History Main / ShouldersUpNudity

* In "Shark Island" episode of Baywatch Hawaii, Jessie Owens is [[SkinnyDipping]] when she comes to rescue a swimmer stung by a jellyfish.

This trope can be easily subverted by a later camera shot that reveals a {{modesty towel}}, or for that matter a tube top, a strapless bikini, etc.

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

* In ''Film/{{How to Beat the High Cost of Living}}'', a naked Elaine (Jane Curtin) is shown from the shoulders up after she [[YouCanLeaveYourHatOn performs an impromptu striptease]] to distract the crowd and security from the ongoing heist.

* ''{{Series/Pandora}}'':

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WFYRqJulIs#t=25m28s this scene]], from the "Shark Island" episode of ''Series/BaywatchHawaii'', Jessie Owens is [[SkinnyDipping naked]] when she comes to rescue of a swimmer.

* The cover of Music/{{Heart}}'s ''Dreamboat Annie'' album shows sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson sitting back to back, apparently topless, but the image is cropped below the shoulders. Other publicity photos from the same session exist that make it clear that {{modesty towel}}s were involved.

* In the Seltzer and Friedberg movie ''Film/Disaster Movie'', when Juney strips she's only seen naked from the shoulders up.

* Happens a lot in ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}''. Whenever Kagome or occasionally Sango are shown bathing, the water covers any [[NippleAndDimed questionable areas]]. We still do see enough of their breasts for some definite {{Fanservice}}...

* Happens a lot in ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}''. Whenever Kagome or occasionally Sango are shown bathing, the water covers any questionable areas. We still do see enough of their breasts for some definite {{Fanservice}}...

* The ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' episode "Houseboat" has Malcolm stuck on a fishing boat with Hal while Reese and Stevie are across the lake partying with [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders cheerleaders]] at a summer camp. At one point, Malcolm dozes off and briefly hallucinates a naked cheerleader swimming up to his boat to flirt with him, and she's only seen from the shoulders up.

* ''Film/TheArcher'': Lauren is shown in the shower alongside Rebecca with the camera never moving above shoulder level.

* ''Film/{{Screamers}}. Jessica strips off her top to take a hand bath, [[ToplessnessFromTheBack showing her bare back]] to Hendricksson who then reveals some shocking news, causing her to whirl to face him. Her lower half is offscreen and Hendricksson doesn't even blink, but then says quietly, "Good lord, you're beautiful."

* In ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode "The Inside Man" has an naked Daisy Johnson shown from the shoulders up after undressing herself before having sex with Lincoln.

** Also used during a dream sequence when Ivanova imagines herself naked in public.

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* In one episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' Ash, Misty and Brock are relaxing together in a hotspring. This would raise a few alarms on its own, until a commotion startles them and they jump out, revealing that Misty is actually wearing a strapless bikini.

* In the Seltzer and Friedberg movie ''Disaster Movie'', when Juney strips she's only seen naked from the shoulders up.

* In ''Film/WildWildWest'', we see James West and a girl swimming in a water tank, shown from the shoulders up.
* InUniverse example: In ''Film/{{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]].

* In ''How to Beat the High Co$t of Living'', a naked Elaine (Jane Curtin) is shown from the shoulders up after she [[YouCanLeaveYourHatOn performs an impromptu striptease]] to distract the crowd and security from the ongoing heist.
* In ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'', after Alice is left naked due to her clothes being torn off after [[ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing becoming giant]], she's only seen from the shoulders up due to SceneryCensor.
* ''Film/JennifersBody'':
** When Jennifer takes off her shirt to seduce Jonas, the camera doesn't pan below her shoulders, except for a brief GodivaHair shot.
** When Jennifer gets out of the lake and walks up to her clothes naked, the camera either stays above her collarbone or focuses on her [[FootFocus bare feet]] and [[ShesGotLegs legs]].
** Similarly, when Needy is having sex with Chip, the camera stays above her breasts in the moments when she's not covered by him or something else.
* In ''Film/HotBot'', the camera stays above Bardot's shoulders when she drops her ModestyTowel in front of the boys. Later when she malfunctions and passes out on the bed still naked, [[SceneryCensor Nard's chainsaw conceals her body from the audience]].

* Invoked and ultimately subverted at the end of ''Film/CampNowhere''. [[spoiler:Betty, seemingly naked, swims up to Walter (who has spent the entire movie trying to get her to skinny dip with him) and goads him into stripping as well, only to reveal she was wearing a strapless suit as she leaves with his.]]

* ''Series/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.

* ''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 shown to be wearing strapless dresses.

* One infamous example from ''Series/ICarly'' where the girls were in changing booths. There was the implication that they were topless, but all you really saw were their shoulders. You'd think that this being a kids show, with actual under-18 actresses, that the girls would be wearing something underneath. Except Sam really WAS topless and they had to re-film the scene after the episode aired to eliminate the nip-slip that occurred. Oops!
* A brochure for ''Series/InspectorRex'' (''Rex: Special Unit'') has an image of a shoulders-up [[http://www.betafilm.com/media/files/pdf/Rex_Special_Unit_brochure_web.pdf Marco Terzani pointing with his pistol while being shirtless]].
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGLjb3-ngsQ#t=3m22s this scene]] Kendra Reilly [[WalkingSwimsuitScene wears a monokini]] when she goes swimming with Cody Madison in the "Baywatch Down Under" episode of ''Series/{{Baywatch}}''.
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WFYRqJulIs#t=25m28s this scene]], from the "Shark Island" episode of ''Baywatch Hawaii'', Jessie Owens is [[SkinnyDipping naked]] when she comes to rescue of a swimmer.
* In ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode "The Inside Man" has an naked Daisy Johnson shown from the shoulders up after undressing herself before having sex with Lincoln.

* ''{{Series/Pandora}}'':
** Jax is only seen from the shoulders up when stripping to take a shower in the first episode.
** It happens again in episode 2 with the Atria clones coming out of their tanks nude but, since this is a CW show, only shot from the collarbone up or with FootFocus.
** Pilar is shown this way part of the time when she's made to parade around nude in the school.

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

* The video of the Music/DixieChicks' 2000 video "Without You" involves each of the people in the video being naked, including the trope-fitter with Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire shown from the bare shoulders up. One source indicated that vulnerability was the general tone.

* Male version: In the Creator/WarnerBros short ''Forward March Hare'', WesternAnimation/BugsBunny 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.
* In the DVD movie ''WesternAnimation/BigTopScoobyDoo'', Velma is shown nude from the shoulders up after a botched practice session as "The Human Comet", a circus human cannonball stunt. She tensed up, causing only her costume to fly out when the cannon is fired.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' employs this during the scenes where the title character takes a bath, the makeover in the beginning (with [[GodivaHair her wet hair helping cover naughty bits]]), and when she goes into the lake (where [[SceneryCensor the surrounding foliage as she undresses]] also goes up to her shoulders).

* In the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds", Saffron gets naked in Mal's cabin, and is seen from the front, shoulders up, and from the back waist up.

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

** Happens again in episode 2 with the Atria clones coming out of their tanks nude but, since this is a CW show, only shot from the collarbone up or with FootFocus.