Are Guys More Comfortable Naked In The Locker Room Than They Used To Be?
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What an absolutely amazing transformation with this young man. He told me that he is moving up north to finish his studies, so he won't be coming back to my Y for quite awhile (his hometown is where my Y is located). On his last workout at my Y, we ended up in the locker room together after our workouts. He was walking around the wet area nude, hit the head nude, and even used the hot tub nude with me before we both showered together in the open shower without him exhibiting any modesty whatsoever (no cupping his cock or facing the corner of the shower room). We were chatting away the whole time while we were both naked. We are now connected on social media to keep in touch. It was so great to see this guy so comfortable with himself and get over his modesty issues completely. This is why I have always believed that other men need to set a positive example in the locker room and shower to show younger men that nudity among their own gender is normal and healthy, and that there is nothing to fear. I will miss seeing this guy every week, but I'm very proud of how he has manned up and gotten over himself.
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Ag08 you will have helped to change that guys outlook forever. I've experienced similar situation a few times and knowing that the guy will now have no issues going naked, and he won't be stressing out in the locker room anymore is a good feeling for both of you. Especially as you say you are keeping in touch as mates, and your friendship stems from those times naked together it is a great bonding experience. He probably looks up to you quite a bit and will remember how comfortable you made him feel to strip off and shower naked with another guy for the first time. Hope he carries it on in future with his other friends and other gyms he attends, and hope you carry on with your positive impression on other males.
AG08, I've admired your posts about this for a long time. You clearly gave this young man something very important. I'll bet he never forgets you. Your attitudes about locker rooms are eminently sensible and thoughtful. It's a pleasure to read your posts.
Well done.
Well done.
Thanks for the positive feedback gentlemen. I think what's even more remarkable is the fact that this young man is 20 while I am 47. It's cool that he is interested in being connected with me online. I left it up to him to connect with me by giving him my card when he left the locker room. Within about 15 minutes I had a notification on my phone that there was a request from him to connect.
I truly hope that he does carry on with this behaviour at college in the locker room among his peers. He told me how great his athletic facilities were at his college, and that he would be using them regularly once he returned. I truly think it has a snowball effect once a guy takes the lead and shows other guys that there is nothing to fear, and that being naked around other guys in a non sexual environment such as a locker room and shower is completely normal. I have already started to notice a shift among young men back to the way things were. Hopefully this will continue and gain momentum.
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Another great part to this story...In addition to becoming comfortable being naked in front of you, he seemed completely comfortable having a normal conversation with you when you're naked. Some guys awkwardly look away in the presence another naked guy. I'm not sure if it they're afraid of being perceived as gay or if they're afraid they will get hard if they see a dick. Whatever the case, it's definitely awkward. Fortunately, I've also found plenty of younger guys that are comfortable with nudity--theirs and mine--and are completely comfortable having a conversation while showering. Part of having a normal conversation with someone is facing each other and looking at each other...not staring at each other's dicks, but also not awkwardly looking away.
My gym just moved to a new location down the road. Our old locker room was old and dirty..but great. There were open showers with about 9 shower heads, and a large steam room adjacent. All part of a "wet area" that was separate from the rest of the locker room/toilets.
In the mornings...there was a usual crowd of 20-30 guys, all of which knew each other for years, all of which have no problem with locker room nudity, showering, etc. No towel dances. There is quite a bit of camaraderie in the mornings in particular with all the guys talking, joking, etc, all while nude. It was great.
The new gym that they just moved us to has a TERRIBLE locker room.
They went with stalls...but not just shower stalls with curtains. They went with these new types that have a locking door. it's identical to a toilet stall except it has a shower in it instead of a toilet. There are only 4 showers now (previously 9).
There is a steam room...but both the showers and the steam room are in a corridor between the lockers and the toilets/sinks. So any/all users of the toilets have to walk in front of the showers/steam room down the corridor to use the toilets/sinks. Water is tracked everywhere.
The stalls have really changed the "vibe" in the locker room. Folks seem to have gotten more modest. It seems you are "breaking the rules" if you don't wrap yourself in a towel. I hate it.
