Going shirtless is a great way to enhance the experience. Not just because it more comfortable — although it is, especially in hot weather — but because it helps you feel more at one with nature. It is like returning to a more primitive state. For many, it is symbolic of casting off the stresses and constraints of modern life, if just for a while, to experience true recreation.
Of course, the outdoors is also a great place to begin experiencing greater freedom with going shirtless and greater acceptance of your own body, because it is socially acceptable, often even expected. But it can also be a particularly enriching experience. And it can be a great bonding experience among friends, as well.
So I want to encourage you this summer to go seek out the wild spaces, peel off your shirt, soak in the majesty, push away cares and worries, and experience a unique oneness with nature. You won’t regret it.
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Attractive collection of pix.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Welcome back!
I went running shirtless for the first time yesterday and it felt amazing. I'd like to find a running buddy who feels comfortable doing the same.
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ReplyDeleteI've ridden my bicycle around the neighborhood shirtless all the time, refuse to ride my bike with a shirt on.
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ReplyDeleteI went to the supermarket shirtless today. Another guy was looking at my abs - maybe admiring them. I often get on public transport shirtless. I have been shirtless in libraries and a fast food restaurant. I have never had any problems except one old bus driver who told me I needed to be 'appropriately dressed' to ride a public bus. I told him it was just a body and caught the next bus with no issue. The young driver was very polite to me. I think my generation (the young generation) is much more liberal and unconcerned with showing skin. Modesty is a thing of the past. I still dress up for formal occasions but I'm shirtless when it's hot and/or sunny (for Vitamin D) and the situation is casual. I encourage all males to do the same unless he's obese because that would create a bad reputation for shirtless males. We want people to admire and respect shirtless guys so the movement can spread without resistance. Once it's normal, THEN obese guys can go shirtless too :)
ReplyDeleteI also go rock climbing shirtless. Nobody notices really. It's quite normal to be shirtless when rock climbing. I like to do physical activity shirtless. I workout at parks shirtless. I was told to put a top on when I was in group fitness at a gym but I refused. Some gyms don't mind and some gyms do. It's a bit silly that some gyms don't let men exercise shirtless. Exercise is the most appropriate time to go shirtless!
ReplyDeletethis time of year I will seek any opportunity to take my shirt off and keep it off for as long as possible. As a matter of fact, the only time I really wear a shirt at home of when I have company, or if I'm going out or when it's too cold.its usually just casual for me especially since I don't like wearing shirts, I've gone bike riding shirtless several times, and look forward to when can go shirtless in the car,I'm also shirtless for yard work and when I'm painting a room too
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm sorry to see that this blog hasn't been updated lately. Feel free to publish this as a guest post!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy being shirtless in public, and I love the "danger" of going out without a safety shirt, as it's called on this blog. I wanted to mention one last (non-water-related) place where it is completely socially acceptable to be shirtless: outdoor hard rock festivals! The last two times I went to the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California, including last year, I went through the entry gates without having a shirt with me, and therefore I had no choice but be shirtless for the whole day and into the evening's band performances. I don't notice anyone else going in bare-chested, but inside the gates there are plenty of shirtless dudes. That's particularly true in the mosh pits, where it's not uncommon to be surrounded on all sides by sweaty shirtless guys crushing up against you, all having a great time. I think a lot of guys start by taking off their shirt due to the heat, as I did, but then realize that with the pressure and the constant motion of bodies against you, it's much less painful and irritating to not have your wet shirt grinding against someone else's, and even less so if skin is sliding against skin. (Admittedly, the sweat does a minute to get used to, but then it becomes kind of primal and you forget about it.) The norms of personal space break down in such conditions, and you don't think twice if a stranger behind you puts their hands or an elbow on your shoulders, gives your buzz-cut a friendly rub, or offers a spontaneous high-five. Everyone is friends in there, and there's a great sense of community and camaraderie — for example if you fall down from the ruckus, people will swoop in to help you up.
So, while I agree that public shirtlessness is on the decline and getting increasingly frowned upon, I wanted to point out a place where it's not only normal, it's practically celebrated!
Hiking shirtless is the norm for me.
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