A netizen did a social experiment to find out whether he can take off his shirt in parks of Metro Manila.
Arlen Gaspar, a native of Brazil, went to various parks including Greenfield District, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Capitol Commons, Ayala Park, and Luneta Park.
When he took off his shirt in any of these places, he said that it just took a few minutes before security guards would approach him and ask him to put his shirt back on.
Also, you can notice passersby staring and giggling at him when he is not wearing his shirt.
According to Gaspar, in Brazil, they can take off their shirts in parks so he finds this a bit odd.
When he asked the reason behind it, some guards said that they are just doing their jobs, that it’s a policy by the management. Also, they would add that the locals are conservative and it’s “pangit daw siya tingnan.” (Rough translation: doesn’t look good.)
Watch the full video below.
There may or may not be an rule about this, but personally, I think it might really be because we are conservative. Even in movies or television shows before, when men take their shirts off, they would put a band-aid on their nipples (especially in comedy films). I have asked a few friends about this and it seems like it comes down to like what one of the security guards said,“pangit tingnan”. Maybe, we also somewhat relate men who don’t wear their shirts in public as “tambays” (bums) who are thought to be up to no good, just drinking day in and day out with their beer buddies.
How about you, do you know if there is a rule about men taking their shirt off in public?
What do you think?
Share your thoughts with us.
