Why do people need to hide their "private parts"?

Answer 1

You have to keep in mind the direction that these exposure taboos have been going and some of the currently existing parallels.

In the Victorian era, for example, a woman exposing her bare legs was considered indecent. Even as late as the 1960's it was considered indecent in many places in America for a woman to expose her navel. So, depending on your culture and the time you're referencing, there may be lots and lots of 'private parts'.

In many areas of the world today, it is STILL indecent for a woman to show her hair or her face, to say nothing of the rest of the body! There are likewise places where women are mutilated medically in various ways (such as breast ironing and female circumcision) to make them less attractive or sexually aware.

Many of these latter cultures suggest that such means MUST be taken to prevent women from becoming sexual creatures, and either through their own will running off or being raped by lascivious men. I think that's a strong hint about many of the origins of these taboos. Even in the supposedly strict Puritan colonies in early America, records show ridiculous amounts of sexual 'crimes' (crimes mostly because of the strict standards) and a census taken when Massachusettes was made a state showed that half of all children were born out of wedlock.

Thus it seems that most taboos about using clothing to conceal body parts have mostly to do with inhibiting sex. Now, if you want to know why so many societies want and wanted to interfere with so much sex, that's a whole different subject...

Answer 2

Aside form keeping oneself warm (for the "tribes" that were in the colder environment), the tribes that lived in the warmer environment probably wore clothes over their genitals for protection from the elements. They probably caught on that this was an extra-special area of their bodies that needed to be protected, so they covered it. Maybe after a couple decades after it started, they were used to wearing clothing over their genitals that they started to feel exposed or uncomfortable when they were unexposed. I don't know, this is just my 1:45am brain trying to put a semi-coherant thought together.

Answer 3

Modesty, for the most part,(pardon the pun). Also, in different cultures any body part can be 'private'.

Answer 4

because people dont need to see that stuff and it is called "private part" jk {just kidding}

Answer 5

Because not everyone wants to see it. Also it would only create lustful images in peoples minds and that would result in more crimes.

Answer 6

It's called, in my opinion, RESPECT! respect your body, respect other peoples bodies and most of all respect the society that you live in.
We could all run around naked if there weren't so many perverts out there that would take our nakeness as an invitation to rape, molest and in otherwords harm us.

Answer 7

Because our society created clothes

Answer 8

Some think they look ugly

Others don't care to see it.

Decent people just don't.

Answer 9

If you got to see them all the time it wouldn't be fun getting naked together anymore.

Answer 10

Because they're used sexually and for extraction of waste. And both of those are taboo.