Aside from men being horny in the 1800s, and this being a holdover since that time, is there any actual reason why this hasn’t changed?
If society was dominated by women, would this be more likely to change?
I was sweating my ass off hiking in the hot sun, and the question has been bothering me all day after my top soaked through with sweat.
In many countries in public spaces women can be topless wherever men can. Sadly it doesn’t mean they feel safe/comfortable doing so.
Because of creeps, freaks, and prudes
You know, I’ve been in places with lots of nudity, and for the first day or so all you want to do is look. Then after that you stop looking and it just becomes normal. I imagine if women going topless was more common, guys would not look any more than they currently do.
Reading the comments made me wonder how people react to elderly people in a female body and those considered unattractive who go topless. It’s probably still harassment?
Yeah. We don’t get harassed because those men find us attractive. It’s because they want to make us uncomfortable.
They can, but harassment from men keeps lots of women from doing so. We already get harassed when we’re covered.
Women compensate by only wearing the shortest of shorts during winter while men cover their ankles.
Man here
If you ladies wanna walk around shirtless at the gym and work out I personally have no objection and I promise I won’t say a word to you.
However you are going get looks, a lot of them.
As a cis male, I’m totally in favor of this idea.
In fact, I went to school in Germany and I was throwing a frisbee with some friends in the park. It was a beautiful summer day, which was rare, and I retrieved the disc that landed near an attractive young lady sunning herself topless. I still think of her fondly.
And this comment is why women often do not go topless, even if the laws in a country allow it.
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Someone’s jerked off to a memory
Actually he did it right there in the park
In much of Europe and North America, female toplessness is legal. As for why women don’t take advantage of it when exercising, breast movement varies from annoyance to uncomfortable and throwing off momentum depending upon size. As a result, many women exercise wearing what is most convenient: a sports-bra top. However, concerns about harassment are sadly valid.
Women are the majority of voting age adults, but they aren’t a homogeneous group voting exclusively on gender. 45% of women voted for Trump in 2024.
As a male who exercises in high heat on occasion (35-38c), I have never once thought that I’d rather be naked. I wear breathable, light colored clothing. I also wear a top. Sun burns aren’t healthy.
breast movement varies from annoyance to uncomfortable
As a teenager and young woman, not being able to find a good super supportive sports bra for my weird size was one of the reasons I stopped trying to exercise.
I still hold my boobs automatically when taking the stairs or when I run somewhere. Otherwise it hurts and feels like my breasts are being torn away from my body.
I’m sorry you gave up exercise because of this. Female friends telling me the same is what inspired me to write the response. One was an amazing long distance runner who had breast reduction surgery in high school so she could continue her passion.
Sports bras are a necessary evil for many women. It’s not a societal restriction but a physical preference for less discomfort.
Kudos to your friend going through with a reduction to pursue her passion!
In my case, I have a very small band width, so I cannot shop in regular stores. (In my city, there is exactly one shop that has my size.) As a teen and young woman, I simply didn’t have the money to even consider a 50€ sports bra, let alone a 100€+ one. And since the selection is super limited, I didn’t even find one in my size that would - no matter the money - give enough support for comfort.
Funnily enough, regular wired bras with cups still ended up giving better support than any sports bra I could find. But they still only work so well. (And I, by far, wasn’t as passionate about sports as to get a reduction, or spend my limited bra money on a semi working, ugly sports bra.)
My friend was committed, but it helped that it was not uncommon for larger endowed teens where I grew up. Doctors openly discussed the option and it was covered by government health insurance.
I can sympathize with the difficulty of finding the right size. It wasn’t until my wife traveled to her country of ancestry and measured at a department store in her 20s that she finally obtained her first bras that truly fit. They still weren’t cheap. I think that is when I learned the burden of what is, for most, a medical support garment.
And that is what I find so frustrating. Bras should be treated like a medical device: basic models that fit well should be covered by government health care. The 200-400% markup in most prices is outrageous, and there would be a positive return for society with women more confident in more activities.
Of course, I live in the United States, so we’ve regressed to the point of figuring out whether dying of communicable diseases is bad.
I’m a dude, we seldom think about these kinds of things until women bring them up then suddenly women disliking having large boobs makes a lot more sense. Sounds like a bit of a raw deal, fun to look at, terrible to own.
I personally don’t want a boner at the gym, I really wish men only gyms were a thing
Dude. If have enough remaining brainpower to ogle women at the gym and enough blood flow to spare to give you a boner I can assure you you’re barely working out.
Learn to focus.
That said, being topless (for both men and women) in a gym is gross. Don’t leave sweat everywhere. The question is for running outside…
Lol I can deadlift max weight and still get hard 5 minutes later, maybe see a doctor? If anything I get harder easier after excercise because of the blood flow
I’m a grower, I wear boxer briefs, it’s just all around uncomfortable to get aroused in public lol, it’s not a choice personally, if I could have no sexual feelings when outside id be down actually, men also have to wear shirts at my gym, think its a common rule
I hate the no reason boxers. I was told the would stop in high school…
Everyones fit and wearing basically swimsuits while recording themselves with tripods trying to get tiktok famous, so theres a reason, I actually never had this issue before everyone tried to be a workout influencer, the last decade the gym has become a bit much
You can learn self-control.
Teach, don’t preach. This things got a mind of it’s own. If you know how to turn off my doppelwanger don’t keep it to yourself.
I’ve gotten rock hard looking at sand. Fucking sand. Don’t tell me we can control it.
