Shirtless on the street

It's eighty degrees in downtown Seattle and another occasion to remove as much clothing as possible on my trek home.

Of course this blog is going to get pretty boring very fast if all I do is post pics of my shirtless walks. Hey, maybe it already is boring. Oh well. This is the last one for a while. I promise!

Caught

Well it finally happened. As usual, I took off my shirt after arriving in the office, hoping to cool down for a few minutes from my morning walking commute before dawning a clean shirt. I usually arrive at work a good half hour before anyone else, so no one is the wiser.

Of course it was inevitable that one day someone would come to work early, and today a female co-worker caught me putting my lunch in the company refrigerator, sans shirt. She was visibly startled, and I immediately tried explaining how warm I got on my walk. Oh well.

I put on a shirt and she recovered quickly, later teasing me that it was "Nice to see you wearing some clothes."

Shirtless in Seattle

We're having a warm spell in Seattle, so that means less clothing! Yay! As noted in previous posts, I have walked home shirtless in the warm afternoon in the recent past. But this week was the first time I could walk all the way from home to the office in the morning without a shirt. I also chose to ride the elevator shirtless both to and from work on a couple of occasions. I did this to challenge my own shyness and to raise awareness of the shirtless lifestyle. True, many people will see me shirtless on the elevator and simply conclude that I have no class. But if they see it often enough, people will become desensitized and get over their prejudices. At least, that's what I'm hoping for. Naive? Maybe. Fun? Definitely.

Shirtless liberation in Chicago

Top: Shirtless in Chicago's Palmer House Hilton.

Below: IML takes over the hotel.

This is our first full day of our Chicago vacation, where we will mostly be attending International Mr. Leather contest (IML) and its many activities. Vacations often bring out my exhibitionist tendencies and I suggested we strike a blow for "shirtless liberation" by going shirtless every time we rode the elevator or walked through the lobby of the Palmer House Hilton hotel. Though not really his thing, my bf isn't shy and agreed.

We only got as far as the hotel mezzanine, when some leatherman, sitting at a table apparently staffed with a welcoming committee, suggested we were underdressed. "They may ask you to wear your shirts since it's before 10 p.m.," he told us. WTF!? We can't be shirtless before 10 p.m.? What kind of insane request is that?

It's all the more ridiculous when you consider that the entire hotel is being reserved by leathermen for IML. In fact, as we later learned from the sign in the photo, the hotel is closed to the general public until Tuesday. Was he unaware of this fact?

Perhaps. IML activities didn't officially start until later that day. Still, his suggestion was outrageous. There is nothing shameful about the human body and we were only stripped to the waist. I have walked half naked through the Salt Lake City Public Library without anyone raising the slightest objection (although a few did give me dirty looks). This guy had clearly bought into societal body oppression and was now oppressing himself and others (or trying to). We ignored him.

It was a sad moment, but all the more reason men (and women!) who like to go shirtless need to do so more often in order desensitize people to the sight of skin and gradually change societal norms.

Later at the IML opening ceremonies, we got the official scoop: Due to city ordinance, partipants were asked to keep their butts covered during daylight hours. No mention of shirtlessness whatsoever. This is still not the ideal a naturist like me would like to see, but is definitely a much more rational request, given current laws.

I have written on the topic of shirtless liberation before (and will again), but rather than make you dig through my journal to find it, I will simply provide again to a good link on the subject of the shirtless lifestyle: Shirtless Men World.

Half-naked natterings

On warm days I take off my shirt in the office when I first arrive. This lets me cool down a little from my morning walk before changing into a fresh shirt. I'm the only one here this early so no one is the wiser.

Except, that is, for the ladies in the building behind me who sometimes look out their window toward mine.

If you think i enjoy the danger of being caught, you're wrong. I wish everyone was comfortable with the half-naked body — or even the fully naked body. But in the workplace we hide in our clothes. For now.

First shirtless walk home

It's still May in Seattle and that often means chilly weather. But today was beautifully sunny and I took my first half-naked pedestrian commute home! I am looking forward to many more so come.

Shirtless liberation

My friends know I have long advocated freedom from the tyranny of required clothing. This isn't just a call for more nude beaches and a less prudish culture (though those would be nice), but body acceptance at every level. One of the most basic is just being unclothed from the waist up. As the weather warms up, I will be a personal exponent of shirtlessness as I walk to and from work. It's sad that so far only men can do this.

Recently I have been stripping to the waist for my first few minutes in my office. My body gets warm from the walk and I need to cool down. Besides, I'm always the first one to arrive, so nobody notices. Except the ladies in the neighboring building who see me through the window, that is. But so far they haven't complained.

But rather than expound on shirtless freedom myself, I'll simply direct readers to a Web site that explains and advocates the shirtless lifestyle: Shirtless Men World.

You have nothing to lose but your shame!