I'm really not sure when men stopped being men. Somewhere around my generation folks thought it was "gay" or "weird" to get naked and shower with other men even though men have been bathing together for thousands of years. I can see if it was a brand new gym, then maybe. But we were already used to (and liked) the open showers. Why change it? OK...a few people may be more modest...so put in 1-2 stalls and keep the rest open.
I care about CAPACITY as well. There is now a line to use the showers in the morning because A) there aren't enough of them and B) folks now dry off in the shower stall, which takes 1-2 min, instead of before where they would just walk naked form the shower room to the toweling off area where the next guy could use the shower.
I hate hate hate it. If there were any other gyms near me with open showers I would switch. But they seem to be disappearing....
In the mornings...there was a usual crowd of 20-30 guys, all of which knew each other for years, all of which have no problem with locker room nudity, showering, etc. No towel dances. There is quite a bit of camaraderie in the mornings in particular with all the guys talking, joking, etc, all while nude. It was great.
The new gym that they just moved us to has a TERRIBLE locker room.
They went with stalls...but not just shower stalls with curtains. They went with these new types that have a locking door. it's identical to a toilet stall except it has a shower in it instead of a toilet. There are only 4 showers now (previously 9).
There is a steam room...but both the showers and the steam room are in a corridor between the lockers and the toilets/sinks. So any/all users of the toilets have to walk in front of the showers/steam room down the corridor to use the toilets/sinks. Water is tracked everywhere.
The stalls have really changed the "vibe" in the locker room. Folks seem to have gotten more modest. It seems you are "breaking the rules" if you don't wrap yourself in a towel. I hate it.
I'm really not sure when men stopped being men. Somewhere around my generation folks thought it was "gay" or "weird" to get naked and shower with other men even though men have been bathing together for thousands of years. I can see if it was a brand new gym, then maybe. But we were already used to (and liked) the open showers. Why change it? OK...a few people may be more modest...so put in 1-2 stalls and keep the rest open.
I care about CAPACITY as well. There is now a line to use the showers in the morning because A) there aren't enough of them and B) folks now dry off in the shower stall, which takes 1-2 min, instead of before where they would just walk naked form the shower room to the toweling off area where the next guy could use the shower.
I hate hate hate it. If there were any other gyms near me with open showers I would switch. But they seem to be disappearing....
Sorry to hear it. Definitely a change over the decades. Men have become pussified.
My gym just moved to a new location down the road. Our old locker room was old and dirty..but great. There were open showers with about 9 shower heads, and a large steam room adjacent. All part of a "wet area" that was separate from the rest of the locker room/toilets.
In the mornings...there was a usual crowd of 20-30 guys, all of which knew each other for years, all of which have no problem with locker room nudity, showering, etc. No towel dances. There is quite a bit of camaraderie in the mornings in particular with all the guys talking, joking, etc, all while nude. It was great.
The new gym that they just moved us to has a TERRIBLE locker room.
They went with stalls...but not just shower stalls with curtains. They went with these new types that have a locking door. it's identical to a toilet stall except it has a shower in it instead of a toilet. There are only 4 showers now (previously 9).
There is a steam room...but both the showers and the steam room are in a corridor between the lockers and the toilets/sinks. So any/all users of the toilets have to walk in front of the showers/steam room down the corridor to use the toilets/sinks. Water is tracked everywhere.
The stalls have really changed the "vibe" in the locker room. Folks seem to have gotten more modest. It seems you are "breaking the rules" if you don't wrap yourself in a towel. I hate it.
I'm really not sure when men stopped being men. Somewhere around my generation folks thought it was "gay" or "weird" to get naked and shower with other men even though men have been bathing together for thousands of years. I can see if it was a brand new gym, then maybe. But we were already used to (and liked) the open showers. Why change it? OK...a few people may be more modest...so put in 1-2 stalls and keep the rest open.
I care about CAPACITY as well. There is now a line to use the showers in the morning because A) there aren't enough of them and B) folks now dry off in the shower stall, which takes 1-2 min, instead of before where they would just walk naked form the shower room to the toweling off area where the next guy could use the shower.
