It seems, according to the Discovery Channel website, as if women baring their breasts in public was neither objectionable nor unfashionable during several periods of British history, including the 1600s. Funny how conservatively we portray history, compared to how it really was.
And they would be amused, wouldn’t they, at the shock and scandal over such a little, insignificant thing as Janet Jackson’s breast on TV? Take that, smug sense of modernity.
(Image credit: The image is taken from Discovery Channel’s website and the link and intended as no infringement of copyright. To see a closeup of the pic, click here.)
Heh, I never knew that. That’s kinda weird and really cool all at the same time. So I guess Janet’s medallion-covered breast would have been considered really conservative by 17th century standards? =P
Breast baring was not uncommon in late 19th c. Joseon, either. You can see examples here and here and here. These images are in stark contrast to those of yangban young ladies who would wear jang-ot when going outside, a type of cloak that covered all but the face and looked somewhat similar to the modern burkha: here and here and here.