History Main / ShouldersUpNudity

* Played with in ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''. After Mary Goodnight and JamesBond have a make-out session on Scaramanga's ship, she's shown holding up a sheet covering her body with her shoulders exposed. She drops the sheet and reveals that she's wearing a ModestyTowel.
* In ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'', Bond rips the top off General Pushkin's mistress to distract a bodyguard entering the room. The bodyguard's POV is shown as a shoulders-up shot of the mistress. This is followed by a ToplessnessFromTheBack shot to imply her naked chest without actually showing it.

** Other publicity photos from the same session exist that make it clear {{ModestyTowel}]s were involved.

** Other publicity photos from the same session exist that make it clear ModestyTowels were involved.

The trope codifier is the opening sequence to ''PetticoatJunction'', where the three women are visible from the shoulders up while {{skinny dipping}} in the water tank.

* ''Babylon 5'': Lyta appears this way during the show's only sex scene, between her and Byron. Combined with ToplessnessFromTheBack.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'''s title character demonstrates this trope at least twice: in Season 2's "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" when a potioned-up Buffy tries to seduce Xander, and in Season 6's "Dead Things" during a Buffy-Spike sex scene.

* ''Series/TheBennyHillShow'' seems to like this trope. One example is where two female singers, seen from behind their couch, appear to be demonstrating this trope until the couch turns around and they are seen to be wearing strapless dresses.
* ''{{Petticoat Junction}}'''s "bathing beauty" scene in the opening credits is the trope codifier. One might think that the producers did not "know their own strength" regarding titillation for a 1960s show. However, that may have been subverted by an episode that showed the girls actually swimming in the tank; here, they wore swimsuits, albeit with straps.

** In another episode, Lwaxana Troi, her daughter Deanna, Worf and his son Alexander enjoy a mud bath. The audience doesn|t know whether they were supposed to be have any kind of swimwear.

* The cover of Music/Eurythmics' ''Touch'' shows Annie Lennox's bare shoulders, with Lennox wearing a mask and holding up a gloved hand.

* On ''Babylon 5'', Lyta appears this way during the show's only sex scene, between her and Byron. Combined with Toplessness From the Back.

* ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'''s title character demonstrates this trope at least twice: in Season 2's "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" when a potioned-up Buffy tries to seduce Xander, and in Season 6's "Dead Things" during a Buffy-Spike sex scene.

[[AC:Live Action Television]]

* An episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had Lwaxana Troi attend her own wedding naked. (Betazed tradition) Majel Barret was filmed from the shoulders up.
** In another episode, Lwaxana, Deanna, Worf and Alexander enjoy a mud bath this way.

* ''AmericasNextTopModel'': Usually, the contestants are shown bare-shouldered in the photos. Subverted when backstage stuff shows that they're wearing tube tops or strapless bras of some sort.

* In the DVD movie ''BigTopScoobyDoo!'', Velma is shown clothesless from the shoulders up after a botched practice session as "The Human Comet", a circus human cannonball stunt. She tensed up, causing her costume only to fly out when the cannon is fired.

* ''Series/TheBennyHillShow'' seems to like this trope. One example is where two female singers, seen from behind their couch, apprear to be demonstrating this trope until the couch turns around and they are seen to be wearing strapless dresses.

* In the DVD movie ''Big Top Scooby-Doo!'', Velma is shown clothesless from the shoulders up after a botched practice session as "The Human Comet", a circus human cannonball stunt. She tensed up, causing her costume only to fly out when the cannon is fired.

Compare to, and sometimes see it combined with, ToplessnessfromtheBack, especially to "prove" that the character is actually at least partly unclothed.

Compare to, and sometimes see it combined with, {{Toplessness from the Back}}, especially to "prove" that the character is actually at least partly unclothed.

The trope codifier is the opening sequence to ''{{Petticoat Junction}}'', where the three women are visible from the shoulders up while {{skinny dipping}} in the water tank.

* ''{{AmericasNextTopModel}}'': Usually, the contestants are shown bare-shouldered in the photos. Subverted when backstage stuff shows that they're wearing tube tops or strapless bras of some sort.

Many times when a character is supposedly naked, a female will only be shown from the shoulders-up. A male character in a similar situation might be shown from the waist-up, though this is not as common.

The level of titillation from this trope can depend on many factors, including the scene context, the mood, the context, the actor(s), and the presence of others of the same or opposite gender. Some viewers might consider such scenes {{fanservice}} regardless.

Compare to, and sometimes combined with, {{Toplessness from the Back}}, especially to "prove" that the character is actually at least partially unclothed.

The trope codifier is the opening sequence to ''{{Petticoat Junction}}'', where the 3 women are visible from the shoulders up while {{skinny dipping}} in the water tank.

