Modesty Towel: Difference between revisions

[[File:sdsds_copysdsds copy.gif|link=Code Geass|rightframe|<small>Alright, who signed [[Action Girl|me]] up for [[Fan Service]] duty again!?</small> ]]

In film and television, characters that have just bathed or showered will often be wrapped in towels to preserve their modesty. Men will wear the towel wrapped around the waist, usually reaching to the knees, while women will wear it from under the arms to the hips ,<ref> or knees, depending on how long the towel is</ref>, covering themselves up even if there is no-one else around.

This is often [[Truth in Television]]: those who are accustomed to doing so while others are around will often cover themselves out of habit, even if they are alone -- notalone—not to mention that if you've just stepped out of a hot shower, the rest of the bathroom's going to seem a bit chilly, not to mention it soaks up extra dampness from the body and hair. A woman will also often wrap a towel around her hair, and effeminate males are sometimes shown to wear towels in the feminine style [[Played for Laughs|for comic effect]] or to establish their [[Camp Gay|effeminacy]]. Female characters ''can'' wear their [[Modesty Towel|'''modesty towels]]''' in the masculine way (or a mock-up of that way, which has one towel around the breasts and another wrapped at the waist, [[Bare Your Midriff|baring the midriff]]), but this isn't done that often and will most likely be used for [[Fan Service]] (or to establish a female character as acting like "one of the guys").

* A Flash cartoon advertisement for a shower gel on French websites has a mother and daughter doing a {{[[media|Smoothie_1_9777:Smoothie 1 9777.jpg| dance in modesty towels}}]]. With the last image, {{[[media|Smoothie_2_3595:Smoothie 2 3595.jpg| the towels fall.}}]]

* Isaiah Mustafa of the ''[[The Man Your Man Could Smell Like (Advertising)|The Man Your Man Could Smell Like]]'' Old Spice adverts is known for wearing one. It's all he wears in the personalized Youtube response videos, and even mentions that the only way to do community service is in a towel. Subverted in that whenever he changes the scene, he wears new clothes as the situation demands. [[Walking Shirtless Scene|But never a shirt.]]

* Many spoofs of advertisements featuring towel-only clad models have appeared through the years. However, North Scott High School in Eldridge, Iowa, took this a step farther in the spring of 2002 when members of the school newspaper, ''The Lance'', published a "centerfold" featuring students -- includingstudents—including several 18-year-old male and female students -- dressedstudents—dressed minimally, including some girls wrapped only in towels. Related pictures (which also appeared in a "minimal clothing calendar") appeared on the April 25, 2002, issue's back page. The student editor told the ''Moline Daily Dispatch'' that his staff had gotten the idea from reading ads for such items as perfume and shaving cream in magazines that circulated at the school's library. The resulting newspaper gained noteriety in the community for several days as several conservative-minded community members expressed their concern about the morality of the feature and, despite the absence of outright nudity and a disclaimer that the students ''were'' dressed, the fact that child pornography had inadvertently been published. (All of the students pictured in the issue were seniors, but the worry was that some had yet to turn 18.)

== Anime &and Manga ==

* The unusual usage of towels is lampshaded in ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler (Manga)|Hayate the Combat Butler]]'', where the narrator [[No Fourth Wall|points out]] that the towels are added due to broadcast regulations and shouldn't be worn in baths because it's unhygienic and disliked by bath attendants.

* Aeka and Sasami used these at times in versions of ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' Even in the spring. This would be more of a character decision, though; it's hard to call it censorship when everyone else around them goes without.

* In the ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' manga, when Touga sees Dios's power for the first time and decides to get close to Utena to find out more about it, he joins Utena's household as a "shimobe" (personal servant). The first time Utena hears of this is the next day, when he waltzes out of her shower, clad only in a [[Modesty Towel]].

* As an effeminate male, Kazuki did this in the ''[[Get BackersGetBackers]]'' anime (as well as [[Ms. Fanservice|Hevn]] and [[Neutral Female|Natsumi]], when the camera cut back to them), but he didn't bother in the manga version. He has a ''very'' nice rear...

* In [[Baka to Test Toto Shoukanjuu]] the EXTREMELY effeminate male Hideyoshi wears a towel this way, as seen in episode 6.

