Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2018 March 26

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March 26

Strange anomalies

• It's OK to show a man's nipples in public, but it's not OK to show a woman's nipples.
• It's OK to show the clear shape and size of a woman's breasts through her clothing, and depending on the setting she can even be economical with her clothing and allow a large area of her breasts (except for her nipples) to be exposed - but it's not OK to show the clear shape and size of a man's genitals, either exposed or through clothing.

What is behind these strange anomalies? (Obviously, there are cases, such as nude bathing, where exceptions to the above apply. Ignore these cases.) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 11:23, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

_{Isn't bathing always done in the nude?} Zyc1174 _chat? ^{what I did} 03:04, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Which particular culture and period are you asking about? I have lived in a culture where no one worried if a woman showed her breasts - but showing her legs was quite unacceptable. Then there was a time in Europe where cod-pieces were worn to show off the size and shape of male genitals. In each case there are reasons behind those customs. Wymspen (talk) 12:18, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

Topic already covered in articles Nudity, Toplessness, and Topfreedom. Dimadick (talk) 15:46, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

• (edit conflict) Wikipedia has articles titled Mores, Value (ethics), Social norm, Sexual ethics, Sexism, Nudity, Toplessness, all of which and many more could lead the OP to insight as to the origin of these particular double standards regarding western cultural norms. It's not the sort of thing which can be answered with a simple answer, and requires much study into the history of gender and sex cultural norms, mores, and politics. --Jayron32 15:50, 26 March 2018 (UTC)

• Thanks, all. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 23:06, 27 March 2018 (UTC)

Resolved

Hey @JackofOz:, you may be interested in reading some of these relevant past discussions [1] [2] on the reference desk. I seem to recall that we had an article specifically about men's crotch "bulges", but all I can find at present is Packing_(phallus) and tucking. And if you want to see a whole bunch of bulging crotches in a modern Western culture, head to San Fransisc sometime near one of their many festivals ;) SemanticMantis (talk) 16:21, 30 March 2018 (UTC)

My beating heart would not survive such a cornucopia of carnality. But thanks for the offer.  :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:41, 30 March 2018 (UTC)