Young adults ever get flak for being nude in change room?

Discussion in 'Bare It! Nudism and Naturism' started by Kebbler, Dec 4, 2011.

  1. Kebbler

    Kebbler Member

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    Hello, I'm a 20 year-old university student and I frequently walk nude between the locker and shower at the gym on campus. I have noticed that no one else my age does this. The only men who do are considerably older.

    I take pride in the confidence I have walking to the shower in the buff after my workout, however everyone my age always has a towel wrapped around their waists. I'm a closet nudist, meaning I would love to become one, though I haven't been publicly nude anywhere besides the change room.

    I was just curious, has anyone who also goes nude in the change room ever been called out on it? If so, how did you deal with the situation? I find it awfully strange that 20 something year olds are still insecure about being naked in front of each other.
     
  2. r0llinstoned

    r0llinstoned Gute Nacht, süßer Prinz

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    Idk, maybe that don't wanna be nude in front of other men..
    Not their cup of tea
     
  3. deleted

    deleted Visitor

    When I was in the army. some men showered with shorts on, some men did not.. I sometimes showered in full bdu, it was just nice to get under the water.. :p
     
  4. Amontillado

    Amontillado Member extraordinaire Lifetime Supporter

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    Speaking as one of those older guys, I've seen plenty of discussions where people just shake their heads over the younger generation. You talk about how "20 something year olds are still insecure about being naked in front of each other" as if that's something that's going to change one day, but I don't see any reason to expect it. I think as the younger men mature, the whole concept of being naked with other people will seem more and more remote. It's great that there are some exceptions!

    You should look into naturism as something to get involved in. We really wouldn't need clothes for very many activities if society had a different attitude.
     
  5. Kebbler

    Kebbler Member

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    I would love to get involved with naturism, but there aren't really many places to do it near where I live. There's a nude beach in Toronto, but I haven't found anyone who would be interested to go with me. People seem to find it hard to understand what the appeal is.

    For me, I think the human body, both male and female, is a remarkable and beautiful thing that should be celebrated. It bothers me that people are so uncomfortable with who they are physically, they feel the need to be ashamed if they are not covered up.

    I don't know if I'm overthinking this, but it seems to me like such behaviour encourages distrust in the common person and a lack of esteem in the human form. Having such antagonism towards a large part of what makes you who you are does not seem like healthy behaviour in my opinion.

    I thoroughly enjoy being nude. I sleep nude, I relax nude, I'm nude right now. I just find it so comfortable and unrestricting. I would often be nude when chilling with my previous girlfriend. She found it strange to say the least, especially when I would escort her to my door wearing nothing while she was dressed to brave the winter weather. To see if I would be comfortable nude with others, I asked a very close friend of mine if it was okay to hang out with him in the nude, saying he could join me if he wanted to. He said okay, but remained clothed. I'm kind of rambling, but my point is that it would be nice if I could find someone who agreed with me and enjoyed nudity as much as I do. I would really like it if nudity didn't make others uncomfortable, but I doubt that's going to change any time soon.
     
  6. WOLF ANGEL

    WOLF ANGEL Senior Member - A Fool on the Hill Lifetime Supporter

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    Once upon a bit ago I played sports with communal showers thereafter it was/is natural to do and apart from the putting shampoo on anothers head when they werent looking trick - it was all about the cleaning away of mud and nothing more (towel sharing optional)
    :)
     
  7. sunfighter

    sunfighter Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    I live in Boston, not exactly the most liberated city in the world. But in my experience in high school and college and athletics, most men walk around around naked in the locker room.

    However, a few years ago I worked at a local high school and I was amazed to learn that most of the boys don't take showers any more after phys ed. That seemed unbelievable to me. I mean, don't they care about smelling bad? When I asked, I was told it was a combination of not having enough time at the end of class, but also a general unwillingness to get naked in front of others. I found that very hard to believe, too, in this age of porn and media sex. I was under the wrong impression that all this was making young people less ashamed of their bodies. So weird for me to think that my generation feels better about their bodies than teenagers do.
     
  8. Amontillado

    Amontillado Member extraordinaire Lifetime Supporter

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    Well Kebbler, I don't know what you've done to find out what's available. There's a Canadian Naturist Federation which certainly has members around Toronto. There's also a local group which organizes events, called the Ontario Roaming Bares:
    http://orbtoronto.org/

    I just took a look at their web site, and they're saying (under the heading "Students"):

    Welcome Students in any College or University

    You are welcome to attend, free of charge, our biggest event of the year--Skinny Dipping at The Wave Pool, Saturday January 28, 2012 starting at 7:30pm.

    We have rented the Wave Pool over 30 times during the past 12 years. We also rent other pools in the GTA throughout the winter months, and support other activities in the summer such as volleyball tournaments and visits to places such as Hanlan's Clothing Optional beach in Toronto.

    The Wave Pool
    5 Hopkins St.
    Richmond Hill


    Why not give that Jan 28 event a try? You might find that it's a pretty middle-aged crowd (like the naked people in the locker room) but they want to get younger folks in. Could you find anyone else to go with you?
     
