is male nudity unacceptable in the west?

[Sam0021]

sorry new here but i have one question that i have not been able to find answer in many years so coming here for answer(please be kind while answering ).
in the west, female nudity is very very common, and almost expected but male nudity is always looked down upon and always associated with being gay or something unacceptable. on the beach, women wear bikini, g strings, thongs and other skimpy clothing all the time but as soon as u see a man wearing a brief type swimwear (leave thong aside), its considered bad, rude, gayish, and even worse. and let's be honest, at any given beach in the west, i think almost 90% of women wear skimpy clothing and maybe 10% of men would be wearing skimpy clothing (including some gays). Not only that, in the gym, women's clothing is much skimpier than men. I heard from my friends in the west that any men wearing briefs as underwear is gay or something bad. even in parties & normal wear, women clothing are much shorter and maybe even sexualized. imagine men come to an office party wearing short shorts, then sky would fall lol but women wear mini skirts all the time. so, i would like to know what is the reason "in the west" that drives different standards for men and women in terms of nudity, but not in any other front. Is the reason that women are sexualized by the society (which include men and women) and men are not, but that can't be true, isnt it???? or is that men in the west are more shy than in other parts of the world? anyways, let me know your thoughts and if u can mention your country and ethinicity while answering, that would be great.
P.S: i know some of you will say this is a global phenomenon, but i have lived in other parts of the world, and it is not like this there. For example, at some countries, people wear almost full regular clothing at the beach (both men n women). and at some places, you will find all men in brief type swimwear and all women in bikinis.. at some places, around 90% of men wear bikini briefs as underwear, and even thongs are not considered gay

 

[Kanashi]

Attitude towards men's briefs & other smaller underwear

Just FYI there is already a thread that discusses this topic.

Who can say why society dictates the rules it does? Why is normal for women to wear dresses and skirts but not for men to? Why can men expose their shirtless torsos in public but women can't (not even to breastfeed or in other completely nonsexual situations?) Who made these rules and why does society follow them? That's a very difficult question to answer.

I don't know what you mean by "in the west, female nudity is very common." In my experience and in the state that I live in (Oklahoma,) it is absolutely not at all common. You may think females "show more skin," but that is not true either as I just mentioned men are able to walk around shirtless in public and women aren't. I’ve always found it odd that it's okay and acceptable for women to show cleavage if it's the top of their breast. But showing the bottom part of their breast is deemed "slutty" or "risque."

You simply have a standard set of guidelines that are generally followed. When someone doesn't follow said guidelines they are viewed as odd and called out. That's just how humans are period, in my experience and belief. Maybe other countries and societies are less likely to do this.

But just know that standards and rules change. In the 80s if a man had two ears peirced or only his right ear peirced, then he was considered gay. Nowadays it's very common for men to have multiple ear or body piercing. Body tattoos used to be looked done upon and now they are much much more common and accepted by society. Fanny packs used to be extremely common and then were considered "corny" and are now making a comeback. Fashion styles, especially, are a constant ebb and flow. To me, underwear falls into the "fashion" category.

 

[seventiesdemon]

Thank you for joining. Men can walk around half naked. On the beach, the same. No-one can walk around naked, pretty much the same anywhere except for countries where religious inhibitions rule.


I'm not a Gym Junkie. Never have been one to visit or participate. Women and men both wear whatever is comfortable. But hey, if you have a body that is fit, taught, tight....why not....might as well show it off before gravity does it's job, as it does on every living thing that walks.


Men and women are both self conscious, most of the time there is no need to be. There are rules in society in regard though about decency and display. It's a fine line at times.....but all societies realize the boundaries and why.

 

[inquis]

Not all Western countries have the same views about nudity. Most countries in Europe are comfortable with male (and female) nudity in discrete communal settings. This is less true in the Anglophone world.

But even in the Anglophone world, I think male nudity is tolerated on a similar level to female nudity.

Take movies and TV, for example. Male nudity is more common nowadays, and more likely to be explicit (i.e. full frontal). It's rare for women to show their uncovered vaginas on-screen.

