Morning
A question from a Reader:
"Monday, I went to my local gym and saw a sign on the locker room door. The sign said effective July 15, 2026, there is a new locker room nudity policy. About the third line down it stated all men must cover their private parts at all times. The hot tub has a sign, swimwear not required. There is also a sign stating 15 and under not allowed in locker room. They installed a privacy booth in the locker room to change in.
I asked at the front desk what caused the change and they said there were complaints. I stood there perplexed and the girl said it was half and half complaints about male nudity in a male only space. I never saw any sexual activity or anyone excited in the locker room. The majority of the guys who feel free to go nude in the locker room are over 50. We just take showers and soak in the hot tub and sauna nude.
I notice most of the younger guys change under a towel or in the toilet stalls. The vast majority of younger men don't take showers. The locker room has the only male facilities. I know I am not unique in not covering up when changing, but what makes men uncomfortable about other men being nude in all male spaces. I pay a premium to attend a gym with a hot tub and sauna, now I have to cover my parts when in the hot tub.
Is this a new trend? Have other people experienced this?"
I know I've seen Reddit threads where younger guys say all they see are "naked old men" and they find it "disgusting."
This has been trending for the past decade or so. If there is Physical Education in schools --- there is no longer a requirement to wear jockstraps or to shower afterwards; that is strictly for the athletes. Blame it on overprotective parents who fear someone may see their son's genitals. Or that their son will be ridiculed for having a small dick, or (maybe) sprouting an erection.
Those fears and attitudes have slowly made their way to local gyms with the younger folks who, by the way, have also been warned that there may be men lurking who want to assault them if they see them naked.
It's ridiculous, of course. And I feel sorry for them because it's not "shame," it's fear. Unwarranted fear.
Sorry for the loss of freedom you (and others) now have to deal with in a male-only environment. The gym I belonged to, until 24-Hour Fitness invaded every city in the U.S., had separate locker rooms, showers, hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, tanning beds, and pools. Clothing was NOT permitted in hot tubs or pools, and most just carried that forward to the saunas and steam room. Sadly, gone are the days.....
Readers, any thoughts?
32 comments:
That's pretty fucking annoying. Jesus, no like anyone needs to perform mouth to dick resuscitation? I wonder what the rules are for the woman's locker room?
It seems likely that some people might be concerned about being photographed secretly with cell phones and find their pics on websites.
A related issue is the prevalence of hidden cameras in naked spaces, and the introduction of "AI glasses" will only make this worse. Young men know from porn sites that some are being recorded without consent.
The only place left that is open to nude males seems to be gay bathhouses and campgrounds. I'm afraid that it will take another generation to get us past the point of fear.
There’s probably an element of age discrimination as well as fat phobia involved. Both of those rampant in our society.
What's the world coming to?
When attending junior high, we had 6 weeks of swimming, diving and life savings. Swimsuits were not allowed. Even for the coach. Was this a life scaring problem? No. To the young men who towel dance to dress and undress, don't flatter yourselves. Other guys really not that interested in what you're packing and if you find "older men" nude as disgusting, just wait, you will be older too if you're lucky. Maybe you can make arrangements to use the women's locker room. Will that cure your towel dances? Body shame is a sad and difficult problem to overcome but it's time to start. I can't imagine that being nude for a public shower or just changing clothes would be offensive to anyone in the locker room. Just get your exercise in the safety of your home, but close the curtains and turn off the lights. Voyeurs are everywhere and are anxious to see your cock and balls.
Think I'd find another gym!
This doesn't surprise me in the slightest. When it comes to see and nudity, I think that is where things are getting conservative again and all private....which makes no sense since guys have no problem showing their nudes bodies on grinder, Twitter and on porn hub and such. Thank heavens I and most my friends don't have issues with nudity. I also think it's a generational thing. My generation took no issue...but after me...that one did I feel. Also it's an all male locker room. For Pete's sake!!!!!
It's the establishment prerogative.
The whole no shirt no shoes no service rule, but in a gym.
