Open Showers at the Gym

[deleted436524]

That sounds pretty civilised... Is it? There's always this impression that particular Ys can turn into a bit of a meat market.

Yeah a lot of great guys go here. Some I've become great friends with.

 

[D_Bubba_Butter]

Yeah a lot of great guys go here. Some I've become great friends with.

That's great. We need more of this kind of thing.

Time for a revival of Ancient Roman bath culture? Guys hanging out naked on a daily basis, working out, relaxing, bathing & being cleaned, conducting business meetings, father-son bonding...

 

[D_Albert_Bulgehopper]

Father son bonding while naked with a horde of loose dicks around? Seems a tad too incestuous to me.

 

[jakeh1234321]

Father son bonding while naked with a horde of loose dicks around? Seems a tad too incestuous to me.

sounds like my life and relationship with my dad at the gym. hey, i didnt mind...except when my raging teen boners wouldnt go away and couldnt exactly hide them from the other people.

 

[D_Bubba_Butter]

Father son bonding while naked with a horde of loose dicks around? Seems a tad too incestuous to me.

Don't be lowering the tone, now, please...! The Romans managed decent roads, fresh running water, sanitation, central heating, glass windows, concrete, education, etc., not to mention the Empire (until they ran into mad, sadistic emperors), all built around the daily baths culture.

Look at Swedish sauna culture - whole families naked & relaxed together. How very civilised. This is probably why they're a neutral country.

 

[napaabby]

http://www.lpsg.org/members/napaabb...e+what+you+think-101604/616314-120215-152457/ how would i do in your guys gyms?

 

[D_Bubba_Butter]

Can't see the album, Napaabby.

 

[ronin001]

I am not a member of the YMCA but attended a function held at one a few years ago, well the assigned bathroom for the event had a line, so I wondered up to the Gym level. Sure enough had to pass open stalls for shower and such, I was like OooooK.

I was a little uncomfortable and did my business quickly and left.

In reference to a few previous posts. All public bath houses in New York City were closed by court order in the mis 80s, due to heath concerns. I am sure there are private clubs a pleany still going strong. So enjoy

 

[jakeh1234321]

ronin-

did you see something unusual in the locker room/opened stall showers or what?

 

[ronin001]

Naa, You can imagine leaving a room full of clothed people wearing suites and entering a room full of nude people with their naughts bits in simi public sight. Just as it takes your eyes a few seconds to adjust from dark to light, the same goes with my eyes suit to nudity

If they had just hung a sign, warning of Ass and Wangs beyond this point

LOL

 

[ShannonH]

I think the day of open communal showers is coming to an end, at least it seems to be the trend. My gym is private unisex changing rooms/showers set up and is very strick on one person per room.

Agreed, that's where things are headed especially with new construction. It makes a lot of sense for gyms to do this for two big reasons I can think of:
1 - It's fairly common to see people bring their kids or young teenagers to the gym, and in our paranoid culture of Dateline: NBC many people aren't comfortable having their children naked around a bunch of strange naked men.
2 - We're starting to see 'gender' and 'sex' less as synonyms and understand that a person's gender identity isn't always defined by what's between their legs. Intersex and trans people (especially those just starting to think about their sexuality more) may appreciate the privacy

I have a lot more respect for #2 as a motivation, but frankly I think #1 is going to make more of an impact on the gym's bottom line.

Personally I can't stand the whole elliptical, weight machine + personal trainer kind of gym. I go to a rock-climbing gym a few times a week, and everyone just changes by their lockers in a big unisex room. Nobody really cares, I think because it's more of an athletic thing than a hangout for guidos and juicers (no offence to those who like the gym and aren't, but you probably know of a few people like that at your gym.)

 

[223790]

Weird experience today in the gym. The showers are not open there, but when I was on the benches and getting my clothes back on, a guy came out of the shower in a towel and opened it. He exposed his penis to me, then closed the towel. He was looking right at me. It was weird.

I think he was looking at me, but he wasn't erect.

I didn't feel violated, he didn't touch me or anything.
I was slightly bothered by it because I don't want to be propositioned.

It's hard to say because it's a change room, which makes for plenty of reasonable doubt as to why spontaneous nudity happens. Still, it sounds to me like you have good reason to believe you were being propositioned.

Maybe his towel was slipping, and he needed to refasten it around his waist, and you happened to be in sight line. It's natural to look at a person when they are present. I think both of you are really jumping to an absurd conclusion here. It's a locker room, so you're going to see naked guys. It sounds egotistical and narcissistic to me that you think because you saw another guy's cock in a nude appropriate area, that the guy is propositioning you. He is probably just comfortable with his own body. I can't think of one time that I have been in the men's locker room and haven't seen another guy's cock. I don't even put a towel around my waist on the way to the shower or on the way back to my locker after my shower, and neither do most other guys. I don't for a second think they are propositioning me, and I'm certainly not propositioning them.

This is the reason why I prefer open showers in the locker room. Most guys who use them don't carry on like this about seeing another guy naked.

 

[223790]

The Y I go to has both regular locker rooms and full service locker rooms. Both have open showers. The regular locker room everyone gets in and out pretty quickly and is on their way.

