Speedophobia

[muscleboy9]

Speedophobia is an excellent article on the history of men's swimming suits and how speedophobia developed in the United States.

Be sure to read the comments at the end of this article.

How something so sexy, sensual, practical and comfortable as a Speedo has become a taboo in the USA is beyond me. I just wonder if the metastasizing American trend toward equivalent of the burka on men will ever reverse. It's frightening and sad.

http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=22203

 

[taffy2020]

I fully agree with speedo's on at the beach here at Australia speedo's are very popular so many hot brands too choose from here.

 

[TitanicJake]

My friends and I hit the beach this week for a few days to soak up the last of summer. Being muscle heads we all had on speedos and played a few games of volley ball. We had a quite a few spectators as we played. As a group we are all confident. I myself sport my speedo even alone at the beach or at a pool. Some of my friends confess they only wear them in groups. The speedo is the best way to show off our muscles especially if your glutes are rock hard and round.
Jake
PS During the winter we play waterpolo agains a group of guys from another gym. All wear speedos or play naked as we have much privacy. I can never imagine playing waterpolo in trunks or board shorts.

 

[TitanicJake]

waterpolo naked?

wouldn't that hurt if someone got alittle rough down there?

is this a gay waterpolo team or something, I have a hard time imagining straight guys playing sports naked, expecially sports that include some body contact such as water polo.

No it's not a gay team. Some of the guys may be considered bi but most are married or have a gf.
Bodybuilders and aggressive jocks drop their pants at any chance to be naked. It is not sexual it's more an intimidation factor. We compare chest, legs, arms etc. If a guy has great gains he wants to show it off in front of his friends. We are a close group and feel comfortable with either a speedo or nudity.
I have played naked and never got hurt. You simply have such freedom out of the speedo. With one on you sometimes get you held junk smashed together on someone's back.
Jake

 

[supporter22]

Life is simply too short to waste time on a costume change, just drop trou and swim nekkid like you were meant to do.

 

[love2compare]

I rarely dared to wear my spedos when i was swimming or fooling around (like wrestling but in the pools) with my 3 str8 buddies from school time. We were all in boring baggy fabrics...

But whenever i was on my own i loved to wear some really tight black spedos - or even some in crazy colors. One was neon green and one yellow. Even though people could see that i was not packing huge meat like let's say real lpsg-members i loved the looks i got towards my bulge and body. This feeling of being somehow exposed always left me so horny and got me semi-hards many times... you could clearly see my corona from the cut glans appearing...

honestly for me there is nothing more sexy than seeing those bulges at pools and at beaches and i think there's equal rights for men and women to show what they have.

Great also to see now some celebs showing off their bulges on virtual media... it get's more accepted again over time...

 

[sdbg]

Thanks for the topic muscleboy9. I was born in 1951 and have seen many styles come and go over the years and the decades. Until the late '80s, a guy's swimsuit never had an inseam over 4". Now that inseam is at least 14". Same with basketball shorts. You think they're hot now (Yes!) - they were even hotter 30 years ago with 3" inseams that showed the players' muscular legs. Guys are not powerless in this situation. There are a number of things we can do to reverse the double fashion standard at the beach and the pool. It won't change overnight, but we can speed it along.

1. Vote with the dollar bill when you buy your swimsuit - get something that shows the hard work of your fitness program. If you don't feel good about wearing lycra, you can get more modest nylon or double dry running shorts with a short inseam that will work fine at the beach or pool. Many styles include a liner. Basic mesh gym shorts are another possibility. Despite their coverage, they are still very sexy especially when wet. Get the shorter 6" inseam length for swimming instead of the 9" or 10".

2. Have your boardshorts hemmed to a 6" inseam. They will feel better and work better on a surfboard or in the ocean than the ones that are tight on your knees when you move around. You can still have current syles and brands with a retro look. Other guys will ask where you bought them.

3. Don't let your girl / wife tell you how to dress for swimming. Only your mother has that right and it should end once you turn 18 if not sooner. If she's adamant, tell her the coverage rule applies to both of you. If you have to dress to your knees than so does she. If guys put their foot down, things will relax quickly. I realize that the women on LPSG are more accepting of male sexuality than the average woman on the beach, so no offense ladies!