Maybe he needs to go to another gym? And ask about there policies before he signs up?
XOXO
Plenty of younger straight guys have OF sites so nudity can't be an issue. [although they are not being paid for being nude in a locker room] And plenty of look maximizers and younger body builders don't seem shy about flaunting themselves in the locker room or showers. Is this just some sort of wider institutionalized homophobia in American society? Or are they afraid that the beauty their of youth is fleeting and they too will become older?
The subreddit r/communalshowers has a continuing discussion on this subject, and a map of places still with nude facilities.
It is FEAR. Manufactured. It is an outcropping of the other fears that are running rampant in our society. In my opinion. This attitude about "nudity" has been gaining momentum for decades...some of these "straight men" who are supposedly these dominate Alpha males are running like scaredy cats. Again, my opinion but based on some of my own experiences.
The local Y has a 'family' changing room-- I would hope the towel dancers would use that if they're afraid of showing their stuff...
I don't know how you could find out. But I wonder if these same guys complaining about the locker room. If a lot of them are also the ones sending dick pics all over the web. For some reason the younger generation can compartmentalize being naked around others. And being naked on the internet.
In earlier generations, young boys and all very young children swam naked in rivers and ponds. Young men typically were in the military during World War II, and then Vietnam so a lot of this casual nudity continued until about the 1970s. And that’s where the change started, kids stopped doing a lot of things, like going outside and playing all day. And with the age of mass communications, parents became more fearful of everything and everyone. Also religion had a a lot to do with all of the above. I’d like to think in another hundred years people will look back and wonder what we were thinking.
Hugs and bisous
I'd be finding a new gym.
Then *they* should keep THEMSELVES covered, not worry about someone else being photographed secretly.
"People like you and me... we're gonna be fifty-year-old libertines in a world full of twenty-year-old Calvinists." -- Tales of the City, Armistead Maupin, 1978. It took a little longer than predicted, but not by much.
So what? Men shouldn't be ashamed of what (insert relevant deity here) gave them and if other people are going to respond according to their subjective feelings on the matter, they can just take it up with said deity in criticising their handiwork and intention, it's not my problem.
We desperately need education of the masses about the reality of diversity and the ongoing reality of biology, no matter how irritating it might be at times. The task of civilisation is to accept what has to be and accommodate any issues intelligently.
Single occupant multi-purpose bathrooms were introduced that completely removes any social friction between the genders (apart from having to wait your turn) whilst telepresence removes all physical violence from the equation and I think this should be extended to many other areas of life.
I think we are drifting back to the prudery of Victorian times, egged on by feminists intent on punishing men for "oppressing" women in the past without concern about the consequences. The fact that this is happening mostly to younger men suggests maybe the "incelification" of young men by women with no thought except for themselves is to blame.
I think the tendency to individual segregation, except where physical contact is necessary, will resolve the issue of nudity, when people can be nude in their own homes without bothering anyone else. I know many would not want that because of the benefit they get from being amongst other nude people, but unless you want physical contact, it should be possible to have a nude gathering even in your own homes via telepresence and large screens to give a life-size approximation. Those who wish physical contact or physical presence will have to develop specific groups and localities.
Society has yet to accept "live and let live", the reality of diversity, how we are right now is okay (but we reserve the right to change tomorrow) and what someone says about us is telling us something about them, not us personally: it's not being helped by a total lack of education in this matter.
Ageism is prevalent in both gay and straight community mainly now with so many younger guys going to the gym into being lean and ripped hoping to be the next IG model or TT star same is happening in Gay bars if you are over 30 the younger gays come out and say we older guys should just die off and be gone.
OK, then those people can wear a towel and change in private. Doesn’t mean everyone should have to.
Could you not file a countercomplaint? You’ve been able to change without issue for 30/40+ years, and now you suddenly have to awkwardly cover your genitals because a few are too afraid to show their dick in a male-only changing room? They can cover themselves if they want.