I hate hate hate it. If there were any other gyms near me with open showers I would switch. But they seem to be disappearing....
That sucks man. As I've mentioned before, my Y renovated the locker room a couple of years ago and I made it clear that if they lost the open shower, they would lose me as a member. They didn't, and even made the change area more open by removing a row of lockers that used to divide the area in half.
You may have to look for a gym further away. I work in a different city from where I live. There are gyms in my town, but I joined one in the city where I work. Even on my days off, I drive down for a workout. I won't pay for 2 gym memberships, so I won't join one in my town as well. Is this an option for you? The biggest draw for me joining the Y was the open shower. In my experience, the more open the locker room is, the more relaxed and friendlier the clientele is. As you pointed out, the whole dynamic changes when they offer ultra privacy. I have experienced this first hand in the city where I workout when I belonged to a different gym literally down the road from my Y. As you also mentioned, there was ALWAYS a line up for the showers at that gym because of the stalls. They are terribly inefficient.
Good luck in your search. I recommend checking out your local Y first even if it means a bit of a drive.
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Sam46
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Yeah, really interesting topic. I've wondered the same thing now that I've been out of team and school sports for a few years. I don't know where I sit in the age range here, but I'd be happy to share my experiences.
In my opinion, if guys are more afraid to be in the buff today it's because we see naked people on the internet (and also on TV and in movies) way more often than we used to. The access is so much more available now. And many people we seek to find nude online (dudes and chicks, you often see both in the same video) look good. They don't really look normal. Because of that younger guys get an inferiority complex particularly in their younger/less mature years because they think everyone should look cut, trimmed and hung.
I used to be pretty terrified in my younger years because I had an inferiority complex and in those early days there was no internet, none that could lead to copious amounts of naked attractive people, anyway. As I got older (into my 20s) I got over that fear and got way more comfortable with being nude in locker rooms and elsewhere. I moved to Europe in my early 20s for work and the few months I was there really helped open me up too. I think that as people mature they get over those inhibitions, I think that's a big reason why we see older people who are more comfortable being nude--they're just more experienced and more mature. I don't think it's strictly a generational thing. As we get older (I'm a millennial) we get more comfortable with being naked, more accepting of the fact that our personal bodies aren't perfect, and so aren't many others, and that's ok. More importantly, we realize that in being naked we're subtly breaking down social barriers and allowing ourselves to be completely open and accepting of ourselves and of others. It's liberating. And AG08 has some perfect stories of this, but as we get more used to that we gain friendships too. It makes it all totally worthwhile.
At the gym I don't see many younger people in general, I tend to be among the youngest at the gyms I visit (low 30s). But when I'm at the gym all the guys I'm around get naked in front of our lockers, carry the towel on our shoulders (not around our waists) and in the sauna use the towel to sit on or use it as a pillow for our heads against the wall--not to cover our manhood. I never grew up in a situation where I was forced to get naked with my high school or college teammates, so I don't think it has to do with an option to be a prude (but maybe I'm wrong there). I think as we get older we realize the benefits of being naked. Personally I'm a little disappointed I didn't do it more often when I was younger (I wasn't as afraid to drop my towel, but I didn't take advantage of being a jock as much as I could have).
In my opinion, if guys are more afraid to be in the buff today it's because we see naked people on the internet (and also on TV and in movies) way more often than we used to. The access is so much more available now. And many people we seek to find nude online (dudes and chicks, you often see both in the same video) look good. They don't really look normal. Because of that younger guys get an inferiority complex particularly in their younger/less mature years because they think everyone should look cut, trimmed and hung.
