Men, is cleavage in the workplace really distracting?

If you wear low-cat tops to the office, you are saying, “Don’t take me seriously.” Keep the personal fashion statements for your own time.

I’m not a man but our now former, female PM was recently accused of showing too much cleavage in Parliament. I can’t say I have ever seen her dress other than conservatively.

Women have breasts. Like you, there are occasions when I have some cleavage showing. It’s not like my boobs are hanging out of my shirt, but there’s a bit of cleavage. I usually ask my husband and daughters for their advice on whether it’s too much. I agree with you that sometimes it’s hard to find a dress that doesn’t show a little cleavage.

Plus, I’ve had guys stand across the room waiting for me to bend over so they can look down my shirt. One of them told me they did this – after the fact. So I think men who are distracted by a respectable amount of cleavage would need to get over themselves.

I usually try to think of myself as an “enlightened” man, as far as my attitude toward women. However, I still find myself distracted, even if momentarily, by a flash of cleavage, or a cute butt in a tight pair of slacks. (I once came to the realization about five minutes into the conversation that I was ogling a lady reverend’s cleavage! At least I had the presence of mind to save the incident by making a comment about the crystal pendant she was wearing there! Whew!)

@Yetanotheruser, are you talking modest cleavage or ‘look at the girls’ cleavage? If it’s the former, is this just not biology in progress? Should women have to wear up to the neck, down to the knee sack like clothing to avoid distracting men? Or do you think men ogle women and for some men, women are just distracting regardless of what they wear?

Showing cleavage in public bothers me, but I’m just jealous. I could wear a shirt unbuttoned to the waist and you wouldn’t see a thing. (sob)

Occasionally I (a male) have to help to draw blood on out patients in out clinic lab. Sometimes women show up flaunting their big breasts and cleavage. I have to get very close to the patient while in the process of blood drawing. I make it a point not to look but its hard to concentrate on doing a good job just knowing how very close the cleavage is to me. Of course I always act in a professional manor. Drawing blood is hard enough as it is without such distraction. I’ve talked to female phlebotomists about this and they have told me that such a situations makes them uncomfortable as well.

I glance but it isn’t enough of a distraction to make a difference.

“If you wear low-cat tops to the office, you are saying, “Don’t take me seriously.” Keep the personal fashion statements for your own time.”

I find that to be a fucked up thing to say.. I don’t think I really need to explain why. And yes, I know you are a female.

It’s no more distracting than someone pulling up in the car park driving a ferrari, a brief thrill & back to keeping my eyes on the prize, professionally speaking of course.
As David Brent put it…“we’ll have none of that in the workplace”

It’s built into our DNA as men. The natural God-given instinct to procreate draws us to the beautifully designed body of the woman, so it is inevitable that men will look. How long they look and what they think about after looking are a matter of self-discipline.

Tit watching is fantastic, but there’s a time & place, like most things.

@marinelife – the problem I have with your statement is that you are asking me to dress like a sister wife, while the other women in my office are allowed to show off their bodies while looking fashionable (because their cleavage is more modest or non-existant).

No, it is not distracting. At least not for anyone with a modicum of self-control. The idea that men “can’t help themselves” is both false and insulting to men. We can help ourselves. We are not beasts. In fact, it is the myth that we are beasts that compels so many men to give up any sort of decorum and become beasts.

As for not taking women seriously, maybe some men are like that. They’re called “sexists” and are not the sort of person to design one’s life around. Similarly, any woman who buys into that attitude is a sexist as well. It’s sad, but it has long been known how easy it is to turn victim against victim by elevating one over the other. By calling some women “modest” and other women “indecent,” you can get the “modest” ones to police the “indecent” ones and side with those who keep both down.

cleavage in any place is always distracting, but I wouldn’t take some less seriously because of it.

I’m a lesbian, and I get distracted by cleavage in the workplace. But I also get distracted by boobs in general, not just in low cut shirts. It’s oppressive bullshit for men to restrict what women wear based on it being “distracting”. I get distracted for a few seconds and move on. I don’t discredit a person’s legitimacy because they have nice boobs.

Also, I find it distracting when people sexually harass me. So men…don’t wear your dicks to the office?

Sorry, this sexist crap just makes me really mad.

Not for me.. I look, I don’t gawk. If any guy says he doesn’t look then he’s either gay or he’s your boss and he doesn’t want you to think he’s human. If you look then carry on with your task then that’s normal .. If you gawk that still doesn’t mean it’s distracting, it simply indicates that your a slacker and your own thoughts probably distract you.

@Bellatrix I’m usually more distracted by the “Here’s the heavy artillery!” type of display. I realize that if a woman is well endowed, it might be difficult to display “just the right amount” of cleavage to be fashionable and comfortable without becoming a distraction; even so, some men (and women) would be distracted (as @rory pointed out) by seeing boobs in a tight shirt. I also know some women are more sensitive. If I stare, it is because I see a thing of beauty, biology in action, and I hope any woman I end up staring at appreciates my appreciation.

:-) I imagine it depends on how long you look for @Yetanotheruser. I’ve had men talk to my breasts for whole conversations. Thanks for clarifying.

@Bellatrix the only problem with having conversations with boobs is they don’t respond to very much unless it’s in an intimate consensual situation!

Yes, it is distracting, and it’s biological. If you’re playing a power game where you make non-verbal statements with your appearance, you should realize that some people will be impressed while others may feel manipulated or offended.