Casual Shirtlessness

I recently watched a movie from the 80's. What struck me about it was that there was a lot of casual shirtlessness. It was an old Disney movie, so you know it's all innocent and child-safe. Now, movies today show a lot of shirtlessness, but it tends to be treated quite differently. Shirtless men in movies these days are mostly put on display, deliberately included for eye candy. Often, it seems quite contrived that the buffest star in the movie gets plenty of skin time. The stars train and preen for their big screen appearance. In more "innocent" films, shirtless exposure may be minimized, even when the plot calls for it.

But what I saw here was casual shirtlessness. It wasn't contrived, it was quite natural. They are not super-buff stars, with their own team of trainers, and their perfect tans. They are normal guys, men and boys. They can be seen in some scenes simply milling about a crowd, and no one treats them differently or gives them strange looks.

The young boy in the lead role is seen to sleep shirtless.

And young boys play shirtless in the yard, quite naturally.

I actually suspect the modern presentation of shirtless males as something sexy and provocative is partly to blame for the decline in casual shirtlessness seen in everyday life. The Running Shirtless blog covered a similar topic, brought up in a comment. Thus, while shirtless men are increasingly seen in media and advertising, they become increasingly taboo in daily life. Taking off your shirt is seen as showing off, inciting lust, provocative. We have a special tolerance for things we see on TV, too. We overlook language on TV that we would object to in person. In the same way, we might let children watch a movie where the male star is flexing his shirtless muscles, but then get offended when a guy goes shirtless in the park. "Doesn't he know there are children here?"

I hope we as a culture can combat this tarnishing of innocence. Why should shirtlessness be something dirty, or even provocative? Can we return to the innocence I saw in this movie, and learn to enjoy casual shirtlessness again?

Innocence and decency

Why does it seem that some people these days want to treat male shirtlessness as if it is somehow dirty? Of course, most wouldn't say it so bluntly, but if you asked why guys can't take their shirts off at the gym, for instance, you might get an answer like, "This is a family-friendly establishment", or "It's a modesty (or decency) thing". The implication, of course, is that a shirtless man would have been indecent, immodest, and inappropriate for families with small children. Strangely enough, most of the same people might not have had an objection to a bare chested man at the beach or pool, but might have qualms about the same man in a gym or other establishment. While again, I am not trying to establish that men should go shirtless anywhere and everywhere, there is no reason for a shirtless man to be considered indecent, particularly in places where it has often been customary for men to go shirtless and where there is good reason for it (comfort while working out, for instance).

Shirtless freedom isn't about men vainly showing off their bodies, and it's not about sexual innuendo. Rather, it's a matter of comfort and simple innocence. Think of a group of boys playing shirts versus skins. They aren't being lewd, in fact, they probably haven't given much thought to the idea of being seen shirtless. They just aren't concerned with such things. Most guys tend to want to be on the skins side, simply for the comfort of being shirtless.

As a last example, I am going to reference the classic TV program from the 50s, a veritable symbol of decency and innocence, Leave it to Beaver. Here we have Beaver and Wally getting ready to play ball.

And here getting ready to go snorkeling.

Wally reading a book on the lawn, enjoying the sun on his shirtless back.

And Wally working out shirtless.

Just normal innocent boys, comfortable and free. Why don't we all learn to enjoy this innocence?