The male breast has not been made illegitimate or shameful as has the female breast. Which is the whole point of Sarah Stroh's blog post.

@mischl I don't think the female breast has been made illegitimate or shameful, I think it has been sexualized even though its fundamental purpose is biological.

@LovinLarge It is against the laws in many places in the U.S. for women to expose their breasts. That simple indisputable fact is the point of the writer's post.

@mischl This article says 33 states allow it, but I did not fact check it. I am saying that the motivation for the double standard is the sexualization of women's breasts, and I make this point because getting to the "why" might help us solve the problem.

[therichest.com]

@LovinLarge lt is called male biology and the way most men are wired. There is nothing wrong with sex or sexual desires. The taboo of sex and the idea it is dirty is societal. The way men feel about women and sex is not going to change no matter how hard some women would like it to change. They way some men feel women are inferior or should be submissive to men is also societal. And that should and must change.

@Sticks48 If that were true, the sexualization of female breasts would be universal among cis men and that is not my observation. I have known many men who recognize that the sexualization of things and places that are not inherently sexual is an affront to gender equality.

Totally agree, women need to stop raping men.

@SnowyOwl Is that a joke, or a slam? If the latter, I wasn't talking about women at all, in case I somehow gave you that mistaken impression.
I simply was saying it's possible ONE of the reasons some men develop extremely unhealthy sexual pathologies is our culture's pathologically negative attitude regarding sex in general. Not to excuse it, and not to say it's the ONLY reason (sexual abuse, or witnessing or experiencing domestic violence, or a criminally amoral profit motive, etc.), just one factor. I certainly wasn't trivializing what I know is a very complicated issue.

Normal instincts are considered evil is true in conservatives societies and to my surprise in the US too. Western Europe is more open.

@St-Sinner I'd say the U.S. is extremely schizophrenic when it comes to sex and everything else. A theocracy is right around the corner, and when it's in place the conservatives will have achieved the upper hand, one they will never again in our lifetimes give up.

Well they both seem to have health issues, the guy on the left needs to sort out his issues with overeating and the gal on the right needs to start eating.

"Admire" is not applicable for me. I've seen plenty of naked women of all body shapes among the clothing free beaches and parks in several countries, and I've been a member of two naturist clubs in the U.S. It is OKAY for you to want to play naked in the sun even if you're not movie star material. And frankly, I DO admire people who've been disfigured in one way or another, who manage to overcome their own body shaming and enjoy some time in the sun.

@SnowyOwl They are both females.

@MsKathleen Everything is so gender fluid that it's hard to tell anymore.

@mischl I changed it to “appreciate”…your word. “appreciate this young lady for sharing her fear of going topless where men are topless”. My point was that your example was a “perfect-figure” young woman less than half your age. If you don’t “appreciate” all ages and body types, you’re lying to yourself about what it is you “appreciate”.

@MsKathleen Half my age? Au contraire. She is about one fourth my age. But my poster girl aside, one of the nicest ladies in my naturist club is old, wrinkled, with flabby boobs and nips that hang down to her waist. She's my favorite woman of the group. She's wise, irreverent, very friendly, and has got her shit together. She completely understands men, and I'm sure she's sampled more than her share. She's well traveled and well educated. We often sit together and swap stories and dirty jokes. She would probably let me post a nude of her on this site, but I imagine most people wouldn't properly appreciate it.

Yes, I recall reading material like that. I'd love to find that information again.

I have to use my imagination to try to appreciate the "shock" of seeing a naked breast. Because I've seen thousands. And I'm not exaggerating. I overcame my Baptist-repressed childhood so long ago. Of course, by now that conditioning has been pushed largely out of my mind.