I would like to see more widespread appreciation for the male form in public, especially at the beach or pool. It's time to reverse this puritanical cover up trend.

 

[WellHung83]

I just think that it is high time guys of all ages got over this whole body shame thing that seems to be going on lately, that men cannot just enjoy the simple freedom of wearing revealing clothes and feeling sexy the same way women can in their bikinis and even going topless at the beach. It is definately a double standard and should not be a problem for us guys when we look good and want to dress to impress and also to feel good about ourselves - and wearing a speedo is the ultimate in showing self confidence and being sexy but at the same time NOT being too upfront about it.
I feel that by making speedos more 'acceptable' as everyday swimwear as much as boardshorts have been is a good way to go about this, so it should be where ut starts. Show off those fit and sexy guys on tv and movies in speedos and let guys watching know that real men are okay with wearing speedos and that women do indeed appreciate a bloke who can wear them, and then see that wearing such revealing swimwear IS NOT bad. It will also help motivate those guys out of shape to get off their bums and say " Hey, that guy in the speedos looks really good, and look at all the action he is getting from those chicks ( or guys ) !! I want a piece of that !!"

 

[matt121matt121]

PS During the winter we play waterpolo agains a group of guys from another gym. All wear speedos or play naked as we have much privacy. I can never imagine playing waterpolo in trunks or board shorts.

waterpolo naked?

wouldn't that hurt if someone got alittle rough down there?

is this a gay waterpolo team or something, I have a hard time imagining straight guys playing sports naked, expecially sports that include some body contact such as water polo.

 

[Sergeant_Torpedo]

who wants to look like a French rent boy at the beach circa 1952.

 

[Anton565]

Nice to see this thread revived As background, my friends and I are probably the last of the generation to grow up thinking speedos are normal.

Questions & comments please, esp. from the under-40 crowd ;-)

- In the early 80's speedos were comically undersized. Literally every guy I knew bought one sized for a waist 4" larger.

- Speedos on men are like bikinis on women: Having a hot body did not automatically make a speedo look good on you. I was always told speedos didn't look good on me, but I got tons of compliments if I wore 'sprayed-on' short shorts.

- TO THIS DAY whenever I hear a guy disparage another guy for being shirtless, wearing a speedo, etc., they guy making the comment is ALWAYS in worse physical shape than the shirtless guy.

- IMO labelling speedos as 'gay' is just a convenient tool. Speedophobia is really about guys being jealous of other guys who are in better shape.

- It seems like in the last few years 'mainstream' men's bathing suits have become slightly less baggy and less ridiculously long.

Thoughts?

 

[someperson]

Whenever I went to an indoor bath/pool/water park in Germany, I was confident while wearing a short squarecut (and, once, a pair of pouch-cut boxer brief things :wink: ) -- mainly because I was also confident that I was neither wearing the smallest suit nor was I the least attractive. :biggrin1:

Honestly, sometimes I don't know why my last pair of baggy swim trunks were so damn huge & baggy...

you can actually see more penis with the baggy ones since it clings to it when you get out of the water

 

[MilkDaddy]

@someperson- That's not quite accurate about the board short bulge, depending on your size and physique. Also the netting used in board shorts chaffs.
I started wearing speedos about 3-4 years ago. I'm hooked on the tanline. It also feels so great to have such freedom of movement.
I'm always commenting on how I used to wear short (not daisy dukes) Jean cut offs all the time and now they dont even exist.
On a horizontally realted note:
Jeans had a lower waistline in the past 5 years and it was wonderful. Now...this year alone, some asshole decided top raise them back up almost to the bellybutton, like 1984 again...Why...why...why??

 

[SpeedoGuy]

I've observed swimsuit fashion trends in the US for decades. I have always been puzzled why it was considered OK for women to swim in skimpy, clingy v-cut bikinis that covered less far less skin than the bra/panties they normally wore under their clothing. But guys who wore even standard cut speedos were considered perverts and treated as such.

BTW, I agree with SanDiegoBoxerGuy's suggestions. I refuse to ever wear those ridiculously long board shorts. Fashion designers are probably laughing their asses off behind the scenes.

