Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm 36, and I view it as an issue of sanitation, and in some cases, almost trolling for sex.
I used to go to a gym with a hot tub in the locker room, and a steam room around the corner. Guys would frequently go between the two without even rinsing off. You'd see someone leave the hot tub, then go sit in the steam room, bare ass on the bench. Sweaty guys from the steam room would just walk into the hot tub.
You'd have guys who would just make cycles between the showers, steam room, and hot tub, never getting dressed, and never in the building for any other apparent purpose. While I never saw anything go on there, it had a "cruising" reputation.
That's the thing. Your generation attaches sex to it. Ours didn't. In a male only locker room, who would they be trolling for sex with? Straight guys wouldn't have been thinking about sex; they'd be thinking about getting showered, dressed, and to the next class on time.
Beam explains that the first recreational indoor pool in America opened in the Brooklyn YMCA in New York in 1885. Because swimsuits back then were made of wool, and their fibers would clog the pool’s relatively unsophisticated filtration systems, nude swimming was enforced to make sure the pool didn’t break.
By the 1920s, there were other, more comfortable swimming alternatives that didn’t shed fibers. However, nude swimming continued. The rationale this time around was that nude swimming was more hygienic. I asked Beam how so.
I showered in the locker room in high school after PE and never gave it much thought. Same with the gym but at minimum wore a towel when walking from the showers to my locker. I am not even shocked about the YMCA/HS requiring boys to swim naked, but I am shocked that they were often in mixed company and publicly photographed. Could you imagine crushing on Suzie in 10th grade and having her and her mom see you naked?
I just think men get more comfortable being naked in semi-public the older they get. Think of a 70 year old man who has had his body operated on in surgery more than once. Surgeries and medical procedures can be very humbling, why trifle with covering up when you've been probed and stitched in front of a medical staff?
And they are far less likely to be homophobic at that age. Young men often won't use a sauna unless they are alone in it.
I don't recall seeing anyone "parading" naked back and forth in front of others, but I did see hundreds of guys walking naked to and from their locker to the shower room and back...
[quote=Serious Conversation;64597321]I'm 36, and I view it as an issue of sanitation, and in some cases, almost trolling for sex.
I used to go to a gym with a hot tub in the locker room, and a steam room around the corner. Guys would frequently go between the two without even rinsing off. You'd see someone leave the hot tub, then go sit in the steam room, bare ass on the bench. Sweaty guys from the steam room would just walk into the hot tub.
Trolling for sex? I don't have an opinion about the issue of sanitation since I don't use hot tubs, saunas, or steam baths.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arktikos
I was a kid during the 60's. To my recollection it was never commonplace to mill around naked in a locker room to BS with other boys, and it's definitely not happening for me when at the local fitness club for playing indoor tennis. I don't mind being naked briefly in front of other people, but hanging out or parading around in that condition seems a bit odd to this old guy.
Agreed, nobody milled around naked in locker rooms. But you can't compare teenage boys in the 1960s to older men today. Not many older men were going to gyms and using locker rooms in the 1960s. Today it is very common. There does seem to be this pattern of older men going to gyms and not exercising. They use the steam or sauna, shave, brush their teeth, shower, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tnff
It was common practice. The high school locker room was one big stall shower with a couple dozen nozzles. Heck, even the dorm I was in my first year of college had community showers where about 20 guys could shower at once. Guys gym shorts were actually short as were swimsuits. We basically didn't think a second thought about a bunch of guys being the shower at the same time.
I think it was the 80s and the big fear of being thought of as "gay" that guys started to worry about being naked in a locker room and shorts suddenly dropped to knee length. Think about it. Now days if you see a guy running in shorty blue nylon shorts and no shirt, half the folks seeing him would think "gay." Back then it was just a guy jogging. Heck even in gym class that how they divided up teams -- shirts and skins.
The length of men's shorts have gone up and down over the years. Look at any pictures of men's basketball teams before 1980 and short shorts are the norm. I think it was more the result of Nike and Adidas trying to see more shorts. Most running shorts are short while basketball shorts are much longer, nothing to do with being gay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould
I've never heard of this before either.
Why did the YMCA require males to swim naked?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chas863
I've never heard of that either. I wonder where Mad Jasper saw that?
I first encountered this about 25 years ago. I would walk into the locker room after a workout and there would be a few older, naked guys (40s/50s and older) chatting about what guys chat about. And they were never in a hurry to get dressed. It was especially common at the Y. It was commonplace to see one or two Boomers naked in the whirlpool... until the gym began requiring bathing suits.
It didn't bother me (except I wasn't getting in the whirlpool with older naked men) - I just thought it was unusual. But I think I discovered why it is normal amongst that generation.
I was recently reading about the history of the YMCA. In the course of that reading, I discovered that until the late 60s, and early 70s, the YMCA required males to swim naked (at least in some locations). That rabbit hole led me to articles and actual images of high school boys swimming naked at mixed gym meets - with parents watching. There are actual newspaper articles with photos of naked, high school boys standing next to coaches and high school girls in bathing suits. Just casually standing around naked - seemingly without any concern.
Reading and SEEING this made me feel as though I woke up in some alternate reality. I will be 52 soon... how have I never seen or heard of this? How did this happen in the USA and I never knew about it?
While we may think standing/walking around naked in the gym locker room might be strange, for these guys it was routine. It may have been normal for them to be naked around their peers, high school girls, coaches both male and female, and even parents. They don't give it a second thought.
It's definitely a thing and very weird phenomenon. As an old male, I must be weird because it's not something that I enjoy.
I think nudity should be more normalized, is not sane to give it all this importance to the human body. The more nudists there are, the less fuss it will cause to see a naked body in public.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't have an opinion about the issue of sanitation since I don't use hot tubs, saunas, or steam baths.
There are actual newspaper articles with photos of naked, high school boys standing next to coaches and high school girls in bathing suits. Just casually standing around naked - seemingly without any concern. 