If you’re actually working out you don’t have blood flow to spare to have a boner…
And if as you say you can have a boner looking at sand it and don’t control it it seems to me like having topless women around shouldn’t influence that much the odds you get a boner.
If im at the gym for an hour and a half I take like 5-10 minutes breaks between sets, I max weights and my gym has enough room usually to where ppl arent waiting for the area? Idk anyone who just works out continuously, yeah if I’m actively squatting/deadlifting, I wont get hard but for the breaks in between its a possibility. And it’s more like it starts up and goes back down, rather than staying up? But since it grows it’s never in a comfortable spot to get hard, itll grow like straight forward.
My wife thinks that we can erect and/or ejaculate at will. Yeah. That not how it works.
Just like any other emotion arousal is a response to a thought. It’s a wave of experience that’s washing over you. That part you can control but it’s less important here. The important part is the thought triggering the arousal. When you are in a situation where you think you can experience sexual outcomes (even if just fantasy) you’re likely to trigger your arousal response and pop a boner. These thoughts can also be tied to set and setting. You probably trained yourself not to have erections around family or in places with social stigma around it like most public places. So you have to recognize that you’re having a thought of sexualization, then you can reframe the setting as an inappropriate one for sexual arousal.
In the moment you can respond with deep breathing meditation if that helps. Focus on your breathing and think about the thought and (paradoxically) feel the feelings the thought brings. You’re doing two things. 1. You’re changing your learned response by doing something other than sexualizing a random stranger or sand (which ironically, being silica, is technically rock hard). 2. You’re learning how to recognize the thought, emotion and mechanics of it’s development to better manipulate it.
It’s not like it’s quick and easy, it can take a while and some effort, but not being a pest nor feeling guilty about contributing to women’s daily difficulty is imo worth it. Not only does this make you a better more approachable person in public but learning about your own arousal can make you last longer (if that’s an issue) and have better, more intense and rewarding sex/pleasure. Win win imo!
I used to imagine dead/rotton/gross things, doesn’t work anymore, now I try to get sad about dogs dying, etc.
🤣
I avoid any issues? I just stare at the ground or ceiling the whole time, would like to be able to just not have to worry about that and have an all male gym.
And like if I get one I can make it go away, it just hurts initially, because it goes from 1 inch to 6 very quickly and its never in a proper position in my shorts to expand. I can have max control, but if I suddenly see something it may just happen, like I still make it go away by thinking about something else to be clear lol.
Ooh that doesn’t sound nice, you shouldn’t be hurting yourself.
I’m suggesting you learn [train yourself] to be in the presence of women comfortably without even having to worry about getting an erection. It makes it a lot easier to get to know women.
But if you want a men’s only gym there’s plenty of hole-in-the-wall places called “Iron Pounders” or something like that. At-home weights are also widely available.
Like the equipment is super nice and it’s got everything, they did recentlly add cardio machines after not having them for years which prob caused the shift of gender
Yeah I’m setting up an at home gym slowly, the local gym is new and really nice tho, was men only without wanting to be for 4 years, randomly shifted and now its 50/50
Seems you have a plan. Good luck!
Maybe it’s a mix of fear and knowing i’m not supposed to look or possibly getting caught on camera accdientally looking st someone. Just the gym setting makes it uncomfortable and taboo maybe? idk
The taboo is starring/oggling or catcalling a stranger. If you look people in the eyes/face and don’t linger then no one is going to care except people who would have been a bother in any case.
Idk it’s only an issue at the gym, I goto raves bonerfree lol
You know why. What the heck kind of question is that?
Men. That’s why.
There was a movement to decriminalise women being topless (because it is actively criminalised in a lot of places). Unfortunately it’s fallen off. It’s particularly ridiculous because women are the ones who have an actual need to expose their breasts in public, ie some women need to breastfeed—no men need to.
Some people get turned on seeing topless men but it’s not a sex crime for men to be shirtless in public. Free the nipple 2025
Pretty sure breastfeeding is protected all over the US. It certainly is in Florida.
I’m not even big in that department, don’t wear a bra for yoga, but running? That needs a sport bra, and working outside I wear long sleeves to keep the sun off.
I do think beaches here should allow topless suits for women though. That might go a long way towards desexualizing simple nudity, people would get used to it. I agree that it ought not be a rule that you have to cover your boobs at all if you don’t want to.
It’s legal where I live, but nobody does it cause women don’t wanna be stared at and cat called when they’re walking around titties out
A few women I’ve asked are happy with it being illegal - they say they just don’t want to see it. I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who wants it to stay illegal, because for the most part they do want to see it
As a guy I kinda laugh to myself about those guys who walk around without a shirt on down the street
Yeah. There’s the dudes who have spent a lot of time at the gym, and really want the opportunity to let everyone know that. Then there’s the schlubby dudes who are just feeling too hot and DGAF what anyone else thinks. Not sure who’s more worthy of respect, there
^Real answer. It’s not just men, you’d definitely get stared at by everybody lol. It’s not bad but I notice a few stares here and there just going without a bra
That’s only because it’s unusual though. If more people did it, people would stop noticing.
Tbh, I’d much prefer if no one did.
At least in very public spaces like streets.
They also don’t want to be photographed and end up with their tits all over social media. Places where this used to be routine (European beaches and so on) there is a lot less of this than 30 years ago. Another thing mobiles phones and social media have made worse
My mom seemed to always have them out.
And we all loved her for that.
Giving the perfect example why this is not done
