Why do men in North America wear knee length swimming suits? (dangerous, vacations)
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Note that this percentage is the combination of adding overweight (but not obese) men, plus the percentage of men who are obese.
Often, only "obesity" statistics are published, as if being "overweight" (but not "obese") doesn't matter. When the numbers are combined, it turns out that most men in the US are, in fact, fat. Maybe not congestive-heart-failure-and-diabetes fat, but fat enough that they don't belong anywhere near a speedo.
See below for more information, right from the NIH.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sponger42
No, those are pretty easy to keep separate. Eyeliner is not fun for me. Neither are tight pants or speedos. Having to wear such things to be socially acceptable would make me unhappy. You can put bananna hammocks on all the manliest men in Machoville, and call boardies "water skirts" and have only old ladies wear them, but that's not going to make me give mine up.
Based on what's fun for me, as a guy, I can only guess that the European and Asian trend toward dressing up and other feminizing aspects is driven by social pressure. Take away that pressure and I reckon that "guy" stuff would make a comeback. Because seriously, you can't tell me that you actually like tweezing your eyebrows. Even women don't like a lot of the beauty work they suffer through, they do it to fit in. I can see that European men are more likely to do the same for the same reasons. Thus the proliferation of grape smugglers.
Insightful post. I tried out a pair of 'slim' jeans and they were so tight they were constricting my legs! And I have skinny legs! Why women or men wear something so uncomfortable for fashion is beyond me.
It's a combination of puritanical attitudes and style.
Board shorts aren't heavy when wet. Whatever they're made out of, the ones that I have don't really absorb water. They shed most of it.
The overweight thing may not be related to not seeing a lot of short swimming suits. Given the extra weight most American guys carry around, one might consider the lack of short suits on American men, to be a fortunate side effect of the culture.
I've been to beaches in Spain and have seen many candid pictures posted by my friends on Facebook and others of beaches in other European countries, and HARDLY ANYBODY WEARS SPEEDOS - at least of the young male population. (Nor do most women go topless) They follow the same practices as Americans do. And seriously, I think this whole "puritanical" thing is overplayed. Would songs about different sexual fetishes and practices hit the top of the charts, much less be played on the radio, in a "puritanical" nation?
6'0 tall, 185 lbs is overweight!!??...I have 6 pounds to spare, whew.
I am 6' tall and 197 lbs and ripped. Not overweight. I am muscular, but not a body builder or anything. I just have a physical job with lots of lifiting and I commute by bicycle about 50 miles per week. I used to be 230 lbs and people would describe me as 'heavy-set' or even 'chunky' but not obese.
Those charts assume that most people are sedentary ectomorphs (i.e. slender and muscle-less). If I weighed 185, you would take me to a hospital for acute anorexia.
I've been to beaches in Spain and have seen many candid pictures posted by my friends on Facebook and others of beaches in other European countries, and HARDLY ANYBODY WEARS SPEEDOS - at least of the young male population. (Nor do most women go topless) They follow the same practices as Americans do. And seriously, I think this whole "puritanical" thing is overplayed. Would songs about different sexual fetishes and practices hit the top of the charts, much less be played on the radio, in a "puritanical" nation?
In Spain it depends on the region. Normally, people in the north and the Atlantic coast has a more "conservative" way of dressing.
In the northern beaches the vast majority of young people use long shorts, but in the mediterranean beaches and in the Canary islands people tend to use shorter swimsuits.
The most common bathing suit was this
But in the last years the speedo has become very common, or a little bit longer version of speedo.
With the topless it's the same. In the north it's not really common, in the Med. coast there are more girls in topless than girls with bikini tops.
The only European country that I think the speedo is widely used is Italy.
No, those are pretty easy to keep separate. Eyeliner is not fun for me. Neither are tight pants or speedos. Having to wear such things to be socially acceptable would make me unhappy. You can put bananna hammocks on all the manliest men in Machoville, and call boardies "water skirts" and have only old ladies wear them, but that's not going to make me give mine up.
Based on what's fun for me, as a guy, I can only guess that the European and Asian trend toward dressing up and other feminizing aspects is driven by social pressure. Take away that pressure and I reckon that "guy" stuff would make a comeback. Because seriously, you can't tell me that you actually like tweezing your eyebrows. Even women don't like a lot of the beauty work they suffer through, they do it to fit in. I can see that European men are more likely to do the same for the same reasons. Thus the proliferation of grape smugglers.
I agree with you about eyeliner and eyebrows etc. However, I failed to see how wearing slightly shorter and lighter square cut swimming shorts has anything to do with "putting extra effort just to be pretty". If anything, it makes life (swimming) easier.
Europeans and Asian trend toward dressing up not because of social pressure. It is self-expression - to wear what you feel like, despite possible negative social pressure against doing so (being considered feminine). There are much more men who wear regular non-trendy outfit than those who dress up, aren't they? If there is such pressure, most men would have done so.
In Spain it depends on the region. Normally, people in the north and the Atlantic coast has a more "conservative" way of dressing.
In the northern beaches the vast majority of young people use long shorts, but in the mediterranean beaches and in the Canary islands people tend to use shorter swimsuits.
The most common bathing suit was this
But in the last years the speedo has become very common, or a little bit longer version of speedo.
With the topless it's the same. In the north it's not really common, in the Med. coast there are more girls in topless than girls with bikini tops.
The only European country that I think the speedo is widely used is Italy.
I was on the beach near Alicante and I don't remember seeing any speedos. I did see some topless women, but it wasn't common. And those swim trunks above ^ would be common on a US beach as well.
In Spain it depends on the region. Normally, people in the north and the Atlantic coast has a more "conservative" way of dressing.
In the northern beaches the vast majority of young people use long shorts, but in the mediterranean beaches and in the Canary islands people tend to use shorter swimsuits.
The most common bathing suit was this
But in the last years the speedo has become very common, or a little bit longer version of speedo.
With the topless it's the same. In the north it's not really common, in the Med. coast there are more girls in topless than girls with bikini tops.
The only European country that I think the speedo is widely used is Italy.
Those swim trunks you have just shown, would actually be pretty popular and common here in the U.S. Just saying.
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