Editing Intimate part

{{Short description|Human body part kept covered in public}}
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}}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 [[Indecent exposure|legal]] or [[religious offense]].

== Definition ==
Definitions vary by context and culture, but the term usually refers to parts of body that are habitually covered by clothing in public places due to cultural norms, including areas such as the [[buttocks]], [[groin]], [[human anus|anus]], [[perineum]], external [[genitalia]], and [[breasts]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yokokawa |first1=Daiki |last2=Uehara |first2=Takanori |last3=Sato |first3=Rurika |last4=Ishizuka |first4=Kosuke |last5=Li |first5=Yu |last6=Shikino |first6=Kiyoshi |last7=Tsukamoto |first7=Tomoko |last8=Tamura |first8=Hiroki |last9=Yanagita |first9=Yasutaka |last10=Kojima |first10=Jumpei |last11=Yamashita |first11=Shiho |last12=Ikusaka |first12=Masatomi |title=Survey of Physicians on the Need for Female Chaperones Based on the Body Areas Examined in Female Patients by Male Physicians: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study |journal=Cureus |date=9 January 2025 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=e77208 |doi=10.7759/cureus.77208|doi-access=free |pmid=39925509 |pmc=11807408 }}</ref>

The term ''intimate parts'' may be construed to mean only the external body parts that are visible when [[nudity|naked]], rather than the body parts more commonly referred to. For example, when naked, a woman's pudendal cleft is predominantly visible rather than the vagina, and a man's scrotum is visible rather than the testes which are contained within.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands_split.jsp?pg=/ppdocs/us/common/dorlands/dorland/nine/000957635.htm |title=Health Information—Find Articles, Tools, and Tips at MerckEngage.com |publisher=Mercksource.com |date=2011-06-25 |access-date=2011-08-21 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

== Variations ==
Female breasts are considered as parts that would be covered in most contexts but with a degree of tolerance for [[toplessness]] varying in different regions and cultures. For example, Dayna Fischtein, Edward Herold and Serge Desmarais (2005) found that acceptance of toplessness in a sample of [[Canadians]] varied depending on both personal factors (such as the respondent's gender, age, and religion) and contextual factors (i.e., toplessness in streets, parks, or beaches).<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1966/is_3-4_14/ai_n29238305/?tag=content;col1 |title=Canadian attitudes toward female topless behaviour: a national survey |journal=The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality |first1=Dayna S. |last1=Fischtein |first2=Edward S. |last2=Herold |first3=Serge |last3=Desmarais |year=2005 |access-date=2011-08-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119080421/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1966/is_3-4_14/ai_n29238305/?tag=content%3Bcol1 |archive-date=2012-01-19 }}</ref>

In some periods of [[History of Europe|European history]], female shoulders and legs may have been considered intimate parts.{{citation needed|date=June 2011}} More conservative viewpoints in the West in some contexts still find it appropriate that females should cover their shoulders, particularly when entering a [[Church (building)|church]] or other sacred space.

[[Intimate parts in Islam|In Islamic traditions]], the definition of awrah is similar to the definition of intimate parts in [[Western culture]]. The extent of cover for the female body depends upon the situation, but may include the hair, shoulders, and neck in addition to the aforementioned "intimate parts". A majority of scholars agree that the entire body except the face and hands should be covered in public and in front of unrelated men. The exceptions are the scholars from the [[Hanafi school]] of thought, which has the largest number of followers, which agree that the feet are not part of the awrah and therefore may be revealed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/hijab_1.shtml#section_4 |title=Religions - Islam: Hijab |publisher=BBC |date=2009-09-03 |access-date=2011-08-21}}</ref> For males, most scholars regard all parts of the body from the navel to the knees as awrah.

== Considerations ==
The intentional exposure of one's intimate parts is a form of [[exhibitionism]]. Such exposure may be subject to strict [[Sociology|social rules]], [[social control]] and even [[criminal justice]], if it is considered to be a form of [[indecent exposure]]. The unintentional exposure of intimate parts (as in the case of a "[[wardrobe malfunction]]") may be connected with feelings of [[shame]]. For example, when actress [[Goldie Hawn]] accidentally revealed a [[whale tail]] in 2015, the American gossip website [[Radar Online]] called her the "victim of a bad wardrobe malfunction" and stated that she had "committed a major style crime."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://radaronline.com/photos/goldie-hawn-wardrobe-malfunction-shows-thong/ |title=Whale Tail! Goldie Hawn Suffers Thong Wardrobe Malfunction|publisher=Radar Online |date=2015-09-17 |access-date=2024-06-02 }}</ref>

Intentionally touching the intimate parts of another person, even through clothing, is often associated with [[human sexual behaviour|sexual]] [[intent (law)|intent]]. If this is done without the consent of the person being touched, it is considered [[groping]], a form of [[sexual harassment]] or [[sexual assault]].

== Alternate perspectives ==
[[Naturism]] is a lifestyle choice that is characterized by the practice of nudity, both alone and in groups. Some naturists hold that nakedness is not automatically a sexual state and that covering areas of the body is merely a [[Social constructionism|social construct]]: they believe that the norms of society can be upheld even when all are nude.<ref>[http://www.inf-fni.org/ International Naturist Federation] Welcome page. Retrieved Jan 2015</ref><ref>Van Blarcom, Jeffrey. "Physician Attire: A Scholarly Look." Hospital pediatrics 2.4 (2012): 249-252.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Nudity}}
* [[Erogenous zone]]
* [[Intimate parts in Islam]]
* [[Public nudity]]
* [[Secondary sex characteristic]]
* [[Sex organ]]
* [[Taboo]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Nudity}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Intimate Part}}
[[Category:English-language idioms]]
[[Category:Modesty]]
[[Category:Sexual anatomy]]
[[Category:Social constructionism]]
[[Category:Human surface anatomy]]
[[Category:Nudity]]