“BELLY!” I shout in delight, and Gareth and Colin turn to look and smile.
“BELLY! DOUBLE BELLY!” hollers Colin, jerking his head towards two different naked-bellied men within fifteen feet of us on the crowded street.
You see, it turns out that in China (especially during the scalding hot summer months), it is perfectly acceptable for men to tie their shirts halfway up their chests and walk around public streets, trains, or restaurants with their entire tummies nakedly protruding.
“Bellies aren’t impolite here in China,” explained our local friend. “Now, female cleavage of any amount? THAT is scandalous. But a publicly naked male tummy? Normal.”
In anticipation of the 2010 Beijing Olympics, Chinese officials tried to crack down on boy belly-showing (along with spitting and not lining up), but the fashion lives on, unabated.
Now, being an American child of the 80s, I associate this tied-up belly shirt style more with a Barbie doll I used to own than with macho men. However, a certain American man with whom I’m traveling disagreed.
“This is amazing!” my anonymous American male travel buddy exclaimed, when he at last joined the fashion fray, grasped the corners of his shirt, and tied a fabric knot… thus letting his nude belly shine proud.
Our friend’s experiment was a raging success. Through famous tourist sites, and down crowded city streets this bare-bellied American man walked, and no one seemed the least bit displeased or offended.
In fact, the dozens of Chinese men we passed who also sported naked bellies may have given our friend an approving nod!
So the question becomes: if YOU were in China during the hot, hot summer, would YOU “do as the Romans do” and pull out YOUR belly??
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Jamie whitney says
When I go on a walk on a very warm day in England I feel showing my tummy cools me down while wearing a shirt or sunbathing ( male 25y old)
Lillie says
It is a mini air-conditioner!
KG says
This man looks fine because he is young, thin, and with a hairless belly. So it is ok that he pulled up his shirt to cool off! Now, had it been an older, out-of-shape, super hairy man, it would not have looked right :)! Now, I used to do the same thing in my late teens growing up in Nicaragua but I naturaly stopped doing it as an adult. However, one hot afternoon a couple of months ago I went to a car shop here in North Carolina to replace a tire when out of the blue one of the mechanics pulled his shirt up pretty much like the guy in the picture. Although, it kind of brought back memories of my teen years, it made me realize that this may be a natural reaction to extreme temperatures whether one lives in China, Nicaragua, or the States.
Lillie says
Yes, I think it is a natural reaction to the heat, and, as I want to be body-positive for all shapes and sizes, think everyone can have the right to do it. :)
CO says
This was and is a common thing among Latin American youth as well as KG says. Lots of yanked up shirts in the heat and bellies well exposed.
Wilson Samuel says
Different place, different culture!
Not exactly the same, however bit similar, its very very ok in India, for men to hug and to put hands on shoulders of buddies, which is a big NO in the West.
Lillie says
So true! See the eighth photo down from this article on India: https://www.aroundtheworldl.com/2013/06/19/food-fashion-animals-jaipur-india/ That position is very rare for men in the West!
Noelia M. says
Lol! This is so weird. I for one would not pull out my belly.
Hannah says
Haha! Oh my gosh, that topic can actually be something to brag about. Seeing men with there shirts half way up everyday here in America is definitely not considered normal…! I guess though if it is really hot it might just be your only option. Have they ever heard of tank tops? Or even better, air conditioning?
Evelyn says
In America in my day it was very common for men to takeoff their shirts completely I find this very odd now you’re not allowed to takeoff your shirt or even half way up to cool off
Lillie Marshall says
Interesting changes over time!
Lucy Donovan says
I agree with you Ms. Marshall, this is a style that Barbie dolls and cowgirls sport. Not men! They are a sight for sore eyes.
Lillie says
Hah! You misused that idiom in a really funny way, given the context! See the definition: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/a-sight-for-sore-eyes
Maya Baskin says
I am speechless.
Tahj Easington says
Wow! That is so disturbing. Show Off”s!
