Look, like most straight men I enjoy the female figure and like many men I often find myself stuck on stupid when someone attractive walks by. There isn't much wrong with that situation, after all we are all only human and biology overrides even our best intentions at times. So why do I have a problem with too much skin and too much cleavage since after all I find the female figure a living, breathing masterpiece?
Ask any guy and they will tell you right off the bat that no matter how enjoyable the female body is to look at, there is a time and a place to show off said body. Why? It surely isn't because we see too much, rather it is what we are trying to do when a scantly clad woman walks in and suddenly our mind is stuck on stupid. We all have things to do on a daily basis and none of them include being distracted (at least not in a productive sense). Women at this point might be thinking, so what? Every time an attractive guy walks in my office, store, or by me I don't immediately lose all focus and all thought processes. But see women are good at multi-tasking, but us guys aren't always so great at multi-tasking.
Ever try to talk to your boyfriend or husband when their favorite show is on or their favorite team is playing on TV? Yeah their a captive audience sitting there, but alls they hear from your talking is words, they are only processing on the visual information coming to them from the TV. It isn't that they don't care, it is just that guys tend to have trouble multi-tasking and processing input from more then one thing at a time. Visual stimulus engages us first and foremost for whatever reason and anything else is drowned out.
None of that has been completely proven, so maybe it is a bit of a stereotype, but then again I guess being a guy I'm stereotyping myself. Don't blame the guy though because for whatever reason he is easily distracted. So what does TV watching and a scantly glad woman have to do with anything? Simple, both are engaging visual information which pretty much leave us focusing on visual information and not what we are supposed to be doing. And why should you as the scantly clad woman be covering up when it isn't appropriate? So we can get on with our jobs and do our jobs.
See heres the problem. Say I'm a guy working in a store and an attractive woman comes in showing a lot of cleavage or just a lot of skin. They need help with something that I do at my store but being so distracted, I am unable to properly do my job fully. Not only is this awkward, but this actually hurts our productivity and you the scantly clad customer can't figure out why we got your order wrong or didn't answer your question, etc etc. So we can say that it isn't appropriate to go in skimpy clothing to your doctor's office, mechanic's office, fast food joint, really just don't dress like your going out to a club when your out running errands or doing business because the second you walk in that door, most guys have forgotten they even have a job.
Now that we can alleviate those voluptuous distractions, there is still another bone to pick with all you women that feel the need to walk around half naked. You choose to wear revealing clothing correct? You admit it distracts guys at times and some of you probably enjoy that attention or at least say to yourself that your doing good by making random guys' days. But what is up with the women who get offended when they catch a guy checking them out or hitting on them when they are dressed in a sure to get attention way?
We have the right to dress the way we want in public for the most part, but for the life of me I can't figure out why some women who choose to dress in tight, short, or revealing clothing get all up in arms when a guy looks at them or stares at them. It isn't like you don't realize that showing so much skin will draw attention. You tell your girlfriends you felt like an object and felt self conscious or that guy in the supermarket checking you out was such a creep. Some of you take it too far and even say if a guy hits on you it is sexual harassment even though you might be dressed like your working the corner of 10th and Main near the subway. OK maybe that comment was a little harsh, but do you see what us guys mean? Don't dress revealing if you are bothered by the attention, you have every right to dress as you wish but realize that a lot of guys will call out to you, stare at you, and get stuck on stupid when you walk in the door.
Don't think it is a big deal? I read a few years back about a girl who was attacked on the way home from somewhere. I don't recall if she was sexually assaulted or not but get this: The assailant claimed that the woman was dressed in a skirt so short that it was like she was inviting him to take advantage of her. Now of course that is a bit absurd and this individual still didn't have the right to attack her, but it makes a strong point that there are individuals out there that will take your style of dress as an open invitation to do things to you which is a little disturbing but true nonetheless so you need to protect yourself and be wary of how much skin your showing when walking alone.
There was also a case where a woman claims she was raped by a man and that the man pulled her clothes off to assault her. The case was thrown out based on the fact that the woman's jeans were so tight that there was no way that the assailant could have removed her pants without her assistance in doing so which meant she consented to the sexual encounter. Now some might argue that he forced her to remove her clothes but regardless there was no proof of threat with a weapon and there was the 'victim' saying the assailant forcefully removed her jeans.
As you can see from those two cases, whether or not a woman has a right to dress in a revealing and sexually alluring way is not the point, being smart and appropriate about it is. While 99% of the men in public will merely gawk at you, there are always a few like those above that will be delusional about it and say it drove them to attack the woman. And of course your cleavage and shown skin is distracting guys everywhere you go from doing their jobs. Won't anyone think of job productivity! In the end though the freedom to dress the way you choose is up to you, just don't be surprised if the guy behind the counter seems stuck on stupid or get upset when guys keep staring at or catcalling at you because of how your dressed.
