How comfortable are men with being nude in communal showers and locker rooms in your country or culture?

[JohnGw]

In Ireland most men are pretty open down to the point of talking about football. Its mostly the same in the UK from my time there too.

In South Wales it's mostly the rugby (or rygbi) and the other sporting things that we all do and nobody bothers about how anybody is dressed or undressed.

 

[deleted15446701]

Here is Spain no one gives a fuck.

 

[JayPR]

"That the last two generations are more prudish about being nude in front of others, that most gyms or sports facilities are taking privacy into consideration when designing locker room areas, and that in general men are less comfortable with being around other naked men, some people even see it as gayish, I guess meaning homoerotic."

I'm probably at the very end of the generation prior to the two cited above. We never thought about being naked in front of our friends because it wasn't a thing. We all saw each other naked for any number of reasons. I think 'reason' & 'situation' (as mentioned by Pepijn) are the operative words. I don't think we even noticed when one of us was naked as long as there was a reason.

I suspect this is why some of us sound awkward trying to discuss this. It's like we woke up one morning and everyone was like, "Did you know that some cars burn gasoline and some burn diesel????" and we're thinking, "Why is this even a topic of conversation?" It's very weird, especially to us older folks.

You're right.

My father and grandfather generations (one born in the 50s and the other one born in the 20s) grew up in a world where "men were not allowed to have modesty regarding nudity, that was for women." My dad told me that communal showers and being nude among other guys were an everyday thing in his young years, so everyone was used to that. Of course, there were guys that were uncomfortable with nudity, but when the whole world works in a certain way you just go along with it. And if you do some research, before the 80s or 70s, individual privacy was not as valued as today. My father had 4 brothers and they all share one big bedroom with bunk beds, and there was just one bathroom for a family of 9, so most of the time they had to shower in pairs to save time and water. Then you have to add that social institutions and activities reinforced the whole thing about nudity among men as just the norm (schools, sports, military, boy scouts, public recreational facilities, etc.)

 

[dreams69]

I live in Bulgaria and at the swimming pool I go to, I'd say around 2/3 of the guys shower naked and change openly. It's pretty much the same trend in Eastern Europe which tends to be casual about shower/locker room nudity.

 

[deleted15577081]

the thing about the UK is that although we have a mix of privately owned and state-owned gyms, most pools are run (or owned by) by the local government (council) and thanks to budgets the male and female changing and showering have often been knocked into one communal unisex area with cubicles so there's no nudity allowed, its strange seeing women showering in full swimsuits! I hate those tiny cubucles with nowhere dry to stand (wet socks!) so I go to the pools with large single-sex changing rooms and open shower so I can use my soap or shower gel where its needed!

 

[Hshsjkabwhhw]

Sometimes it's just about what others are doing , people often succumb to peer pressure
I generally go with the flow , but more towards the nude side - if there is a single person showering naked, I will join them , I learned this during my postgrad years

My university has three sets of pools - one for the male athletes (swimming, water polo and diving) , one for female athletes and one open to all students
During vacations the athletes stay over to train but all other undergraduates go home , so they close the open pool to cut costs - men can use the pool usually reserved for male athletes
These athletes are not shy at all, and I learned on the very first day
At the end of a training session, while their coach is still speaking, many of them start stripping and towel drying. Some even hold their towels / wrap their towels around their necks , while standing still and continuing to listen, instead of even trying to cover up
Some also take their speedos off right after they got out of the pool to squeeze the water back into the pool
They dump all their gear (speedos, water polo caps) onto a table before going into the locker room - so that someone can collect them and send them to laundry. This means everyone is naked even before they enter the locker room, and most don't even bother covering up
I wondered how they could be so open - what if there's a woman using the pool ? Then I realized that the pool is for male athletes only - which is why they are so relaxed about being naked in the open
To them the entire pool area is their locker room - they even removed the doors to the locker room so that people inside can see and hear what's going on outside
There are very few students still on campus during vacations, so I stand out a lot. I am usually a shy person who hates attention and panics when strangers try to speak to me - so the only way to not catch their attention is by showering naked - since everyone else is showering naked

Then I gradually got more comfortable with it and started showering naked elsewhere - provided that at least one other person is also naked
Some of my postgrad friends are also the same - naked during vacation when showering in the athlete's locker room, showering with speedos on (or using a stall) when using the open pool

 

[deleted6713891]

In South Wales it's mostly the rugby (or rygbi) and the other sporting things that we all do and nobody bothers about how anybody is dressed or undressed.

Its the same in sport to be honest but even just the gym or the pool you get guys talking without a bother about being naked or not.

 

[hardonistic]

anywhere abroad, no problem

Back in my hood and my gym? I dunno everyone seemed very prude-ish probably cause we grew up like that in school

 

[Jochio]

In Ireland most men are pretty open down to the point of talking about football. Its mostly the same in the UK from my time there too.

I go to a college gym (DCU) in Dublin & most guys do the towel dance. Only ever seen guys get bare ass naked and talk a few times. Wish I was in a gym here where lads felt comfortable naked

 

[Dik Ryder]

Well, since I’m pretty much an exhibitionist I have no problem being nude in front of people!

 

[deleted6713891]

I go to a college gym (DCU) in Dublin & most guys do the towel dance. Only ever seen guys get bare ass naked and talk a few times. Wish I was in a gym here where lads felt comfortable naked

Younger college aged guts yeah some of them are self conscious was the same in UCD when I was there. Since moved away and most guys at the gym and pool are older as in 30s-40s and couldn't care less about being naked. There's also the gaa lads who I guess are just used to it but if you grow up without playing sport it's understandable why you'd be shy.

