- Shirts Versus Skins
Shirts versus Skins (or Shirts and Skins) is a common form of denoting team affiliations in an informal sports game; typically when played on a public court or park. The practice involves the members of one team wearing shirts while the other does not. This is used in the absence of uniforms. [cite book |last=Duchak |first=Alicia |title=A-Z of Modern America |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XJROBoIamOAC&pg=PA280&dq=%22shirts+and+skins%22&lr=&sig=ACfU3U1nmSeqkx1JO4VvIlXC5vw6NeLsOQ#PPA280,M1 |accessdate=2008-08-09 |year=1999 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0415187567 |pages=280-81]
This simple form of recognition is a regular sight in
streetball ,street football , ultimate, and other games. The identification by manner of dress negates the need to remember the division of players among friends, or to learn the faces of strangers in a pickup game. The system is almost totally exclusive to men’s teams, owing to the taboo in many western cultures against the display of the femalebreast . When women use a similar team division, the Skins team members commonly wears only their bras.With a newer version of playing Shirts Versus Skins, the teams will play as normal, but then the losing team's members will receive 'nipple cripples' or 'purple nurples' from the opposing team member(s). This is more painful to the skins team than the shirts.
References
External links
* [http://www.shirtlessmenworld.net/ Shirtless Men World] A site about bare chested men, including "Shirts and Skins" games.
* [http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/shirtless_lifestyle/ Shirtless Lifestyle] This group provides a forum in which members can discuss the shirt-free lifestyle, assist others in gaining the confidence they need to lose the shirt, and exchange stories of their shirtless experiences.
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