has the locker room dynamic changed

JohnDoeXXXm

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no denying that the atmosphere has changed- especially with facilities being remodeled to allow more modesty. I'd say it's up to all of us guys who believe in the importance of male bonding to toss the towel over the shoulder and demonstrate the 'laissez-faire' attitude.

i will say, however, that there is a difference in behavior between the casual visitor or occasional club attendee, and guys who use the club at the same scheduled time on a more frequent basis. Familiarity breeds closeness, and you're bound to end up comfortably bareassed with guys you see more frequently.

The moral of the story is: quit your complaining, and get your ass to the gym REGULARLY! Don't just admire the interior and shiny equipment- break a sweat and get yourself healthy- you'll end up saving a lot of money in associated health costs. And guys notice if you are getting bigger muscles or if you are staying the same.
 

rawfcknpig

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Nothing like LA Fitness or 24 Hour Fitness (both in Los Angeles). Most of the younger guys (20s to 30s) freeball and check each other out. In the steamroom and showers more showing off and some action (anything from a HJ and BJ to full fucking). I usally get fucked a couple time on Saturday night in the showers.

Maybe you should look into another gym with younger people.
 
D

deleted213967

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It can also be mildly entertaining to impatiently stand in front of that schmock in the midst of his towel dance (assuming he is standing in your way, near your locker) with an air of amused contempt, and cause him to trip from embarrassment.
 

midlifebear

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Just finished reading through this thread. I'm left with a couple of major "What The Fuck?" gross outs.
1. Intermediate and High School students are not showering after gym class -- if they still offer PE at their school? This simply reinforces my constant thanks that I no longer teach in public schools. I taught combined 4th/5th grades, 40 students for nine+ months of each year for five years. And I was good at it, too. I liked the kids, they liked me, and they actually progressed to their next year's curriculum prepared. But having to stand guard during lunch hour was torture. Public school cafeteria food still haunts me in my dreams! And when those 10 to 12 year-olds came back all hot and sweaty after running around on the playground to work off some of those "relaxing luncheon carbohydrates" and then again after their 15 minute afternoon recess, OH MY GOD! The combined smell of all those ripe little rug rats cooped up in a classroom for six hours every day was the very thing that finally forced me to seek a better life by quickly applying and getting into graduate school. I cannot fathom what USA High School teachers must now endure if young men and women are showing up to class reeking of body odor stank después de PE class. YIKES!

2. Most seem to think it's OK to show up to use a communal swimming pool without first taking a shower? Yea gods! Even the State Board of Health and Education in perennially 1957 Ewetaw required EVERYONE, male and female, to bathe/shower at the pool changing facilities before dipping so much as a toe in the water. Swimming pools are not bath tubs. Maybe the one your parents have in the back yard was used by them to hose you down before letting you into the house, but not public swimming pools! Please! One can only imagine the fecal coliform count in that highly chlorinated water becoming immune to the disinfectant chemicals used to keep pools safe and hygienic. I'm surprised no one mentioned there being a problem with bits of butt crack shit floating on the surface of those pools.

Thanks for all of your posts. It really opens my eyes to the fact things in the States are generally much worse than I imagined. No wonder flesh-eating bacteria have made such inroads into the American fear psyche.

As little Suzy Creamcheese would say, "Eeeeew, fer ick!"
 

horneyoldguy

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I am in the under 30 group, and I almost always shower naked at the Y where I work out. I also wear a jockstrap for most of my workouts.

The previous observations are in line with my own: younger guys tend not to shower.

However, last weekend I had finished up a great workout and I was in the communal showers cleaning off when a bunch of the guys from the local HS wrestling team came in to use the showers after their workout.

I was surprised to see teenage guys using the showers with absolutly no fear of being seen naked. There was probably 3 or 4 of them showering, laughing, and talking together...just like young men should be doing.



Fromw what I have observed in the gym where i go, you appear to be the exception.
 

scottbud

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You are definitely right, Dave. I have been to many many gyms over the years, and the behavior of most of the younger men now is incomprehensible to me. Even the young gay ones seem to be uncomfortable about nudity. The younger men step into the showers with their shorts or towels on, dry themselves in the shower with the curtain closed, and dress before they emerge. Something is very odd. They seem to be so very afraid to be seen naked. Do they think that undressing in front of other men makes them gay? To me, being afraid to undress seems gayer.

5 years ago I would have agreed but I am seeing more of a trend of young straight guys being comfortable with who they are and even playing on gay jokes amoungst themselves now. Allthough New Zealand does seem to be ahead of the rest of the world on the acceptance levels on this front, but deffinatly getting more and more prudish in the locker room such a shame everyone like a good perv every so often.
 
