Indecent exposure in the context of Exhibitionism

Pasties (singular pasty or pastie) are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They are usually worn in pairs. They originated as part of burlesque shows, allowing dancers to perform fully topless without exposing the nipples in order to provide a commercial form of bare-breasted entertainment. Pasties are also, at times, used while sunbathing, worn by strippers and showgirls, or as a form of protest during women's rights events such as Go Topless Day. In some cases this is to avoid potential prosecution under indecency laws.

As well as being used as an undergarment in lieu of a bra, pasties are also worn visibly as a fashion accessory where it is desirable to show the breasts but not the nipples, and are sometimes called nipple stickers. Pasties are sometimes worn by bikini baristas, staff hired to serve coffee from roadside huts while wearing lingerie, thongs, or skimpy swimwear.

Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word modesty comes from the Latin word modestus which means 'keeping within measure'.

In this use, revealing certain body parts is considered inappropriate, thus immodest. In conservative Middle Eastern societies, modesty may involve women completely covering their bodies with a niqab and not talking to men who are not immediate family members. In Christian Anabaptist and similar sects, it may involve women wearing only ankle-length skirts, blouses up to the collar, and often a small head covering or shawl. In some societies, a one-piece swimsuit may be considered modest while wearing a bikini is not. In most countries, exposure of the body in breach of community standards of modesty, as well as public nudity, is considered indecent exposure and is usually punished by law.

Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on gender or sex. It encompasses a spectrum of behavior including sexual coercion, unwanted sexual attention, and sexist acts. Although some types of sexual harassment seem to be motivated by sexual desire, they are more often committed to hurt women or punish people for violating gender norms. Popular understanding of sexual harassment primarily focuses on sexual coercion and unwanted sexual advances, which are less common than other types of harassment. All types of sexual harassment can harm victim physical and mental health and affect their personal and professional lives.

Sexual harassment may involve harassers or victims of any gender, occur between friends or strangers, involve equal or subordinate relationships, and consist of verbal, physical, or indirect actions. Examples may involve insulting sexual or sexist remarks, offensive sexual innuendo, indecent exposure, sexting, sexual roleplay, collecting or disseminating photos of the victim in private moments, demanding or requesting sexual favors as bribery, and sexual assault like groping or rape.

Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whether by asking or pressuring, or by other means), indecent exposure, child grooming, and child sexual exploitation, such as using a child to produce child pornography.

CSA is not confined to specific settings; it permeates various institutions and communities. CSA affects children in all socioeconomic levels, across all racial, ethnic, and cultural groups, and in both rural and urban areas. In places where child labor is common, CSA is not restricted to one individual setting; it passes through a multitude of institutions and communities. This includes but is not limited to schools, homes, and online spaces where adolescents are exposed to abuse and exploitation. Child marriage is one of the main forms of child sexual abuse; UNICEF has stated that child marriage "represents perhaps the most prevalent form of sexual abuse and exploitation of girls". The effects of child sexual abuse can include depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and physical injury to the child, among other problems. Sexual abuse by a family member is a form of incest and can result in more serious and long-term psychological trauma, especially in the case of parental incest.

An intimate part, personal part, or private part, is a place on the human body which is customarily kept covered by clothing in public venues and conventional settings, as a matter of fashion and cultural norms. Depending on the culture, revealing these parts can be a legal or religious offense.

Street harassment is a form of harassment, primarily sexual harassment that consists of unwanted sexualised comments, provocative gestures, honking, wolf whistles, indecent exposures, stalking, persistent sexual advances, and groping by strangers, in public areas such as streets, shopping malls and public transportation. Besides actions or comments that contain a sexual connotation, it often includes homophobic and transphobic slurs, and hateful comments referencing race, religion, class, ethnicity and disability. The practice is rooted in power and control and is often a reflection of societal discrimination, and has been argued to sometimes result from a lack of opportunities for expression of interest or affection (e.g. an inability to have social interaction).

Recipients include people of any gender, but women are much more commonly victims of harassment by men. According to Harvard Law Review (1993), street harassment is considered harassment done primarily by male strangers to females in public places.

The relationship between nudity and sexuality can be complicated. When people are nude, this often leads to sexual arousal, which is why indecent exposure is often considered a crime. There are also social movements to promote a greater degree of nudity, such as the topfreedom movement to promote female toplessness, as well as the movement to promote breastfeeding in public. Furthermore, some psychiatric disorders that can lead to greater nudity include exhibitionistic disorder, voyeuristic disorder, and gymnophobia.

The legal status of striptease varies considerably among different countries and the various jurisdictions. Striptease is considered a form of public nudity and subject to changing legal and cultural attitudes on moral and decency grounds. Some countries do not have any restrictions on performances of striptease. In some countries, public nudity is outlawed directly, while in other countries it may be suppressed or regulated indirectly through devices such as restrictions on venues through planning laws, or licensing regulations, or liquor licensing and other restrictions.

Toplessness refers to the state in which a woman's breasts, including her areolas and nipples, are exposed, especially in a public place or in a visual medium. The male equivalent is known as barechestedness.

Social norms around toplessness vary by context and location. Many indigenous societies consider breast exposure to be normal and uncontroversial. At specific beaches and resort destinations, notably in Europe and Australia, girls and women may sunbathe topless either by statute or by custom. However, in most countries, norms of female modesty require girls and women to cover their breasts in public, and many jurisdictions prosecute public toplessness as indecent exposure. The topfreedom movement opposes such laws on the grounds of gender equality.