* In ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'' Bond rips the top off of General Pushkin's mistress to distract a bodyguard entering the room. The bodyguard's POV is shown as a shoulders up shot of the mistress. This is followed by a ToplessnessFromTheBack shot to imply her naked chest without actually showing it.
* In ''Film/WildWildWest'' we see James West and a girl swimming in a water tank, shoulders up.
* {{In-Universe}} example: In ''{{Porkys}} Revenge'', after the girls promised the guys an orgy after they won the big game, they all went into a swimming pool at night. The girls proceeded to seductively pull down their straps (while standing with their shoulders above the surface) then threw their swimsuits out of the water. In reality, [[spoiler: they actually divested ''spare'' swimsuits; the suits whose straps they pulled remained on.]]

* ''{{AmericasNextTopModel}}'' - Usually, the contestants are shown bare-shouldered in the photos. Subverted when backstage stuff shows that they're wearing tube tops or strapless bras of some sort.

* ''{{Petticoat Junction}}'''s "bathing beauty" scene in the opening credits is the trope codifier. One might think that the producers did not "know their own strength" viz. titillation for a '60s show. However, that may have been subverted by an episode that showed the girls actually swimming in the tank; here, they wore swimsuits, albeit with straps.

* ''Series/That70sShow'' - There's an episode were bot Red and Hyde are helping Bob move some stuff in his home, when they open a door the are flashed by Pam, the whole scene is a combination of this and ToplessnessFromTheBack withso that we can see both Red and Hyde's mouth on the floor.

* Many women's magazines will show models with this trope in simple photos depicting hairstyles and/or makeovers. This is presumably done to avoid bias, or so clothes don't add to or subtract from the new look.

* The cover of Music/{{Heart}}'s ''Dreamboat Annie'' album, in which sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson are sitting back to back, apparently topless, but the image is cropped below the shoulders.

* Male version: In the Warner Brother's short ''Forward March Hare'', Bugs is waiting in line with a bunch of men to take an Army induction physical. All the men are shown undressed from the waist up.

* Sometimes, a photo might be posted of a group of young women implied to be skinny dipping; they're in a pool, probably at night, with everything below the shoulders blocked by the edge of the pool deck. (More than likely, they were really wearing bathing suits, but pulled down any straps for the picture to invoke this trope.)

** In another episode, Lwaxana, Troy, Worf and Alexander enjoy a mud bath this way.

The level of titillation from this trope can depend on many factors, including the scene context, the mood, the context, the actor(s), and the presence of others of the same or opposite gender. [[YMMV Some viewers]] might consider such scenes {{fanservice}} regardless.

* Done in the first ''AustinPowers'' film with Austin and Alotta Fagina, in a hot tub.

* In TheLivingDaylights Bond rips the top off of General Pushkin's mistress to distract a bodyguard entering the room. The bodyguard's POV is shown as a shoulders up shot of the mistress. This is followed by a ToplessnessFromTheBack shot to imply her naked chest without actually showing it.

* ''TheBennyHillShow'' seems to like this trope. One example is where two female singers, seen from behind their couch, apprear to be demonstrating this trope until the couch turns around and they are seen to be wearing strapless dresses.

* An episode of StarTrekTheNextGeneration had Lwaxana Troi attend her own wedding naked. (Betazed tradition) Majel Barret was filmed from the shoulders up.

* ''{{That70sShow}}'' - There's an episode were bot Red and Hyde are helping Bob move some stuff in his home, when they open a door the are flashed by Pam, the whole scene is a combination of this and ToplessnessFromTheBack withso that we can see both Red and Hyde's mouth on the floor.

* The cover of Music/{{Heart}}'s ''Dreamboat Annie'' album, in which sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson are sitting back to back, apparently topless, but the image is cropped below the shoulders.

* ''{{That70sShow}}'' - there's an episode were bot Red and Hyde are helping Bob move some stuff in his home, when they open a door the are flashed by Pam, the whole scene is a combination of this and ToplessnessFromTheBack withso that we can see both Red and Hyde's mouth on the floor.

* ''{{Petticoat Junction}}'''s "bathing beauty" scene in the opening credits is the trope codifier. One might think that the producers did not "know their own strength" viz. titillation for a '60s show. However, that may have been subverted by an episode that showed the girls actually swimming in the tank; here, they wore swimsuits, albeit with straps.

The trope codifier is the opening sequence to ''{{Petticoat Junction}}'', where the 3 women are visible from the shoulders-up while {{skinny dipping}} in the water tank. This was apparently subverted by an episode that actually showed the girls swimming in the tank wearing swimsuits, but those suits had straps.

The trope codifier is the opening sequence to ''{{Petticoat Junction}}'', where the 3 women are visible from the shoulders-up while {{skinny dipping}} in the water tank. This was apparently subverted by an episode that actually showed the girls swimming in the tank wearing swimsuits, but those suits had straps.