Uzochi N. says
This is weird! I’m still confused about the first picture, what’s the guy in the red shirt doing? It’s kind of awkward, but people all-over the world are different. If you think about it, it’s not too weird!!! I’d like to see that with my own eyes, too, though.
Abby Murphy says
I think that is so funny! I don’t think men in America would do this. This is very different.
John Teehan says
That is so different. Men around here would never do that but all men there do it just for fun.
Lillie says
Or for practical ventilation!
Annabella Bautista says
Ha ha! Men having their belly showing, is that normal? I guess men really don’t care much if they are showing their hairy bellies! Next thing you know they go nude.
Morgan M. says
I think it is cool and weird how the men put up their shirts.
Rana Sinha says
Very interesting. In the US sagging reveals a still lower part of the body.
Lillie says
Hah! Too true! :)
Vivian G. says
“Belly showing” is not as bad as a woman showing her cleavage!? I beg to differ. I think both ways of dressing are just not acceptable. I don’t want to walk down the street and see a hairy, sweaty, male tummy, and i really dont want to see a young women’s cleavage hanging out of her shirt. I think that China has a double standard for women when it comes to what is acceptable when it comes to the way people dress. But, every place in the world has a double standard for women, even the United States! The United States has a double standard for everybody, now that I think of it. An example would be skinny people and fat people-it’s okay for a skinny person to wear a bikini, but when a fat person wears a bikini people react as if they just saw a hurricane rip through Louisiana…again!!!
Anyhow, I can’t really blame these men for showing their bellies when it gets hot. I don’t have an experience of going to China to share, but I can only imagine how HOT it must be. Even in Boston, on the trains and buses I see men who don’t even attempt the “half belly” look, they go full chest and all, without a shirt. I think this look is odd, even living as the youth of the United States. I’ve seen people wearing some pretty weird things, I mean my own hair is purple! Are the younger men the only ones who choose this way of dressing? I wonder, only because I know that China is very, very traditional and “set in its ways”. This is interesting, stange but interesting.
Lillie says
Awesome comment :) Thanks!
Liz C. (Koraliz) says
Oh my God! I probably would’ve died of laughter. Does that mean that men can do that but women can’t? I bet if they came here, women wouldn’t find that attractive at all. They’d be made fun of instead. Who wouldn’t laugh at that!?
shadow465 says
no the women here wouldnt find that attractive… different cultures and customs….. and if everyone here was doing it, who would there be to make fun of them?
Yara says
I find this hilarious! I thought that only girls do this, but apparently, I stand corrected.
Jimmy Huang says
I can relate. In china it is in the 90’s everyday during the summer. I wouldn’t just pull up my shirt i would take off my shirt because it is so hot!
John T says
I sometimes do that but come on not everybody should do that.
Qiyin Y says
This is so weird. I mean like everytime I walk out onto the streets of Boston, all the men wear suits and clothing that covers the belly. I can’t believe they do that in China, because last time when I went, it wasn’t so hot.
Sofia L :) says
I think that this is so funny! If I saw men walking around with their nude belly showing, I would personally either cover my eyes and shout in Chinese “COVER UP!” or start laughing and tell my mom to look and that it’s scarring my innocent eyes. :) LOL
Blade says
Lol I don’t think I will participate in that exhibitionism routine, although if I had to choose between that and India’s normal culture of guys holding each others little pinkies while walking on the street or beach, I’ll proudly show my belly Lillie…:) Nice work~
Jeff says
It gets even worst on a hot summer day on a hard class (non-AC) train!
Sarahh says
Oh, dear!
This is definitely another reason why I’m glad I travelled to China in the winter months!
John D. Wilson says
Hey, not just a Chinese thingy!
Here in Nicaragua, normal for guys to pick up their shirts to show their “manly” belly.
I guess it keeps ’em cool.
Never tried it, don’t think I will.
Now worth the hassle for the little comfort it may bring.
If it’s hot, it’s hot – belly covered or not!
Cheers,
John D. Wilson
Thapelo says
Interesting cultural norms. I hope this force guys not to have beer bellies or did you see any guy with protruding belly?