I used to be pretty terrified in my younger years because I had an inferiority complex and in those early days there was no internet, none that could lead to copious amounts of naked attractive people, anyway. As I got older (into my 20s) I got over that fear and got way more comfortable with being nude in locker rooms and elsewhere. I moved to Europe in my early 20s for work and the few months I was there really helped open me up too. I think that as people mature they get over those inhibitions, I think that's a big reason why we see older people who are more comfortable being nude--they're just more experienced and more mature. I don't think it's strictly a generational thing. As we get older (I'm a millennial) we get more comfortable with being naked, more accepting of the fact that our personal bodies aren't perfect, and so aren't many others, and that's ok. More importantly, we realize that in being naked we're subtly breaking down social barriers and allowing ourselves to be completely open and accepting of ourselves and of others. It's liberating. And AG08 has some perfect stories of this, but as we get more used to that we gain friendships too. It makes it all totally worthwhile.
At the gym I don't see many younger people in general, I tend to be among the youngest at the gyms I visit (low 30s). But when I'm at the gym all the guys I'm around get naked in front of our lockers, carry the towel on our shoulders (not around our waists) and in the sauna use the towel to sit on or use it as a pillow for our heads against the wall--not to cover our manhood. I never grew up in a situation where I was forced to get naked with my high school or college teammates, so I don't think it has to do with an option to be a prude (but maybe I'm wrong there). I think as we get older we realize the benefits of being naked. Personally I'm a little disappointed I didn't do it more often when I was younger (I wasn't as afraid to drop my towel, but I didn't take advantage of being a jock as much as I could have).
In general, unfortunately, I think the answer is probably no in the US. However, there are notable exceptions. I've noticed that gyms with open showers (such as the Y where I work out), the tone throughout the overall locker room is that nudity is much more acceptable and practiced among guys of all ages. This makes sense, since everyone sees my dick in the shower, it would be silly to cover it up while changing or walking around the locker room.
It seems to totally depend upon where you are. If there is a casual atmosphere like at my Y probably 99% over 40 go nude. Probably drops to 75% in the 30's, and about 50% in 20's and teens. Some places just don't give off a casual nudity vibe. Not that it ever slows me down.
I use the plus locker room at my Y for 18+ members. It comes at a premium every month, so guys who use it aren't modest, or don't last long if they are. Everyone uses the steam room and hot tub naked, and there is an open shower. No one is going to pay a premium every month for something they will never use, so it tends to keep the modest guys out. I don't know what it is like in the basic locker room though. I know it has an open shower only.
I've been to several gyms in my area and the culture seems to be the opposite of what most of you guys are saying. For the most part where I live, guys will walk to the shower totally dressed with ALL of their things and will change in the individual shower stalls which every gym here has. The vast majority of guys that change at their lockers will walk to the shower in their gym shorts or underwear and carrying a towel and fresh pair of underwear to change into while in the shower stall. This totally blows my mind. Only the bravest guys will walk to and from the showers wearing a towel around their waist, and usually these guys do the infamous towel dance. I've only seen two other guys ever walk to or from the shower naked and carrying a towel.
Other cities I've traveled to, things do seem to be different. I was visiting friends this summer in the Northeast and the nudity hangups of guys in locker rooms definitely seem to be fading there. Maybe the South will be last to catch on? Hopefully sooner than later because these guys go to great lengths to avoid being seen naked by another dude. We all have the same stuff, who cares.
Other cities I've traveled to, things do seem to be different. I was visiting friends this summer in the Northeast and the nudity hangups of guys in locker rooms definitely seem to be fading there. Maybe the South will be last to catch on? Hopefully sooner than later because these guys go to great lengths to avoid being seen naked by another dude. We all have the same stuff, who cares.
I've seen such a range of responses by people on this forum, ranging from locker rooms that almost have a zero tolerance policy to nudity, to others where it is out of place to be covering yourself up all the time. And, to be honest, I've experienced different levels myself but going back to original question, are guys more comfortable that they used to be a few years ago, I still would stick by the fact that I think guys are becoming more relaxed. I've been at my gym showering with a gang of about 6 to 8, 18 to 20 year olds all totally naked and messing about in the Locker room with their dicks out, no one hurrying to cover up. I've been to the gym with straight mates who have no issue sitting down on the bench naked and chatting to me, and I've also shared hotel rooms with guys and there had been almost complete nudity until we got dressed to go out.
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