Are communal or gang showers dissapearing?

JayPR

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If you're over 35 or 40 years old, you remember when locker rooms at school, college or at the gym, included communal showers, also known as gang showers. Basically, it was a big spacious room with a lot of shower heads, no division or curtains, where everyone used to shower together. In the U.S., even if they still exist today, it has become a rarity with the proliferation of individual stalls and more private shower arrangements.

However, based on my experience, in other countries like Germany, Italy, Japan or Argentina, communal showers are still pretty common.

What's your experience? Do you still see them where you live? Have you use them? If you are from out of U.S., let us know if there are communal showers in your country or if they are disappearing as well.
 

JohnDoeXXXm

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Still the most inexpensive way to design a multi-person shower area, and waaaaay easier to keep clean on a daily basis. These group showers are still standard in varsity locker rooms in high school and college/universities, but most have been retrofitted to individual stalls in the more common locker rooms, for reasons already stated. Some large places have both, allowing the user to decide.

I know most team players (football, basketball, wrestling, lacrosse, rugby) would probably be disappointed if they had to wait for single stall showers- or they would forego showering altogether until they got home. Kills the camaraderie!

The shameful part is a lot of guys will opt to get a membership at an expensive gym to have the opportunity to build that interaction with other like-minded guys at their local YMCA, only to be denied the chance to shower in a gang by the retrofit shower police! :(
 

JohnDoeXXXm

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And, like most things in life, the pendulum of life and style will one day swing back towards shared spaces.

For example, downward economy could force families into smaller homes, which means that kids would again share bedrooms and bathrooms with more family, which in turn would normalize more family interactions of the semi-dressed kind. Public pools could find a healthier and less expensive alternative to chlorine, which may require a shower before/after.

Or even simpler, the new generation always wants to do things differently than the prior group did, so without the shame passed down from their parents, COMBINED WITH a more evolved social confidence from growing up in the internet age, the next generation wont require privacy, and may opt for shared social interaction, less expensive, new way to flaunt masculinity among peers, etc etc
 
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deleted15807

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This is the 1000th thread on this topic. Yes they are disappearing. Yes they were awesome. No they are not coming back. That should cover it.

Nope. I fully expect private showers to vanish too. Though should science discover a way to enlarge the penis as it has for breasts expect an explosion in popularity as guys seek to show off the new equipment. Parade it around the block.
 
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Countryguy63

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It's actually dumb too. Our gym has a total of 4 showers. 3 individual tiled "rooms" with fogged glass doors and 1 larger handicapped stall with a curtain. Many times in the morning there will be multiple guys waiting for one to become available. In that same area, if it was a one large open area, they could fit at least 3, if not 4 more shower heads in there. Oh well.
 
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deleted140118

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Still the most inexpensive way to design a multi-person shower area, and waaaaay easier to keep clean on a daily basis. These group showers are still standard in varsity locker rooms in high school and college/universities, but most have been retrofitted to individual stalls in the more common locker rooms, for reasons already stated. Some large places have both, allowing the user to decide.

I know most team players (football, basketball, wrestling, lacrosse, rugby) would probably be disappointed if they had to wait for single stall showers- or they would forego showering altogether until they got home. Kills the camaraderie!

The shameful part is a lot of guys will opt to get a membership at an expensive gym to have the opportunity to build that interaction with other like-minded guys at their local YMCA, only to be denied the chance to shower in a gang by the retrofit shower police! :(

Funny you say that. I am canceling my gym membership tomorrow and getting one at the YMCA. Hoping they have open showers.
 
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502855

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3D319A57-75DB-4B10-B11A-22958996E311.jpeg

Another gang shower in the local college. Five shower heads in total. This one’s for students in vocational programs that may get grubby during their classes.
 

Jason

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I have seen pictures of this kind of shower, but have never been in one. Does it have a unique name and how is the water temperature / pressure regulated?

The water has two settings: on and off. In the on setting there will be water of a uniform temperature and pressure. The temperature may be anywhere between freezing and scalding, and the pressure anything from a reluctant drip to something that will knock you off your feet. At least that is (was?) the UK system.

The point of gang showers is that they are a basic way of getting clean. They are not comfortable. Some of the remaining ones do have individually adjustable shower heads, but even these modern versions often don't work very well.

Gang showers are for real men who can put up with the discomfort. ;)