How times have changed
I started with nude swim classes at the local YMCA at 8yo. I thought nothing of it.
I also went to Dad/Son swim nights with my dad and the other boys dads, all of us nude in the pool and in the locker room which included a steam room. Usually the boys only had a very Spartan locker room and shower, but when we got to use the steam with dad and friends it was a delightful treat.
So much was natural and we grew up without the gymnophobia that is rampant today. Clearly things have NOT improved.
Some interesting stories on this topic. Was the stopping of nudity was around the time of Aids or was it more to do with the politics of the time? I'm not sure if this went on here in Australia, there are also stories of this happening in the UK.
This would be a good thesis for someone to study at university about whether we have gone backwards not forwards in society and a healthy view of our bodies.
A couple of years ago I needed some jeans and checked out the local Abercrombie & Fitch. I was shocked by all the homoerotic pictures of young men's abs, but the store was so dimly lit I could hardly see the jeans. Now men are almost as objectified as women. Times have changed so people compare themselves to some unrealistic ideal and feel shame. Its sad and all we can do is lead by example that there's a healthier way.
Your question about why the practice of males swimming nude together ended in the United States is a good one. As I recall, there was a growing protest among mothers of sons who felt uncomfortable in being "forced" by the rules and regulations of various organizations to swim without bathing trunks. This outcry from mothers occurred in the 1960s and, as had happened so often in history, their protests caused those who were running the YMCA, public and private schools, and other organizations, ultimately, to change the regulations. Although those rules changed in 1962, in practice nude swims for males continued in many communities well into the 1970s. I swam in the nude at the YMCA with my brother and my dad, and at a boys boarding school and in prep school in the mid to late 1950s. It was great fun always.
walnuddad, I remember that time period. In the mid 60's I was a scoutmaster and would take the entire troop and any dads that wanted to go to the local YMCA each month for a troop swim, nude. Well, one time an outraged mother called me to tell me, in no uncertain terms, and loud enough that she didn't need the use of the phone, that her son was never going to show his body to anyone and that he would not be coming to the swim and that she was going to contact the BSA and complain about this practice. I tried to talk to her about, at some point her son was going to have to face this and this might be the best way for him to do that. I said, when he gets in school and the military he would be required to take showers with other boys and men. Well, she told me that her son would never participate in anything that required him to take showers at school, and he would never go in the military! Then she hung up on me. Like you said, in the 60,s
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