* While the title character of ''[[Ranma One Half½]]'' [[Shameless Fanservice Girl|really couldn't care less]], Akane will wrap her in a towel anyway. Even if there's nobody but girls in the room.

* In the ''[[Gintama (Manga)|Gintama]]'' anime, [[White -Haired Pretty Boy|Gintoki]] and [[Tall, Dark and Handsome|Hijikata]] got into a fight at a sauna, which consisted mainly of a lot of grabbing each other while wearing ridiculously tiny towels. Needless to say, it was '''AWESOME!'''

* One scene of Goku bathing in ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' is censored with the use of a digital towel. They even animate it falling off to the ground as Goku jumps in. That is to say, animated it POORLY.

* There's a short [[Super -Deformed]] [[Hot Springs Episode|Hot Springs Anime Special]] for ''[[Harukanaru Toki no Naka Dede]] 3'' that features Modesty Towels; and apparently it's entirely possible to ''swim underwater freely'' while wrapped in these. Also, considering [[Cast Full of Pretty Boys|the nature]] of the ''Haruka'' franchise, had the special not been drawn in the [[Super -Deformed]] style, it probably would've been much more valuable in terms of [[Fan Service]]...

* In ''[[Summer Wars]]'', Natsuki emerges from the bathroom to chase down [[Naked People Are Funny|one of her little cousins who had gone running from the bathroom without a stitch]], when she runs into Kenji. She quickly darts back in to the bathroom, while Kenji averts his eyes and insists that he saw nothing.

* {{spoiler|Yuri}} from [[Mawaru Penguindrum (Anime)|Mawaru Penguindrum]] dones one in episode 15, right before {{spoiler|she fights Masako.}}

* ''[[The Idolmaster (Animeanime)|THE iDOLM@STER]]'' - Miki enters the men's bath wearing just a towel.

== Comics --Comic Books ==

* [[Donald Duck]] wears a Modesty Towel after taking a shower. Given that he [[Half -Dressed Cartoon Animal|doesn't wear pants]], presumably it's done [[Rule of Funny|because it's funny]].

== Fan Works ==

* In ''[[Kyon Big Damn Hero (Fanfic)|Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'', Mikuru had one of these the first time {{spoiler|she arrived at Nagato's apartment for training}}.

* ''[[Fantastic Four (Filmfilm)|Fantastic Four]]''

* Riffed in ''[[The Man With the Golden Gun (Film)|The Man Withwith the Golden Gun]]'' when [[James Bond (Filmfilm)|James Bond]] surprises Andrea Anders in the shower. She tells him to hand her a towel, so he does. Only it's a hand towel.

* In ''[[The HitchhikersHitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy (Filmfilm)|The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy]]'' movie, Trillian is about to emerge from a shower when she asks Arthur for a towel, adding to the already well-established "Most Versatile Object in the Universe" gag.

* Subverted in ''[[Sorority Row (Film)|Sorority Row]]''. A girl does have a modesty towel but as a punishment for going into the seniors' bathroom, she is forced to remove it and walk across the house back to her bedroom in the buff. Oh, did I mention this is a horror film?

* A [[Deleted Scene]] from ''[[Diamonds Are Forever (Film)|Diamonds Are Forever]]'' had Plenty O'Toole, a minor character and almost one-night-stand of James Bond, returning to his apartment wearing nothing but a white towel after she had been thrown out of his hotel room and landed in a pool while wearing nothing but her underwear and high heels.

** One scene in ''[[Thunderball (Film)|Thunderball]]'' has Bond encounter a [[Femme Fatale]] in the bath, and is asked for a towel for this purpose. Bond hands her a ''face towel''.

{{quote| '''Teri:''' ''(seductively)'' Name three presidents.<br />

* In the 2004 ''[[Starsky and Hutch (Filmfilm)|Starsky and Hutch]]'' movie, all the cops at the locker room use these, but Hutch and Starsky are the only ones using ''hand'' towels.

