I work out at the local Ymca. Virtually no guys under thirty shower and almost nobody wears a jockstrap while working out. Were guys of this age group always uptight when came to showering amongt other males outside of gym class? Were jockstrap more common to work out in back then outside of gym class? What were your obsevervation about the health clubs and Ymca's during the 70 & 80's. Was there more of a mixture in nudity in amongst the different age groups vs now where it seem only guy 45 and older are the only ones confortable enough to strip down?
Dave
Yes, it is true, especially in America, that Gen-Xers such as myself, and Gen-Y's have a noticable complex about being nude in the presence of other men. I remember as a teen, in Jr. High and High School, showers were not required after Phys Ed, but they were optional. Nobody ever used them, and I'm sure if one boy did feel the need to do the hygenic thing and take a shower then he'd be looked at as odd for choosing to be naked in front of classmates.
Oh the horror! (note sarcasm). Yet nobody found it odd to work up a sweaty stink during gym period and then proceed to go through the rest of the schoolday smelling like a shaggy wet dog.
Your post did confuse me though when you mentioned nobody wearing jockstraps to fitness clubs anymore. Who would, and why?
I'm pretty sure that even in the past, nobody ever really went to the YMCA to do some weights, cardio, aerobics, and swimming with a jockstrap on. Not like they're playing full contact sports or something that would make a man concerned about the safty of his nads. I'm fairly certain that most Americans in the 60's, 70's, and 80's wore briefs to a fitness club (which most middle-aged men, including my dad, still wear while working out at the YMCA).
Maybe you meant to say that most younger guys don't wear jockeys to the gym anymore. Cuz that does seem to be the case, at least here in America. I remember in the locker room back in 9th grade, out of the entire class only three people (myself, a good friend of mine, and one other classmate) wore briefs regularly, the rest were always in boxers (trust me, I know this as fact. I'll admit, I used to sneak peeks). :tongue: Of course nobody ever wore bikini briefs. God help any American teenager who is ever spotted by peers in the locker room wearing a pair of low rise or bikini briefs. Same thing would hold true if a high schooler wore a pair of speedos to swim class instead of knee-long board shorts.
Fear of showering and putting a stigma on wearing tight underwear and speedos... I just think it's all connected to insecurities that younger guys have these days about their own bodies as well as the bodies of other men. It really is a shame that people are becoming more reserved and more self-conscious about such silly things. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that "nihilistic" Generation Xers who listened to grunge, gangster rap, and alternative music always went around claiming that they didn't give a damn about anything, yet most of them were (and still are) too insecure to shower nude in front of others, or to wear speedos to the beach, afraid of how small their bulges might look. Ridiculous, yet sad.