DaasYochid –
Very interesting, and thanks for the link. However: 1) I don’t think there is a reasonable indication that he is saying it is an “absolute” ervah regardless of current social norms. 2) Most rishonim do not say this pshat – and I would suspect because of the kasha I mentioned, that if so the Gemara could’ve used this.
Let me put something else out there. The Gemara in Kesubos (17a) potentially permits negia b’ervah to an individual who is not affected by it. While I am not advocating relying on this, as the Ritva at the end of Kiddushin says this is only for a ???? ???? ???? ????? or something like that, it is something which we see in theory is possible. Moreover, the Aruch Hashulchan (EH 21) brings it down as the halachic norm regarding things which the society in general is already “used to.” Meaning, as I understand it, that even though for things which affect most people we say only a ???? ???? should be meikil, something which everybody is used to does not require such a standard. In a community where it is common for people to dress a certain way I find it hard to believe that a certain normally exposed area will cause hirhur per se more than any other, so even if we admit the Ri’az, I would say this halacha is an anachronism in many places today. And if the whole idea of dressing a specific way is based on what is called “ervah,” it won’t apply either in such places.