Advertisement

Sex

Topless sunbathing goes out of style

Author thumbnail
Topless sunbathing goes out of style
Photo: DPA

German women are less willing to sunbathe topless than they were in the past, a recent survey shows. The primary reason for the new prudishness? Unwanted attention by men.

Advertisement

Bare breasts are going out of style at German pools and beaches, according to a survey by pharmacy magazine Apotheken Umschau, with only one in eight women (12.6 percent) saying they felt comfortable swimming or sunbathing topless in public.

The cause of the change in attitude, it seems, is overly curious men. One in three women surveyed said they felt uneasy being topless around men with wandering eyes, preferring instead the comfort of a full bikini or swimsuit.

The magazine said the survey could signal a paradigm shift in German prudishness.

In the 1970s and 80s, topless bathing was a popular trend, and young women of that generation – now in their 40s – maintain a relatively high rate of stripping off their tops, with 22 percent saying they still go oben ohne on the beach or by the pool.

But despite the willingness of the middle-aged, the poll indicates that younger women overwhelmingly prefer to avoid the unwanted ogling their breasts received.

The Local/adn

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also