  9. Kebbler

    Kebbler Member

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    Oh wow thank you for the research. The event seems interesting, but I am in school in London for most of the year. The only thing I could find here was a family clothing optional swim twice a month, but they don't allow single males it seems. I'm not really sure how to find other people my age who would be interested.
     
  10. Hiriako

    Hiriako Guest

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    I went to High School in the mid-hudson valley in New York. There's not a single school there that I know of that does showers after phys ed classes. Mine didn't. To be honest, I don't even recall seeing showers present in the locker rooms. It just wasn't something done.
     
  11. Kebbler

    Kebbler Member

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    When I was in high school, there wasn't enough time to shower after phys. ed. Yes we did stink, but that was usually remedied by excess body spray. There was enough time to shower after practice, but everyone used the technique where you wouldn't get dressed or undressed without a towel wrapped around the waist. There were no shower curtains, so people just swung their towels over the curtain rods. I was not nearly as confident back then.

    My first experience with communal showers was when I was 16 on an Army Cadet exchange to England. All of the bases and training camps we went to had fully communal showers. The British cadets didn't think anything of it. Us Canadians were a little uncomfortable at first, but we adjusted quickly. In the end, we took it as a kind of bonding experience. It was great. I haven't been uncomfortable nude around others since.
     
  12. deleted

    deleted Visitor

    When in Rome , do as the Romans do..
     
  13. sunfighter

    sunfighter Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    That's what I thought, but I think it's soooo weird. Can someone explain this to me?
     
  14. sunfighter

    sunfighter Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    I could understand this if they were coed showers, but why so much shame around other guys? Am I right about the shame? It boggles my mind that my generation (growing up in the repressive 50's) feels less ashamed than the younger ones, because we were really screwed up about sex in general.
     
  15. Biggles_Nude!

    Biggles_Nude! Hakuna matata.

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    Take your towel off and wander liberated! Become a trailblazer and a beacon of hope for wider public nudity — or at least nudity in the locker room. It's time to get over it and make a stand. Old guys get a kick out of seeing younger bodies: it reminds them of the way they looked — probably a long time ago before pot bellies, man boobs and veinous legs came along. Wear the curiosity and excitement with pride, because one day in the future you too will look like that.
     
  16. Amontillado

    Amontillado Member extraordinaire Lifetime Supporter

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    I think that paradoxically, it's the freeing up of sexual attitudes that's caused it. Now young people are very much aware that there are homosexuals in the world, and they're aware of sexual abuse. In some senses it's been a very welcome change, with gay-straight alliance groups at a lot of schools and so forth. Young guys used to make lots of jokes about sex, including about "queers" and "homos", but I don't think we ever considered the possibility that someone our age actually was gay. Now kids might worry about how the guy at the next locker might be eyeing them. And of course the gym teacher used to make sure that everyone took a shower after class; we know what people would say about that kind of thing now! But there truly were some abusive situations. Anyone read the stories about Penn State lately?

    Another point is the legal requirement to treat boys and girls equally. The nudity that boys took for granted didn't usually apply to girls, and now the rule would be that if boys want more privacy and the girls have it already, the boys must have it too.

    So one way and another, shared nudity has become a relic of the past, just something that weird old guys want to do. And a few weird young ones!
     
  17. Kebbler

    Kebbler Member

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    Haha I guess I'm a weird young one. Yeah, I've considered the possibility of a homophobic cause, but another thing that bothers me is the reaction of disgust a man has towards a naked man. I should find it personally offensive that people would find me ugly naked, but it seems like established social norm that everyone is ugly when they are naked, which I think is very unhealthy.

    I wonder if people genuinely feel disgusted or if they only act that way because of homophobia, so that other people do not think they are gay or whatever. It would be nice if there was tolerance and not extremes in the behaviour, but it seems like if you don't actively act against nudity, you want to see it, meaning you're gay. Why can't people understand that body doesn't have to be viewed sexually and can just be taken for what it is, a person?

    "Ewww gross, a naked old guy, I better not look anywhere in that direction or people might think I'm gay. I wish he'd just put a towel on or something."

    vs.

    "Oh hey look, a person. He's kinda old. I guess I'm going to look like that some day. Time for my shower!"
     
  18. sunfighter

    sunfighter Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    Interesting comments. In my day, I was barely aware of homosexuality. Guys sometimes called each other "queer", but even then, I don't think people actually thought the other was gay (maybe I was naive). I can't recall even one gay in my high school, at least that I was aware of. I never saw any actual gay behavior until I was maybe in my late 20's. Times have changed.

    Now, I'm wondering about Europeans, who have the reputation of being at ease with nudity. I wonder if they have changed, since I imagine they have had the same raising of awareness of homosexuality and abuse. Have European teenage guys also changed their behavior, or is this a uniquely American neurosis?
     
  19. nldn

    nldn Senior Member

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    No one bats an eyelid or makes comments anywhere I've showered nude.
     

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