 

[dolf250]

That is a good link about what has happened to mens swim wear. I know the duty manager at the place where I swim so I found out what otherwise may have remained a secret. There are some guys where I swim who are uncomfortable with what I wear. I do not go swimming early in the day when there are teams of school aged children as they probably do not need to see what I am packing, but later in the evening when the older teams practice I have not worried too much; after all they are (mostly) in speedos.

My gym is where the swim teams, divers, and water polo players all train so I did not think much of wearing a speedo; especially because I do actually SWIM in it. It is a N2N, it is yellow, it does have a pouch and I do fill it out. It started with a lifeguard who complained that I was in a “thong.” I said that the suit is full cut at the back (it is the toggle if anybody is familiar.) The next day after she had a discussion with the lifeguard it went to “it makes some of the water polo players blush.” I laughed and said that if that was the case I should probably also avoid the showers for fear of making them uncomfortable. Finally the next day it was that it “is not cut full enough at the front.” Yes, it covers everything and because it has a pouch it covers it better than most unless I were to get hard on deck. And yes, it does show my assets, but making the water polo players blush?!?

Oh, and the question posed to the duty manager? “Is he foreign or gay?” Because as we all know, if a guy shows a bulge he must be one or the other, even at a competitive swimming facility. Anyhow, though I will not wear board shorts to swim and a speedo brand suit is not comfortable I may order something else from N2N that is not yellow. I am a little surprised that even a site about speedos seems to suggest that I am likely gay because of my choice of swim wear (combined with the fact that I am in North America and not Australia or Europe.) There was another site that I had read somewhat recently that said that it was a “sure sign that a man is gay (if he wears a speedo.) Both are “gay” sites and both seem to have sided with the lifeguard; I am either foreign or gay- and I was born in Canada...

 

[titan1968]

Dolf, I think you did nothing wrong. It's a swimming facility for crying out loud!!! I say let the people look.

What was the (female) lifeguard wearing? Maybe she was showing too much cleavage or her bellybutton? If she was, she might have corrupted the minds of the younger swimmers (trying to sound sarcastic).

Unfortunately, we also have our puritans.

 

[Chicago_Swimmer]

Americans, by an large (myslef included), are insecure about their sexuality and their physiques. Men wearing speedos do not help with this insecurity. This is why people are uncomfortable with men wearing them.

This summer, for the first time in my life, I will wear a speedo to the beach and the pool. I have never felt comfortable doing this before.

Have some patience and understanding for those not yet comfortable with men in speedos.

Robert

 

[B_big dirigible]

Americans, by an large (myslef included), are insecure about their sexuality and their physiques. Men wearing speedos do not help with this insecurity. This is why people are uncomfortable with men wearing them.

Maybe. Or maybe they just think some things are gross. Not all aesthetic evaluations are based on "insecurities" - not even in America.

Since I'm not a beach bunny and never hang out at pools, the only place I ever see speedos in real life is in the center of town on some tourists from Quebec. These tourists from Quebec don't make me feel in the slightest way "insecure"; they make me feel mildly grossed out.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

The ’80s saw a steep rise in the American male’s awareness of gays—and with it his desire not to be mistaken for one by in any way signaling that he had an ass and a packet. Baggy shorts are a deliberate and cruel affront to homos—but it’s nice to know that straight men are thinking about us so much.

I think that the above point, taken from the OP's reference, is the big reason behind the trend away from speedos.
When gays were rare and hidden, then all sexual show was for the opposite sex.
When it became clear that they were not so rare and much less hidden, then the defensive barriers went up.

 

[earllogjam]

Funny how the trend for swimsuits to cover up more coincides with Americans being the fattest they've ever been in history. Them fat kids are everywhere and guess what? - they are the ones wearing board shorts and baggy clothes. Board shorts and a baggy T's are the equivalent of MuuMuu's for guys. What started out as a surfers necessity to prevent legs for being scratched on surfboards has become the new fashion trend. I think Mark Spitz did that for the Speedo - remember that iconic American flag Speedo from the Olympics?

Fashion aside - have you ever tried swimming laps in board shorts? Uhg. No, it's a Speedo or nothing for me. I think you'd be laughed out of the pool if you showed up for masters swim practice wearing those things. If you are modest just wear a dark pair - they hide more by not showing any shadows of your manhood. In the water who cares? Speedo's also act as a sort of corset compressing that bulge making you more aquadynamic- penis down is best.