Women’s and men’s perceptions of (not) wearing a bra in public

Introduction Human females often use clothing as a strategy for self-promotion to enhance their physical attractiveness to potential mates. The conscious concealment or revelation of intimate body parts can be used to solicit attention; however, little empirical research exists on this topic. Methods We investigated the factors influencing the decision to wear a bra using self-reports from Slovak women ( N = 409) in public and private settings. Furthermore, using visual stimuli, we examined how male ( N = 277) and female ( N = 158) raters perceived the attractiveness and faithfulness of women with and without a bra. Results We found that being braless was significantly less frequent in public than in private settings. The decision was negatively associated with the fear of sexual harassment and positively associated with smaller, firmer breasts, but not with unrestricted sociosexuality. The braless state was consistently perceived by both men and women as more attractive, yet also as less faithful. Males with a stronger preference for large breasts found the braless state more attractive than those with a lower preference. Finally, male intentions to sexually harass females, as well as an unrestricted sociosexuality in male raters, were positively correlated with the perception of the braless state as a cue of infidelity. Discussion Our results suggest that bra-wearing represents a strategic trade-off in self-promotion: while it may dampen sexual attractiveness, it simultaneously protects the wearer from being perceived as infidel.