Why should it be an etiquette "rule of thumb" to ask yourself -?

Question

"Is anyone else doing this, wearing/not wearing this?... etc." before doing something or wearing or not wearing something? I mean, for instance, my boyfriend and I were at a baseball game recently, a local thing at a park, and he mentioned to me he'd be more comfortable with his shirt off. I told him go for it, it's not a big deal- I see men on TV at MLB games shirtless all the time. He just said, "yeah, but nobody around has their shirt off- they might think it's rude." I told him to do whatever he felt comfortable doing. But my point is this. Shouldn't the rule of thumb be context-dependent, rather than depend upon whether people around you are doing the same thing. I mean at those MLB games, SOME guy had to be the first to remove his shirt, right? If every guy sat around and said, "no other guy is shirtless, so it might be considered rude," then you'd never see shirtless guys at ball games on t.v.

Answer 1

Well, isn't the essence of etiquette considering those around you? I mean, I don't personally think there's ever a good place for a man to remove his shirt other than home, the beach, or poolside. I think it is absolutely right to consider your surroundings and those around you.

Answer 2

I agree with you 100%. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong, and what your are comfortable with is right to you if it is not morally or legally or otherwise socially unacceptable. Anyone who is to concerned about what everyone else is doing or thinking will never be his or her own person.

Answer 3

I think YOU have given the best answer, at the end of your question. For anecdotal evidence about the domino effect of one guy taking his shirt off, please see
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shirtless_Lifestyle/

Answer 4

At a ballgame, I don't think anyone cares at all.