First communal open showers for me were when I learned to swim at the Jewish Community Center in Kansas City, Missouri in the very early 1960s, when I was 8. We werent Jewish, but we became members for the swimmingthey had indoor and outdoor pools. Gang showers were all I experienced from then on, in Arlington VA in the high school I went to and the in the dorms at Virginia Tech (or VPI, as it was known then) in the early 1970s. It never occurred to me that there was any other to way to do it. I only ran into individual showers later on, in this or that health club I joined. Seemed like a waste of building material.

BTW, we wore suits throughout. :-(

• 6 years ago

junior high 12 yoa in hot southern florida pe class was mandatory we had three days to have our stuff together dress out and participate and afterward get nude and shower in the gang showers yes I couldn't wait I liked being nude. no doubt the coach's got a kick out of nude as you had to get your towel after showering which meant you left the shower room wet and nude and walked back toward the rear exit door where to towel room was . one time I stepped out to go get my towel and one of the female coach's was standing at the backdoor chatting with the male coach and she was looking in at us naked boys I just kept walking for my towel.

• 6 years ago

First communal shower experience would have been junior high (i.e. 7th-8th grade) in the early 70's.Phys-ed: the teacher told us about jock straps, which we all were supposed to get and wear.The locker room was open, we had to get naked, see each other, and make our way through the shower area, which was like a hallway with shower heads on both sides. You just walked through to the other end, where they gave you a real towel. By 8th grade, that was replaced by a large paper towel. We started bringing our own towels, which wouldn't really dry by the next day...I don't recall much bullying or taunting. Some popular guys turned out to be late bloomers, and I do remember a "jock" tough guy sitting with an erection once. Very rarely would anyone say anything sexual or lurid. There was some towel snapping, but mostly it was calm.
This was exactly my experience and I don't remember many negative experiences in the locker Room.
I even remember a friend of mine a jock sitting on a bench with a big full erection and there was some joking around but nobody even really made too much fun of it. A couple of the jocks got hard in the shower one time and were doing it on purpose showing off but it was to be funny. There was towel snapping and our phys. ed. teacher was the same about us all needing jockstraps. He even pulled down the top of his waist band to show us the band of his own jock to show us he wore one too. We actually saw him in it a couple of times later anyway. I liked the whole communal shower thing and wish boys and young men weren't so uptight about it these days. They all panic if their towels start to slip even to just show underwear. It's kind of silly to me.

• 6 years ago

First experience was the Y. Ill never forget the first time I walked in and saw naked men walking around without towels on. Several guys showered together in the open, and also exposed to other guys walking in and out of the locker area. No one was embarrassed or ashamed, its like they enjoyed being there. First time I walked into a crowded room full of nude men in the sauna was an experience ill never forget. Miss when men were men and had no issues or hangups about being naked together.

• 6 years ago

I'm new to the group just joined I'm 50 years old public showers don't bother me now. When i was younger my first time that I rember i was about 6 or 7 years old at the YMCA we had to shower before using the pool I felt like like I was being put on display I was very self conscious about my body at that age

• 6 years ago

From as far back as high school gym class, more than 35 years ago, to many years in the military, I have always used communal showers without any issues. Git used to them and prefer them over private stalls. Nothing to hide.

• 6 years ago

I can't remember the first time. It was probably at my community pool where the dressing room has open showers. But I had a communal shower ever day after gym class. Me and 25-35 of my classmates shared about 10 showers. We had less than 10 minutes to shower, dress, and get to the next class. There wasn't much time to even think about it.

• 6 years ago

You can't tell by looking at me now, but as a kid I was a competitive swimmer since I was 5. Well, more like I was on a swim team and they let me race the other fat kids. Anyway, the place I swam at had communal showers and I got use to them from an early age. By high school I stopped "competitive" swimming. First gym class in freshman year, we finished our activity and were told to go to the locker room. I assumed, based on what the coach had told us, that we were expected to shower so I did. I didn't have soap or shampoo so I just rinsed off. What I didn't know is that nobody ever showered and the school didn't have towels. I ended up naked trying to drip dry quickly so I could dress and get to class. The next day, the school had a pile of towels on a folding table for anyone that wanted to shower. By my estimate, it was November before anyone else took a towel and showered but by June most of the class was in on it. They realized how much better it felt just rinsing off before going back to the classrooms

• 6 years ago

My first communal shower experience came in middle school. The school was built in the 30's and the boys locker room was equipped with a large communal shower room. After gym class we were required to take a shower. It was quite unnerving for me not having any experience with them before. Not only that but the gym teacher would stand at the opening of the shower room to make sure everyone got at least some water on them. Many years later the school was turned into apartments and there was a gym became a fitness club. I joined and was surprised to find the locker room the same as it was with the old communal shower still there. I showered and enjoyed it even though I was the only one there thinking back to my middle school days. No fear of unexpected erections, or someone seeing me nude. Somethings come with age.

• 6 years ago

High school after gym class, but by then I was already going socially nude!

• 6 years ago