MetaChat - Why cover only the nipples?

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28 June 2009

Why cover only the nipples? I've been seeing magazine spreads with female celebrities and the like where the whole breast is showing, but only the nipple is covered up.

Why cover only the nipple and allow the showing of the rest of the breast? What are the societal or other reasons behind this seemingly arbitrary practice?

post by: reenum at: 11:58 | 19 comments

Because someone could lose an eye.

posted by jonmc 28 June | 12:06

Until recently, dancers in strip clubs in PA had to keep a minute g-string on and a tiny dot about 1/4 inch in diameter covering the end of their nipples. According the Liquor Control Board, that tiny little dot was the dividing line between lewdness and not.

posted by octothorpe 28 June | 12:23

to prevent the searing hot laser beams from vaporizing your eye gel.

Duh.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 28 June | 15:20

Areola is latin for 'open place' which makes it really ironic that it has to be covered.

posted by alteredcarbon 28 June | 15:50

You sure do ask a lot of questions about breasts.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 28 June | 16:08

No one likes to suckle the side-boob.

In Louisiana, there used to be a law that strippers had to cover their nipples. So resourceful strippers covered them with colored liquid latex, which gave the appearance of no cover at all. (though they all had creepily identical nipples.)

posted by ColdChef 28 June | 16:13

It's covered because the nipple is the defining part that makes your brain realize "Oh, that's a breast!" Everything else is just curvy skin.

posted by amyms 28 June | 16:51

I blame nipple-less Barbies, myself.

posted by TrishaLynn 28 June | 17:00

It's never made sense to me. And why can men go topless and not women? Mens nipples are sexual as well, if that's the reason behind hiding womens nipples.

posted by deborah 28 June | 17:35

It's just one of those facts of life that sucks.

posted by Ardiril 28 June | 17:36

Uh, Deborah, I don't know anyone who gets turned on by men's nipples. Men, on the other hand, seem to lose their everloving minds when they see a naked female breast.

posted by bunnyfire 28 June | 19:02

Men, on the other hand, seem to lose their everloving minds when they see a naked female breast.

Chicken or egg?

posted by unsurprising 28 June | 19:13

It is perfectly legal for women to go topless in New York.

posted by plinth 28 June | 21:37

Men, on the other hand, seem to lose their everloving minds when they see a naked female breast.

Broad brush.

posted by Hugh Janus 28 June | 23:48

Broad topic.

posted by Ardiril 29 June | 00:17

There was a story in one of the Star Trek histories that the NBC censors wouldn't let them have female costumes that showed the underside of the breast. "Maybe they thought moss grew there," was the comment.

posted by dhartung 29 June | 00:36

I got nothin' for this thread, other than it made me laugh out loud no less than five times. Bless you bunnies, and thanks for the much appreciated laughs.

posted by Luminous Phenomena 29 June | 01:56

I don't know anyone who gets turned on by men's nipples.

sexual doesn't necessarily mean just as a turn on for the opposite gender. There's a bunch of nerve endings there, after all.

posted by kellydamnit 29 June | 01:59

What kellydamnit said, plus, I like men's chests/torsos, nipples are a wonderful part of that. So as part of a package, yes I do, too. I guess no, I wouldn't go buy something like a "Pecs" magazine, but still. Odd thing to say.

Also, what TPS said, but I can't shut up. I don't want men feeling all insecure about their nipples. Grrr.

posted by rainbaby 29 June | 09:01

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