The full service locker room has more of a "membership" feeling to it. It's usually the same group of 10-15 guys given the time of day, and they mostly all know each other on first name basis. Some go nude in the sauna and steam room, others go wrapped in a towel. Today everyone was hanging out cooling down in the lounge area watching the basketball game and shooting the breeze, with towels on. Its a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Exact same at my Y. I used to belong to another gym that was so ultra uptight, that guys wouldn't even say hello to each other in the locker room. I also use the full service locker room at my Y. From the second I undress at my locker, I'm completely nude walking to the shower, in the shower, in the steam room, in the hot tub, and walking back to my locker as are most other guys. I have gotten to know a lot of guys at my Y on a first name basis by chatting with them while using those ammenities. When I'm on the gym floor, most guys are into their workout and listening to their music through their headphones, so there's not much opportunity to socialize outside of a head nod when you see someone you know. I really enjoy the environment at the Y because people there are quite friendly with each other. I think the open environment in the locker room encourages that. Guys who have a problem with nudity are more likely to use the regular locker room because it is cheaper. I like this set up because it allows everyone to be comfortable. I don't want paranoid uptight guys in the locker room I'm using because they make me and everyone else feel uncomfortable just like paranoid uptight guys aren't going to want guys who are comfortable with nudity in the same locker room with them.

At my gym it's very common, especially among guys who are already gym acquaintances. Guys talk in the hot tub, in the sauna, and in the lockerroom. There is less talk in the showers and steam room.

Interesting. Guys at my Y chat in the steam room, hot tub and open shower.

 

[Countryguy63]

The Y I go to has both regular locker rooms and full service locker rooms. Both have open showers. The regular locker room everyone gets in and out pretty quickly and is on their way.

The full service locker room has more of a "membership" feeling to it. It's usually the same group of 10-15 guys given the time of day, and they mostly all know each other on first name basis. Some go nude in the sauna and steam room, others go wrapped in a towel. Today everyone was hanging out cooling down in the lounge area watching the basketball game and shooting the breeze, with towels on. Its a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Years ago, I can remember the Y here was set up like that, chairs, tv, etc. With the increase in demand of cardio equipment and classes, the locker/shower area became smaller and the areas were converted into the prementioned activities rooms.

In my mind, the open or closed showers aren't the point, but instead gym etiquette. In what other walk of life does anyone think its appropriate to stand around naked having a conversation about the weather? Regardless of your point view on this subject, I don't think anyone can say that such a practice is common or has any prayer of becoming so.

You take a shower, dry off and get dressed. That's all. Crazy.

You're partially right. In very few, if any other "walk of life" would it be appropriate. However, the gym locker room is definitely one of them. Happens all the time in the locker room here. On any given morning, you can hear guys talking about their jobs, their cars, agriculture (including the weather), and any other number of subjects. All while not worrying if they're naked or not.

It must be very uncomfortable to be so uptight :frown1:

 

[erratic]

All in all a good experience. There were a lot of mental ups and downs during my time there. I will go back, for sure!

Hooray! I knew it would end up being a good experience for you.

 

[D_Bubba_Butter]

This is my experience, too. As soon as guys get to know each other, it's yakkity-yak the whole time. Naked or not. I'm sure not everyone does it, but there are gobs who do. Your's truly included.

I think part of this is that it's one of the very few acceptably all male environments. For some reason it's perfectly acceptable to have a multitude of women only clubs, events etc., but all male equivalents are usually deemed sexist. The locker room is one of the few places men are permitted to just be guys together & enjoy each other's company.

 

[D_Harry_Crax]

:biggrin1:

 

[erratic]

I think part of this is that it's one of the very few acceptably all male environments. For some reason it's perfectly acceptable to have a multitude of women only clubs, events etc., but all male equivalents are usually deemed sexist. The locker room is one of the few places men are permitted to just be guys together & enjoy each other's company.

I agree, though I understand the greater desire that many women have for all-female environments. I think there are a lot of environments that are de facto all-male (think of most board rooms), or where men enjoy a great deal of privilege that women don't, or where women are objectified or tokenized, while men roam freely (think of most sporting events). So I get the need for women-only space, just as I get the need for queer-only space. Being queer is not the same experience as being a woman, but the world is a very hetero-oriented place - even places that mean well and try to be queer-positive. Having space for people like me to be with people like me is vital.

That being said, there aren't a lot of spaces where guys are allowed to relax and be themselves around each other, like you said. And that idea that it's important for people who are like each other to have space together applies to men too, of course. In a lot of those spaces that are male-dominant or de facto male, there are all these layers of artifice that we have to manoeuvre our way through. The locker room is, for a lot of us, one of the only places left where we naturally have our guard down. You can't underestimate the importance of that.

 

[D_Bubba_Butter]

I think there are a lot of environments that are de facto all-male (think of most board rooms), or where men enjoy a great deal of privilege that women don't, or where women are objectified or tokenized, while men roam freely...

In a lot of those spaces that are male-dominant or de facto male, there are all these layers of artifice that we have to manoeuvre our way through.

Would anyone be offended if I mentioned something about organised religion here?

 

[D_Bubba_Butter]

If there is one place I have my guard up, it's the locker room

Ah, but your guard was up because it was down...

Your first trip to the bath house was productive; sure you'll get there soon!