When it's summer in Beijing, you can spot the "bare-chested masters" -- men of all physiques roll undershirts up to their nipples to air the gut. Others shed tops entirely, exposing various levels of girth to passers-by. Now The Beijing Youth Daily -- vexed by a habit it deems unworthy of an Olympic metropolis -- is running shots of the city's topless men to shame them back into shirts. One young woman -- albeit with a vested interest, she runs a T-shirt kiosk -- said, "All these bulging bellies sticking out, it makes us look silly." But a shirtless man laboring outside countered, "Sure, it's better for Beijing's image to wear clothes. But it's so uncomfortable."
Shirtless Shame
When it's summer in Beijing, you can spot the "bare-chested masters" -- men of all physiques roll undershirts up to their nipples to air the gut. Others shed tops entirely, exposing various levels of girth to passers-by. Now The Beijing Youth Daily -- vexed by a habit it deems unworthy of an Olympic metropolis -- is running shots of the city's topless men to shame them back into shirts. One young woman -- albeit with a vested interest, she runs a T-shirt kiosk -- said, "All these bulging bellies sticking out, it makes us look silly." But a shirtless man laboring outside countered, "Sure, it's better for Beijing's image to wear clothes. But it's so uncomfortable."
