Why are we forced to wear clothes in public places?

Question

Obviously in cold climates people wear clothes to keep warm. My question is about places where this need is fulfilled without clothes. I know of some cultures where women go topless, but I haven't heard of any where the men don't cover their penises. I'm wondering why this is. My guess is that men started covering their penises to hide the times that they were sexually aroused. To further this, women were made to start wearing clothes so that men wouldn't get sexually aroused as often. Any other thoughts on this? To me, clothes seem to be an illogical part of human cultures. Maybe I am missing something.

Lots of answers say that people don't want to have to look at other people naked because many people are ugly. If we were all brought up to accept that being naked was normal, seeing an ugly person's body would be just like seeing an ugly person's face is right now. The stigma attached to naked bodies is to us from birth. I really asked this question to know we started wearing clothes even though no other animals do (such as chimpanzees).

Answer 1

Societal construct that nudity is bad which is programmed into each consecutive generation.

Answer 2

I would think that public hygiene is a big factor in why people are expected to wear clothes in public places. Just imagine park benches or public transit seats that are covered in sweat from someone's buttocks. Not exactly a pleasant thought. Or would you want any germs from someone who has a contagious illness because there were no clothes separating the infected person's body and the public surface?

If you want to be naked, go right ahead. There are places for that kind of thing. Nudist/naturalist beaches, your own home/backyard, etc.

As for your explaination about the need to cover up sexual body parts, well, that is for safety reasons. Would you trust your kids to be playing naked in a playground where pedophiles may lurk?

Answer 3

Yeah, there was that neat story about Adam and Eve, which was more or less an allegory highlighting misogyny and shame. Then religion decided everyone should be ashamed of everything about themselves. This created a culture with heightened focus on the physical aspects of one another as opposed to personality (which is underlined by Hollywood, because they are all beautiful and they are all overrated humans, plus their nudity commands more money than we pay our teachers). Then the fashion industry took over and made us ashamed of not only our bodies, but our choice in coverage.


But mostly because the people in charge say so. When you take charge, you can make the rules.

Answer 4

Well, hygiene for one thing.

Also - really - do you want to be looking at house with the real estate person or having your car fixed by a mechanic who has no clothes on (or when you don't have clothes on)? Our culture just kind of has the thing where in public there's a bunch of things people can't do, while they're free to do what they want in their own homes.

Also, there are realities about sexuality that our culture doesn't want going on. People want a more refined culture than one in which nobody wears clothes and whoever sees whoever else in a sexual way is fine.

Our culture is more sophisticated and refined than the culture of places where people don't worry about wearing clothing, so the price to pay for a more refined culture (when it comes to this particular issue) is loss of the wild freedom that comes from living where everyone runs around naked. (Picture a bunch of people riding the bus to work without clothes on.) Some people may see beauty in nakedness, but a whole lot of people see something really way-too-crude and inelegant (and in some cases, disgusting - whether that's a good way to look at it or not).

It is absolutely logical that with the increased sophistication of a culture should also come an increased sophistication in the way people cover up or don't. (Think of the more complicated clothing that goes with, say, a formal ball or an important meeting at work as compared to, say, a morning exercise walk or a game of catch.) While there may be logic in the way clothing increases with the level of refinement or importance of something, you may not see the logic in one group of people running around naked while another group wears three-piece-suits and ties. The logic in that is, again, different cultures/different levels of refinement/sophistication.

Whoever was the first one to think of how covering up certain stuff might make for a more civilized culture (as you mentioned in your question) was on to something, and the "fashion trend" apparently caught on like wildfire in most cultures. Humanity has evolved to a certain level of refinement in most cultures, and if there's a culture where people still go around without covering up, they're the ones who are lagging to some degree in cultural refinement. They aren't necessarily to be seen as models for more refined cultures.

People in other cultures don't always have the sparkling=clean, porcelain and tiled, bathrooms we have either, but we don't long for the good-old-days when our culture had less refinement in this area......