 

[Dik Ryder]

When I was on the swim team, we were always naked in the locker room! It was no big deal!

 

[Lucas Pacheco Sarnento Gustavo]

I was raised in Brazil, and despite the carnival culture, nudity is not really well accepted. It's true that at the beach, most men, despite their age or body shape, will most likely wear speedos instead of swimming shorts.

But over the years, speedos did grow a few inches and now they look almost like a tight trunk. Going nude on a non-nudist area can certainly give you a fine, even tanning topless women in their own property can be fined by their neighbors.

Gyms have no policy against nudity in their changing rooms, but doing it marks you as "the gay guy", and this is a nightmare for any straight guy here. Homophobia is rooted in the urban culture. The countryside itself is also quite homophobic too but nudity at spots like rivers, creeks, waterfalls and ponds are not often related with sexual behavior.

Open showers are really rare, most facilities have private shower cabins. But I believe sports teams tend to be more open about common nudity since they know each other. And the militaries have no choice on that.

 

[Sexromasex]

In Italy men are socially naked, like in a locker room. We chat, talk, dry up, naked together and it's really normal. I've been naked with some coworkers and no one gives a shit.

 

[opinionman]

I truly think, and I know I'm not alone, that when guys can't be comfortable in a locker room setting with nudity, it damages some mysterious part of their psyche.

 

[weewilliewinkie]

In the UK almost all men are quite happy being naked in communal showers and changing rooms

This isn't remotely true, staggeringly inaccurate in fact - it's almost none, not almost all, and that has been the case for ages.

I went through all my schooling right up to university and never once in all that time saw a peer naked, in fact, we would go to afternoon lessons with mud on our necks from morning rugby because no-one wanted to use the showers. I'm nearly forty now and if anything it's gotten worse - the prudishness isn't creeping in, it's already here.

Today i think it's 98% guys doing the towel dance, and almost nobody showering naked if you can even find a communal shower anymore. The only people doing that are pensioners with nothing to lose and you don't see them at the gym too much. I have had stares and aggression for being naked in the showers before, it's a pretty big social faux pas.

It's not as if younger people are just more shy though, i dont think it's aboyt prudishness - they post explicit things on social media, full nudes on reddit and share them with mates through snapchat, it's something else, I'm not sure what

 

[mikyang]

I would like to know how comfortable are men with nudity in public spaces or among peers in your country or culture? Especially I am talking about gym showers, locker rooms, dorms, communal showers, public baths, and even nudist beaches or lakes.

My question comes because it has been discussed extensively here and in another site, how open showers and communal showers are disappearing in the United States and other countries in the west. That the last two generations are more prudish about being nude in front of others, that most gyms or sports facilities are taking privacy into consideration when designing locker room areas, and that in general men are less comfortable with being around other naked men, some people even see it as gayish, I guess meaning homoerotic.

But, that's not true for other countries. From Russian banyas, Finland saunas to Korean spas or Japanese sento, to name a few, it seems that men in other cultures still have no problem with getting naked in front of each other. A friend from New Zealand told me that men down under are more open to getting naked than Americans for example. Also, in some countries in Latin America men still feel comfortable with nudity among guys and open showers are still the norm.

What do you think? How's it in your country or culture?

Japan have separate bath houses for woman and man for america thank god

boys were forced to swim naked and if you didnt in some schools you would not graduate if you didnt swim naked

 

[mikyang]

I went to Germany for a summer and guys there don't give a fuck about getting naked. I visited a public pool and at the locker area everyone was naked and taking their time, grandpas, older guys, young guys, teenagers, everyone.

were females in the mix in the pools

 

[mikyang]

This issue has been discussed a million times and I guess it's time for researchers to start exploring the issue in-depth.

Speaking as an American, I think the baseline issue is that American men are not acculturated into public/same-sex nudity from a young age. In literally all of the examples listed by the OP (Russian banya, Finnish sauna, Japanese sento), boys are exposed to those from a very early age by the men in their lives, so as they grow up it becomes second-nature and nobody thinks twice about stripping. None of those are part of American culture, and therefore nudity is strictly reserved for an individual and, as they age, their sexual partners. And therefore, nudity is unfortunately equated with sex/sexuality/sensuality.

Additionally, at least in the case of gyms, if members are paying a premium then they expect to have access to premium amenities. Private shower stalls are a luxury amenity, and I think any guy paying over $75/month (let alone $150/month) for a gym membership should expect to have a private stall to use.

And finally, I think it's slowly catching on that locker room voyeurism via phones & recording devices - both intentional and unintentional - is a thing. Nobody should have to worry about some creep recording them as they do something as routine as a shower.

when did you graduate? Go look up nude swimming in america or boys had to swim naked in america

 

[mikyang]

"That the last two generations are more prudish about being nude in front of others, that most gyms or sports facilities are taking privacy into consideration when designing locker room areas, and that in general men are less comfortable with being around other naked men, some people even see it as gayish, I guess meaning homoerotic."

I'm probably at the very end of the generation prior to the two cited above. We never thought about being naked in front of our friends because it wasn't a thing. We all saw each other naked for any number of reasons. I think 'reason' & 'situation' (as mentioned by Pepijn) are the operative words. I don't think we even noticed when one of us was naked as long as there was a reason.

I suspect this is why some of us sound awkward trying to discuss this. It's like we woke up one morning and everyone was like, "Did you know that some cars burn gasoline and some burn diesel????" and we're thinking, "Why is this even a topic of conversation?" It's very weird, especially to us older folks.

How is it weird? in america for decades guys had to swim naked

females had to wear suits
Males had to be naked soap shower and inspected for dirt

then marched single file into the pool naked