norms have you encountered?
Huh. Sitting up no good for tanning? No tanning effect unless reclined? What nonsense is this? I am brown as a bean by summers end and I barely lie down at the beach. I am constantly standing, sitting, walking, moving. And yet some how the rays of the sun still find me and seem to indeed have tanning effects!
I believe it is a well established fact that women only have breasts because they want to be ogled. Certainly no biological purpose has been found for them. So it is a certainty that a woman who removes her top at the beach wants to be ogled, preferrably with an accompanying drooling leer. Clearly she was lying down so there could be ogling from 360 degrees of viewpoints.
Was the wife who was doing the scolding native to the culture in whatever country you’re in? Rather, could you tell if she was American or something else or not? Or was it clear (by accent or something) that she was a native?
I read it as she was concerned that her husband was not using proper ogling etiquette. It’s OK to stare with jaw slack until the lady in question reclines, then a gentleman averts his gaze. I believe Emily Post had a whole chapter on ta-ta viewing.
Good luck with the idea that humans shouldn’t be human. They’ve been trying it with various religions and ideologies for millenia and it has never worked out.
So far it looks like this one is unwritten because no one ever heard of it before.
However a real one, if someone offers you a breathmint, take it. I know it looks like they got them out because they wanted one, but actually your breath just reminded them that they might need one.
I got a 5-minute lecture once from a Middle Eastern guy while standing in the bathroom one time (I had just emerged from a stall and was washing my hands) about how his culture is so superior to mine because they have little hoses next to their toilets to cleanse themselves with after evacuating and we rely on paper.
Apparently his culture also lacks a taboo about talking to a complete stranger about cleansing oneself after evacuating.
Let’s be realistic here: tits are 95% show. Yes, they make milk for wee babies, but are otherwise there to say “Hey, look at me! I have big tits! Your wee babies will be well fed!”
Men, being men and having testicles notice the tits and say “Why, yes! Tits! They are of noble size and now I grow horny thanks to my normal, healthy sex drive!”
Bottom line: Tits are baby feeders, yes, but also sexual objects, just as much as weiners and hoo-haas. You ladies just get two large girl penises to flaunt on your chest while men get one man penis in their pants.
If I whipped out captain Stu, damn straight I’d expect women to look… probably point, and also giggle at such a nub. That said, women damn well know what’s going to happen when they whip out their pseudo-sexual organs at the beach. At least you ladies have the option, hm?
But you don’t want your fun-bags ogled? Oh, my! I guess you better not openly display them to sexually mature men with a normal, natural sex drive then! Tan them in a tanning both, then! I’d have to if I wanted one-eyed Willy tanned.
I’m thoroughly tired of women exposing themselves and then being shocked and disgusted when men stare at them. You’re giving a free show. Deal with it or go somewhere private, for Christ’s sake.
The forbidden element of naked boobs is no small part of what makes them so incredibly interesting. The best way for women to avoid having their tits ogled would be for all of them to take them out and parade them around as much as possible. Men would get bored with it quickly enough as soon as the novelty wore off.
It sure works in looking at nudie pics. Or even flat out porn. Once you get used to it, it looses a lot of its appeal. That’s why you wind up looking for harder stuff.
As for the topic: There’s the whole male urinal thing. Some make it out to be a little more exacting than it is but it is a real thing. You should prefer the urinal that is not next to someone if available, and should wait a reasonable amount of time for space to clear up before choosing one beside someone else. And then you have to do that elevator thing where you make it very clear you aren’t looking at them.
That’s another one–don’t look at people in the elevator or any other time you are required to encroach on their space. If you can, turn your body away. If you need to talk, do not make eye contact.
And as for the other subject: learn to oggle without making it so obvious. Look out of the corner of your eye, and keep your gaze moving. Use the reasonable fiction of actually looking at something else. And change your gaze if it looks like you’ve been caught, but in a natural way that makes it look like you weren’t looking at all.
And, since you’re at the beach, you can get away with the biggest cheat–wear sunglasses.
I asssumed normal behaviour was to smile and say “Hi” or “Good morning” or some such when entering an elevator or someone entering when I’m already in there.
So, what do you go in and stand in the corner facing it?