On beaches, women's clothing is more skimpy in terms of skin coverage. But in Anglophone countries men can go topless without drawing attention, unlike women.

And in Anglophone locker rooms, it's more normalized for men to be naked compared to women.

The female body is more sexualized, for sure. But in terms of nudity, it balances out.

 

[Sam0021]

Attitude towards men's briefs & other smaller underwear

Just FYI there is already a thread that discusses this topic.

Who can say why society dictates the rules it does? Why is normal for women to wear dresses and skirts but not for men to? Why can men expose their shirtless torsos in public but women can't (not even to breastfeed or in other completely nonsexual situations?) Who made these rules and why does society follow them? That's a very difficult question to answer.

I don't know what you mean by "in the west, female nudity is very common." In my experience and in the state that I live in (Oklahoma,) it is absolutely not at all common. You may think females "show more skin," but that is not true either as I just mentioned men are able to walk around shirtless in public and women aren't. I’ve always found it odd that it's okay and acceptable for women to show cleavage if it's the top of their breast. But showing the bottom part of their breast is deemed "slutty" or "risque."

You simply have a standard set of guidelines that are generally followed. When someone doesn't follow said guidelines they are viewed as odd and called out. That's just how humans are period, in my experience and belief. Maybe other countries and societies are less likely to do this.

But just know that standards and rules change. In the 80s if a man had two ears peirced or only his right ear peirced, then he was considered gay. Nowadays it's very common for men to have multiple ear or body piercing. Body tattoos used to be looked done upon and now they are much much more common and accepted by society. Fanny packs used to be extremely common and then were considered "corny" and are now making a comeback. Fashion styles, especially, are a constant ebb and flow. To me, underwear falls into the "fashion" category.

thanks for your answer and I appreciate that you took the time to answer. however, reading it seems to me you have only lived in the western countries and not in any non-western countries and again i am not saying there's anything wrong or bad in it but just saying the nudity norms and acceptance are quite different in different parts of the world. your answer tend to assume that how it happens in the US or in your state, it happens the same way everywhere and humans everywhere live n think the same, but i am just saying its not true. Regarding cleavage, what you said is right for the west but still as of today, there are many countries where you showing cleavage is not okay for women, and being shirtless for men is not okay (and i think that's equality in a different way). and what i am asking is if you go on any beach in the US, if most women wear bikinis (which are unarguably skimpy) and most men wear board shorts, then there is a difference. and more so if a man wearing bikini type swimwear will be deemed as gay or seen in bad light, it means there is inequality. but if in your area at beaches, most women wear bikinis and most men wear bikini briefs (like speedos is one brand), then i can say my earlier comment is not valid... and i agree to your point regarding fashion trends change all the time, fully agreed. if in a room, every man wears speedos, so 1 man who wears boxers will definitely be singled out and maybe mocked upon too, but will he be considered gay just because he wears something different than others, most probably not.. and thats what my question is, why in the west, any man wearing smaller underwear is automatically termed as gay or queer, when women wearing bikinis are not termed lesbian or gay for that..

 

[Sam0021]

Not all Western countries have the same views about nudity. Most countries in Europe are comfortable with male (and female) nudity in discrete communal settings. This is less true in the Anglophone world.

But even in the Anglophone world, I think male nudity is tolerated on a similar level to female nudity.

Take movies and TV, for example. Male nudity is more common nowadays, and more likely to be explicit (i.e. full frontal). It's rare for women to show their uncovered vaginas on-screen.

On beaches, women's clothing is more skimpy in terms of skin coverage. But in Anglophone countries men can go topless without drawing attention, unlike women.

And in Anglophone locker rooms, it's more normalized for men to be naked compared to women.

