Even the US of America weren’t nearly as prudish as they are today. Up until the 70s, nudity in films and from what I understand, YMCAs, was common. An uncle of mine (obviously not a USAmerican
) correlates this onset of prudery to the aggressive marketing of male undergarments (‘Marky Mark’) when clothing manufacturers realised that male undergarments had (and even more so, still have), by a mile, the biggest profit margin of all clothing items…
(Hygiene? Comfort? Societal decency? All cleverly crafted sophisms)