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223790

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I've commented on this issue before in other threads, so I won't repeat myself here. Yes, I prefer communal showers (grew up with them) and the sense of comraderie and male bonding that came with it. No, I don't get the hysteria about male nudity around other males that seems to be prevalent in young men today. I do have one observation though from my current gym which is ultra private and uptight about nudity in the men's locker room (I would swear they provide "towel dance" lessons to the young men right after the aerobics class finishes because so many young guys do it in the LR). I have noticed that the gyms that are the most private in terms of showering etc are also the most unfriendly and completly lack a sense of comraderie. Nobody seems to talk to anyone in the gym anymore. There have been times when I have tried to strike up conversations when I'm just sitting in the steam room (and the men are in shorts) and all I get is a grunt in return. There are currently 8,000 members at my club and I can count on one hand the number of guys that I have talked to in the last 2 years. Other clubs that I have been a member of where communal showering, nudity in the steam room, sauna etc were more common, I would talk to someone new every day. I used to make loads of friends just by going to the gym, taking a shower or using the steam room. Today that never seems to happen. Showers are walled off into private cubicles, shorts have become mandatory in the steam room/sauna, guys never even look at other guys anymore for fearing of being accused of "peaking" at a guys dick. Guys are afraid to talk to another guy because they are worried that the other guy might be gay or they might be called gay. It's absolutely insane! Guys have more privacy than ever today in the gym and the end result is that we have all become so distant from each other. I'm so fed up with it that I am looking at joining the local YMCA where it doesn't seem that this crazy new paranoia has taken root. I went on a tour there the other week and I was happy to see that there was a communal shower. None of these ridiculous shower stalls. There was even a hot tub in the change room where guys could tub naked together and be guys. Even though I'm still obligated to my current club for the next 9 months, I plan to join the Y, so I can interact with other guys. I want to encourage clubs that support masculinity and comraderie, not clubs that encourage paranoia and fear among men. I encourage other men that feel the same way I do, to do the same. I have complained loudly to my current club and swimming pool about these ridiculous shower stalls and other accessories in change rooms that divide men. I've really had it with this sorry state of affairs that seems to be common everywhere. I'm going to sound really old here by saying that I long for the good old days where men were men instead of a bunch of uptight Victorian prudes. OK, I'm done ranting now and feel better. Cheers!
 

perthjames

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I think there is a longer-term trend here as well. Maybe it's just part of being a teenager? When I was in high school in the late 70s and early 80s (in Australia) guys were reluctant to shower nude with others even then. I think I could count on one hand the occasions where there was communal nudity during my years in high school.
 

thizz101

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just today i was at the gym changing in the locker room. i saw 2 college age kids that had just come out of the showers in towels. they both took off their towels and i saw one had a regular sized dick. while the other had probably the most beautiful dick i have ever seen. He was in great shape, spanish, and uncut. His dick hung about 8 inches. Then his friend started joking about how he was suprised he could even fit it in pants. they seemed really casual and confident
 

thk8plus4u

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I believe this new trend toward 'covering up' or not going to the showers at all has to do with two issues:

1. AWARENESS OF GAY ACTIVITY: Much has been printed in the papers about how gyms are used as 'cruising grounds' for gays.
While it's been going on all along, now people are talking about it,
and the kids growing up today are hearing about it before they
even sign up. So they're super aware that the guy sitting across
from them in the sauna just may start something other than an
innocent conversation. I think they want to avoid being in the situation: being seen nude, being cruised in the shower, or being
caught in the 'den' (saunas, steamrooms).

2. ENDING UP ON THE INTERNET: There's loads of hidden camera
video out there, with guys hiding high-tech cams in their bags, in vents, etc. Again, it wasn't talked about before, and no one saw these things unless you were a collector or knew who to contact.
Now, it's all over the internet, and the young guys are aware that
they could be filmed in very private surroundings.


Embarrassed over their 'short-comings'? Possible. But I believe
they're aware now that gyms are not safe enough environments to put them at 'naked' ease.
 

D_but wait you also get

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Thought I would comment on this based on what I saw at my gym today. I had not really paid much attention to who showers vs who doesn't, but after reading this thread I have paid more attention.

I noticed the same trend that many others have reported here. The under 30 group went to great lengths not to be seen nude---towels wrapped around themselves when changing into gym clothes, wearing shorts or underwear back to the showers, in some cases showering in shorts, nearly tipping over as they dressed after the shower, with towels strategically draped around themselves while trying to dress, there were those who brought their clothes back with them and changed in their stalls when done--and getting their clothing wet in the process.
It was comical really.

The other thing I noticed was that all of the Asian guys regardless of age acted the same way. They went to great lengths to cover themselves.

It was the guys 35+ that seemed most comfortable with themselves and their bodies. I don't get it. What's the big deal about being naked in the changing room for a few minutes? And if someone is looking at me in the shower so what?
 

rimmer9

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I think this changed dynamic must be only in America - no sign in the UK.

Not sure I agree, in my gym about 80% - 90% of guys between 16 and 22 ish seem to try every contortion to keep their towel in place while they put their briefs on.
 

B_Rob15

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This video linked above shows this point quite clearly, honestly what is the difference between being in your undies & naked, especially if they are wet, everyone can already see clearly the outline of what you got (for evidence of my point click here: YouTube - les doush), and if it's all just your fellow guys what's the big deal, just take 'em off already and get clean and comfortable.
 

tcuzela

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but as someone who's been out of high school for about 4 years, my age grew up showering in the communal type environment, whether its at the gym, pool or in PE...

I graduated in '03 and the showers were off limits for as long as I remember. In fact, in middle school and in high school, the showers were taken out. No one used them, no one wanted to and that was that. Free deodorant was handed out instead all my years in high school.
 

About_Average

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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. :eek: 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? :confused: 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.