Our swim classes in high school and= college were always naked, and nobody gave it a thought. The Y I went to recently shut down, and for the longest time, trunks were verboten, and nobody wore anything in the sauna or steamroom . The last two years they started requiring trunks all through. It's bullshit, frankly. I saw my old high school gym teacher some years back, and he said they had to wear trunks now because, as he put it, "Somebody's mommy bitched." It's a sad trend, but it IS a trend.
Wow!! such pressure!! I thought I was the only one with these thoughts, so I'm happy to find that others find this increasing fear of nudity troubling. I am 85 years old, and both gay and a nudist. I came out at the age of 80 and discovered that I could exercise my nudist proclivity for the first time in my life. I have always liked my gym ... I picked it because it is upscale, near my home and has a kick-ass swimming pool. A few years ago these tendency toward unreasonable modesty started leaking into my reality at my gym ... and I was actually seeing younger men and boys showering after a workout with their workout clothes still on. That is simply ridiculous. I have to admit that I am a voyeur of sorts ... I always pick a locker with a clear view of the door coming out of the showers .... but only to look ... nothing else. For the first time in my life I have freed myself to be curious about how other men look and how I feel about that. I was in the closet far too long!! I also am very active in a bi-gay nudist group and go to a local bathhouse near my home several times a month. I am much more bothered by the ageism I have to deal with at the bathhouse from younger men who walk around with their towels firmly covering their bodies as they move around in the facility. I know I'm an old man, but I don't like being reminded in rude ways. I always seek consent before making any move on someone, and a simple "thanks, but I'm not interested" would be appreciated rather than using hand gestures to "wave me away." I find the most comfort at activities held by my bi/gay nudist group. There I don't feel any ageism or body shaming. People ask me what is different about a nudist group, and I simply say that in those groups I find men who are okay being themselves and encouraging others to do the same. There is little that can be hidden when you are naked ... and, curiously, this openness leaks out into conversations and social contact with these nudist men. There is no push for sex, but spaces are provided where it thrives during activities ... consent is the watchword! Back to the gym ... I am sad that there is so much prejudice against older men who are trying to keep themselves physically healthy. It's difficult enough to find the time to go to a gym, but when you know that you are going to have to face restrictions because of some puritans who fear being molested in the locker room ... take a step back and try to be a little more inclusive, folks!!
The supposed males of today are a bunch of pussies. In my day, if you took P.E., you were required to shower, no separate shower stalls, and we had no problems. Now there are too many Helicopter parents.
The problem with young males today is the Helicopter parents. Afraid they might just be boys and see the world as it truly is.
"The vast majority of younger men don't take showers." Kind of disturbing. There must be an overwhelming aroma of AXE musk.
Big strong men fearing being molested? Surely you jest.
This issue has certainly engendered a lot of responses. So here's my two cents:
A very timely quote from reader Stephen. But I might substitute Calvinist with the label Puritans. But what appears to be happening is a 'war on sexuality' by the MEGA hard right fundamentalists - the Karens and Chads of the US.. Look at the attacks on trans peoples in sports or even doing something as basic using a public bathroom. And the fact that gym owners go along with this might just speak to how afraid they are of the current occupant of the White House. It seems to ok to be a self-proclaimed pussy grabber but don't you dare look at naked men.
And in response to another comment, above the look maxxers and OF boys are only interested in monetarizing their beauty. Don't look at them for free in the change room but please go ahead and pay for that privilege. That's capitalism after all.
Something I did not see mentioned here is that some of this "starts at home". I had two opposite parents. My Mom was a nudist who rarely was completely covered. My Dad went into the bathroom clothed to take bath and came out completely clothed. I saw him in his underwear only a few times. I had friends who's Dads were not even shy when I was staying over. I think families have become more prudish for fear of scrutiny. I saw a post the other day of a Dad kissing his 2-3 year old on the mouth and I was shocked at the comments about how this was completely inappropriate. I mean come ON people. Keep your prudishness to yourselves and let the rest of us be ourselves.
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