* Subverted by [https://web.archive.org/web/20110416055454/http://ancensored.com/clip/clip-savage-beach-sexy-beauty Maxine Wasa] in ''Savage Beach'' when she wraps a towel around her [[Waist/NSFW]]

* Game shows: Many game shows with models -- especiallymodels—especially if they're the beautiful, 20-something type -- willtype—will sometimes feature them wrapped in towels if they are modeling spas, saunas and similar prizes.

* ''[[Monday Night Football]]'': An infamous pre-show skit aired November 15, 2004, as a takeoff of Nicolette Sheridan's Edie Britt character on ''[[Desperate Housewives]]''. Sheridan, in-character as Edie and dressed only in a towel, enters the Philadelpia Eagles locker room and seduces wide receiver Terrell Owens. Owens remains focused until Edie takes it off ... takes it ''all off'', after which Owens remarks that the Eagles "are gonna have to win this game without me" as an estatic Edie jumps into Owens' arms. Afterward, two women -- perhapswomen—perhaps reflecting the soon-to-come negative criticism over the incident (and it did come, despite the absence of outright nudity) -- scoff at the skit before shouting to the camera, "Are you ready for some football?!"

* Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, which has aired its "surprise" presentations of $1 million checks on live television (usually on Super Bowl Sunday), once caught a 21-year-old girl wrapped in nothing but a towel answering the door of a winner.

{{quote| '''Chandler:''' That's a relatively open weave and I can still see your... nipular areas.}}

* New ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined (2004 TV series)|The new ''Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'']]:

** In one episode ("Home, Part II"), Number Six uses an interesting variant -- avariant—a Modesty ''Chair'' which she straddles backward -- whenbackward—when she talks with Baltar.

** Probably inspired by the famous [http[wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CKeeler1.jpg |Christine Keeler photo]].

* ''[[GreysGrey's Anatomy]]'': Dr. Sloan's first appearance. His very first appearance was actually hitting on Meredith in the hospital, although the scene with the towel is probably his most famous.

* In Series Five of ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'', the Doctor, under the (mistaken) impression that his roommate is being attacked, races out of the shower to rescue him, barely managing to wrap a towel around his waist beforehand. Considering that this is the [[No Sense of Personal Space|Eleventh]] [[Cloudcuckoolander|Doctor]], it is rather impressive that he remembered to grab a towel at all.

* Subverted on [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] No Mercy of 2006: William Regal was wearing a towel during a segment with Vito. {{spoiler|While Regal was moving around, [[Fan Disservice|his penis was exposed]]}}.

* A week after the Terrell Owens-Nicolette Sheridan ''[[Monday Night Football]]'' "towel skit" aired and gained negative criticism by conservative critics and women's groups, a parody skit aired on ''[[Monday Night Raw]]''. Shelton Benjamin was initially in the Owens role, while -- despitewhile—despite wearing a nose brace due to a legit injury suffered a week earlier -- babeliciousearlier—babelicious blonde diva Trish Stratus was the towel-clad Edie Britt (Sheridan's ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' character), this time with Benjamin trying to prepare for a match and Trish doing her best to turn on her sexual charms. WWE owner [[Vince McMahon]] entered the locker room to express (mock) outrage, claiming the swift downfall of society would result by solely said actions being aired on TV. Benjamin walked off disgusted, and after he left McMahon immediately focused entirely on Trish ... who took it all off. Cue the ''Monday Night Football'' theme as an orgasmic McMahon gleefully said, "Are you ready for some wrestlin'?"

* ''[[Persona 4]]'' uses this for its [[Hot Springs Episode|hot spring scene]] as well.

* [[Insufferable Genius|Kira's]] entrance in ''[[Arcana Heart (Video Game)|Arcana Heart]]'' starts with her wearing one that she dramatically [[Flung Clothing|flings away]] at the same time that she puts on her swimsuit.

* ''[[Maple Story]]'' has these as an equip. [[Lethal Joke Item|Oddly enough]], it's one of the best items a [[Min -Maxing|pure]] can have/make, as it's one of the few relatively cheap pieces of overall armor that can be scrolled numerous times for a specific stat.

* In ''[[The Sims 3]]'', if a character has their clothes stolen while skinny dipping, they immediately cover up in one of these on emerging from the pool.