Answer 5

I should think the reason would be fairly obvious, but in case not: primarily for comfort--cold isn't the only issue, you know, as sunburn can really make you miserable, not to mention that clothing provides insulation against bugs and various hostile livestock, and against your fellowman's sensibilities. That, I think, most of all. If you look like Heidi Klum, no problem, but as most of us don't, well, it also protects against comparison--a function not at all to be disparaged.
As to the arousal issue, far likelier to have been so he wouldn't have to worry about being compared with anyone else. Men are generally rather sensitive on the subject. Plus, covering that delicate organ makes it lots less vulnerable in times of discord or personal combat. Leaving out the protection from toxic plantlife, with which that particular organ would be especially miserable.
Why are you forced...? The most obvious reason, because not everyone is so apparently open-minded as yourself, or as comfortable showing their body off in public.
And, personally, I think the reason most women wear clothes, in public and in private, is that they're fun.

Answer 6

i take it then that you live in the temperate zone where it general warm all year round, the need to cover ourselves extends even to animals such as the ape family especially when it gets cold.

The apes will cover themselves with huge leaves if they can find them much like we would use a blanket.

the earliest man who lived in milder climates such as exist in Europe wore a 'blanket'-the skin of a large animal- when it was cold and this only after they 'discovered' the concept i assume one of the hunter-gatherer's saw a chimpanzee do it, and then tried it also, first a leaf and then later as his smarts kicked in a skin. On discovering that he was no cold, not that he was warm he continued to wear the skin in the cold. Others in his clan or tribe would very quickly follow suit, and so to would other tribes.


as man like all other animals is a territorial animal, we guard our property no matter what is size, and unlike the true animal, we want to increase our property, so when two of these opposing tribe members meet when it is cold and they covered by the skins of animals they would attack each other as was done in the past, but now with one major difference, if one 'man' wore his skin with the head attached i.e. with the top of the skull still attached to the skin it would cover him but not hinder his movements, it would drape over him like a cloak and as the head is an ideal target for a clulb the 'built-in' skull would protect him from blows which would normally injure him now just bounce off, the other 'man' who is just wrapped in a skin, would now lose it in the fight, which will now become one-sided, when our 'man' realizes how easy it was to defeat another 'man' he will by whatever means available show the others in his tribe what he has 'discovered', this would most likely be a show-and-tell, he and others within his immediate tribe would most likely be outfitted the same way, so all that he would have to do is mock attack a fellow tribe member, and show them. it was this fight that led to clothing, clothes were not first worn to cover nakedness they were worn for protection, clothes to cover nudity or the idea that be naked was wrong occured only when one group remained in the cold climate and remained covered, neccesity would dicate that the covering coat of skin be changed to suit the need, a tent-like full animal skin would be bulkly and would get in the way of performing some tasks, now if you bend a wire eventually the wire will break at the bend, these first 'coats' would just dried out and become stiff with age, and they also would decay, so when then supply skin begins to dryout the natural fold at the elbow would stiffen and start to act like our bit of wire, and eventually break off leaving the body covered but the arm free. i could go on but your imagination is probably already where i am headed. you can contact me and i can go further then.

Answer 7

humans started covering themselves up after adam and eve ate the forbidden fruit. but other than that, it's just societal norms that people have to wear clothing. i know guys won't mind seeing girls naked, but do you really want to see an old lady's sagging breasts? and oh! not wearing clothing is not a good idea for those guys who have small, crooked or malformed you know whats. then they'll never ever get a chance with anyone. lol

Answer 8

The next time you're out in public really look at all the people around you, not just the ones you find attractive. Truthfully, would you want to see EVERYONE naked?

Answer 9

Because most naked people don't look like the airbrushed photos we see! If people so me naked they would beg me to put some clothes on.

Answer 10

Employers would desire to grasp religious alternatives and not discriminate on the inspiration of religion; as such, very almost all will make lodging to gown codes that incorporate gown chosen for bona fide religious reasons. Tattoos whether at the instant are not risk-free under any employment regulation. Its no longer an invasion of privateness to request that tattoos stay coated. whether, i be attentive to that the state of Florida at one time refused to permit Muslim women human beings to have the drivers license photograph inquisitive approximately their face obscured with a muslim headband (eg, around the backside 0.5 of their face) bringing up risk-free practices and risk-free practices reasons.

Answer 11

Because wearing clothes in public places is a socially acceptable practice.'