The female body is more sexualized, for sure. But in terms of nudity, it balances out.

thanks for your answer, but i don't think there is same amount of nudity among men and women in the west. as you see any netflix or most mainstream movies, you will see female breasts (and they are sexualized while male chest are not), and female full frontal in almost every sex scenes. however, you will rarely rarely see male full frontal and most probably even if you see it, it will be shown in a non sexual or funny way, like taking shower, or a murder or fight scene..there is a thread here with softcore hunks and i think 99% of the scenes there show female full frontal but not male full frontal. in my opinion, i would say equality if they don't show frontal nudity for both men n women, or otherwise show for both.. like they show both men n women topless and thats equality...also, women are way more sexualized in the west...thats just my 2 cents on this..

 

[Kanashi]

your answer tend to assume that how it happens in the US or in your state, it happens the same way everywhere and humans everywhere live n think the same, but i am just saying its not true.

i apologize if my point was not clear, but i was trying to indicate that i can only give a perspective from how and where i was raised and where i've lived. i am not at all trying generalize and claim that it is the same for other parts of the usa or other western countries. it may not seem very noticeable to someone who doesn't live in the usa, but accepted styles and behaviors can vary quite drastically from one region of the country to another.

 

[Kanashi]

thanks for your answer, but i don't think there is same amount of nudity among men and women in the west. as you see any netflix or most mainstream movies, you will see female breasts (and they are sexualized while male chest are not), and female full frontal in almost every sex scenes. however, you will rarely rarely see male full frontal and most probably even if you see it, it will be shown in a non sexual or funny way, like taking shower, or a murder or fight scene..there is a thread here with softcore hunks and i think 99% of the scenes there show female full frontal but not male full frontal. in my opinion, i would say equality if they don't show frontal nudity for both men n women, or otherwise show for both.. like they show both men n women topless and thats equality...also, women are way more sexualized in the west...thats just my 2 cents on this..

i've been reading online about the subject of female vs male nudity in cinema online. this 20 year old article from Today offered some pretty interesting theories/explanations such as the entertainment industry is (at least was back then) mostly run by (heterosexual) males that like seeing naked women. other theories proposed are that males don't want to lose their dominance by being judged and objectified by others the same as they do to women.

it's interesting to me that since this article was written, cinema and tv has changed to where we're seeing much more male frontal nudity. however, a lot of it is prosthetics. so maybe the article has some valid points; that males really are afraid of being judged by their physical appearance (dick size) even though women have always been and continue to be.


Full-frontal nudity: Taboo for men

 

[678wsb]

Attitude towards men's briefs & other smaller underwear

Just FYI there is already a thread that discusses this topic.

Who can say why society dictates the rules it does? Why is normal for women to wear dresses and skirts but not for men to? Why can men expose their shirtless torsos in public but women can't (not even to breastfeed or in other completely nonsexual situations?) Who made these rules and why does society follow them? That's a very difficult question to answer.

I don't know what you mean by "in the west, female nudity is very common." In my experience and in the state that I live in (Oklahoma,) it is absolutely not at all common. You may think females "show more skin," but that is not true either as I just mentioned men are able to walk around shirtless in public and women aren't. I’ve always found it odd that it's okay and acceptable for women to show cleavage if it's the top of their breast. But showing the bottom part of their breast is deemed "slutty" or "risque."

You simply have a standard set of guidelines that are generally followed. When someone doesn't follow said guidelines they are viewed as odd and called out. That's just how humans are period, in my experience and belief. Maybe other countries and societies are less likely to do this.

But just know that standards and rules change. In the 80s if a man had two ears peirced or only his right ear peirced, then he was considered gay. Nowadays it's very common for men to have multiple ear or body piercing. Body tattoos used to be looked done upon and now they are much much more common and accepted by society. Fanny packs used to be extremely common and then were considered "corny" and are now making a comeback. Fashion styles, especially, are a constant ebb and flow. To me, underwear falls into the "fashion" category.

Your point about the gym is something I never understood. I always see people going on and on about what women wear to the gym. Meanwhile, men wear stringers or even work out shirtless (not that I'm complaining).

If a woman shows off skin or wears tight fitting gym attire, they just want attention. If a guy does the same thing, it's to show off their gains or cool off.