* In ''[[Secret Agent Clank (Video Game)|Secret Agent Clank]]'', [[Ratchet and Clank|Ratchet]] and the more humanoid enemies wear these in the showers (and lose them upon taking damage, leaving them with [[Censor Box|Censor Boxes]]es).

* [[Ar Tonelicotonelico]] features [[Modesty Towel]] as a ''battle costume'' for Aurica. Somehow, it gives away most stats of all her clothes selection.

* Appears in ''[[Devil Bear (Webcomic)|Devil Bear]]'' after the Daivas share some time in the [http://www.thedevilbear.com/comics.php?p=103 Hot Springs.]

* ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]''

{{quote| '''Haley:''' Zfq bq nzml? (Are we back?)}}

* In the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' "GOFOTRON" arc, Princess-Princess actually [https://web.archive.org/web/20140117180241/http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=010708 puts a towel on] for the naked part of her [[Transformation Sequence]].

* ''[[Out There]]'': Miriam on occasion, others (like Sherry) less frequently [https://web.archive.org/web/20180319101020/http://outthere.keenspot.com/d/20070901.html\]

* ''[[Freefall (Webcomic)|Freefall]]'': [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01526.htm Florence is called to the videofone.]

* In ''[[The KA MicsKAMics]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20120607082224/http://www.drunkduck.com/The_KAMics/4829970/ Nikki wears one here.]

* In ''[[Meat Shield (Webcomicwebcomic)|Meat Shield]]'', it's more like [http://www.meatshield.net/archive/dhur-and-the-duckies/ Modesty Blankets] for Jaine and Dhur after they get mugged.

* The cover for the first print collection of ''[[Housepets (Webcomic)|Housepets]]'' shows Peanut and Grape wearing the male and female versions, respectively, of a modesty towel, even though they almost always walk around wearing only a collar in normal conditions.<ref>In the comic, even pets soaked down to the bone aren't any more detailed about their mostly undressed state than when dry.</ref>

* On [https://web.archive.org/web/20140703094933/http://flyingsparkscomic.com/archive/issue-4-page-1/ the first page of issue 4] of ''Flying Sparks'', Johnny Benvinuti has just come out of the shower wearing only a towel, which suddenly slips off his body.

{{quote| '''Richard Nixon:''' Damn it, Brannigan, I didn't live for thousands of years and travel millions of miles to look at another man's gizmo!}}

** One particular scene (which became [[Fan Service]] fuel to nearly all the girls watching it) near the end of the episode "Bragging Rights" had [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNAeQg0P6q8 Odd dancing around for "breaking the record of fastest shower"], while wearing only a [[Modesty Towel]]. For some reason, many fangirls wanted that towel to fall off.

* After soaking in his bathtub in a previous scene of ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]'', Megatron comes out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Considering that he is a robot and thus always naked just like everyone else, it's not clear why he's done this.

* In the ''[[Veggie Tales (Animation)|Veggie Tales]]'' song about Larry's hairbrush, Larry is shown in a Modesty Towel (even though he doesn't wear anything other than the occasional period-appropriate headdress in the regular animated stories or on one occasion, in a corporate setting, a tie when his character was promoted) coming out of the shower, and everyone who walks into him still recoils in embarrassment. At the end, the Peach shows up and is ''also'' wrapped in a towel. The two are embarrassed by each other.

* In episode 4 of ''[[Wakfu (Animation)|Wakfu]]'', almost the whole cast wears one, though not just to keep modesty but also to hide the "ugly princesses" disguises. Unfortunately, the only one to have the towel fall off is [[Fan Disservice|Ruel]].

* Krang in the 80s ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987 (Animation)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon wears one in his robotic body after Shredder contacts him on his communicator and "interrupts his shower" in one episode.

* ''[[Animaniacs (Animation)|Animaniacs]]'', "Moon Over Minerva". Then again, this trope was applied to Ms. Mink every chance the writers got in the comics.

{{quote| '''Archer:''' He's uncircumcised.<br />

'''Lana:''' Okay, glossing over how you know that...<br />

'''Archer:''' We touched penises.<br />

* Heather from ''[[Total Drama Island (Animation)|Total Drama]]'' is often seen wearing one during the first season.