For what it’s worth the pool at the POAC (Pentagon Officers Athletic Club) was nude only back in the day. My dad took me there when I was in first or second grade. Back then officers were all male as well. Not sure when the rule changed but the “club” is not just officers and, of course, women use it as much as men (maybe more).
I grew up in southern NY but we never had to swim naked. But I belong to a rather stuffy club in NYC (it’s a work “perk”). It has a pool for men and one for women. In the male pool area which includes a sauna, nudity is required. I was shocked the first time I went there when the attendant told me to put my clothes in the locker. As I changed I took my bathing suit out. Noticing it he said “you don’t need that here—you have to swim naked.” I was shocked only because it is so rare anywhere recently to permit nudity much less require it. A very pleasant surprise. I have no idea what they do in the women’s pool area. My wife refused to try it for fear she would have to be nude. :-(
My first year of High School in eastern Quebec, swimming lessons were segregated between boys and girls. It was intimidating as boys had to swim in the nude. I remember being in fear of that first day and few boys had feined being sick that day. I had gone skinny dipping with my next door neighbour. We lived in the country and we would bike to a few secluded spots by a river for a swim. The idea of a group of boys wad a totally different matter. By the next year and likely due to parents complaints, nude swimming was no longer permitted and it was no longer segregated.
Thanks for writing this. I too have a memory of swinning nude at a local YMCA, which was with the men from our church. I (now) remember loving it but because it was never discussed afterward in my family or in our church, I had forgotten it happened until I read an article similar to yours. Funny thing about the geographical differences you mention: time was a factor. My experience, which I think was in the mid 60's, was in Akron, Ohio, only 30 miles south of Cleveland where you said the policy wasn't in place In the early 70's. Another part of my reconstructed memory was that the women also swam nude in a separate pool. But was that only an assumption? I'll probably never know the answer to that question because my parents have passed and because of the fog of time.
The only time I ever saw nude swimming at a YMCA was a mid-winter reunion of my YMCA summer camp. I was 10-12 at the time, circa 1970. Only a few were nude. I kept my swimsuit on but was internally jealous having never skinny-dipped despite having long wanted to even then. As an aside, although the camp was boys only, there were female staff members, so while I heard about surreptitious nude swims, I never actually saw it.
I'm in between. I'm just old enough that nudity wasn't a thing we thought about. No nude swimming at the Y, but it was always co-ed. Showering after gym class started with sixth grade. Skinny-dipping was the norm anywhere girls weren't likely to show up. Hot tubs were naked if in the locker room, swimsuits if not.
As for society, yeah. We've come so far in so many ways yet with something as mundane as guys in the buff around other guys we seem to have slipped back to a parody of Victorian days. I say 'parody' bec IIRC Victorian men weren't too concerned either if there were no ladies around.
It's just weird. But the main question is what to do about it.
A local natural pool was being cleaned out and restored after decades of people dumping various unwanted items in it. I remember my grandfather telling us how he and his friends and brothers used to swim there. I'm guessing au naturel.
We had to shower naked in High School from age 11, back in the 60's and 70's. In the next town, the public indoor swimming pool had Men's Night and Women's Night, I'm guessing for nude swimming, but it wasn't stated on the timetable. That was the 80's or 90's and the pool has since been demolished and replaced. I don't know the policy now.
On the other hand, in Worcester there was a swimming and health spa facility. I went there every Saturday to use the sauna and steam rooms, men only on Friday and Saturday. All nude, no issues, no embarrassment, it was perfectly normal.
I missed a few weeks, and returned to find the rules had been changed and shorts were required. I didn't ask why, I assume because many of the clientele on Friday evening were openly gay. Nothing untoward went on. I was never approached with unwanted 'attention' and no sexual activity took place, I just assumed that it was the usual suspects trying to spoil other people's enjoyment in the name of their religion or 'morality'.
I grew up in a conservative fundamentalist community. Nude showers after PE were mandatory. Same sex nudity was perfectly acceptable. Mixed gender was a sin. I think it took a big hit from the Satanic-pedophile panic in the 80s. It was gone for good when the smart phone with a camera came out.
My daughter went to jr. hi in the late 90s - early oughties and showering was forbidden after PE. Of course, PE didn't amount to much and nobody got sweaty.
Hello from Nova Scotia Canada. Yes in the 1970s it was common for nude swims at the y and other public pools. Gals went braless back then and men and women would swim nude at the y and skinny dip at the local lake or beach. If it feels good do it.
When I was around 8 years old (circa 1960) my dad and I went swimming every week at the Y in Los Angeles. It was mandatory nudity, men and boys of all ages.
Why restrict the discussion to the YMCA? It was also common in the public schools. And it was mandatory! In Illinois (and probably other states), you could not graduate from high school until you had demonstrated the ability to swim 1/4 mile. You were required to take gym classes all four years of high school, and various electives were available, but one year (or maybe semester) had to be swimming. I attended high school from 1959-1963, but this was the rule for decades before that and likely after.
The males thought nothing of it, then and now, but surprisingly, the ladies made a big deal out of it at our 50th reunion.
In the 1950’s, Camp Baiting Hollow, a Boy Scout Summer Camp on the North Shore of Long Island, NY, had an opt in nude swim. This was my first publicly nude swim experience, never to be forgotten.
I grew up on a farm in Southwest Ohio. As a teenager in the mid to late seventies all the neighborhood farm boys would skinny dipping and a farm pond somewhere. The public pool in town you had to wear swimsuits. In 1976 at summer camp with the boy scouts myself and two other teenage boys decided to go streaking at the bonfire during parents night. Got a pretty good laugh out of everybody but if you do that today you'll be in juvenile detention Hall.
Well my experience with swimming naked at the YMCA was a bit difference. I was in 3rd grade and we would go there as a class once a week. We had to line up at the door to be inspected. a teenage life guard would look as over and even touch our privates, they said it was to make sure we were clean. I saw a group of mates gathered around a teenage boy on the side of the pool so I went to see what was going on. The teenager had an erection and was explaining to the boys how to masterbate. It was funny to watch at that age. Also, some of the boys were going into another room with the teenagers, i never knew what they did. So my memory of the Y was kind of exciting for a young boy.
For what it’s worth the pool at the POAC (Pentagon Officers Athletic Club) was nude only back in the day. My dad took me there when I was in first or second grade. Back then officers were all male as well. Not sure when the rule changed but the “club” is not just officers and, of course, women use it as much as men (maybe more).
OBTW, second grade for me was 1962. Yikes I’m old!
I grew up in southern NY but we never had to swim naked. But I belong to a rather stuffy club in NYC (it’s a work “perk”). It has a pool for men and one for women. In the male pool area which includes a sauna, nudity is required. I was shocked the first time I went there when the attendant told me to put my clothes in the locker. As I changed I took my bathing suit out. Noticing it he said “you don’t need that here—you have to swim naked.” I was shocked only because it is so rare anywhere recently to permit nudity much less require it. A very pleasant surprise. I have no idea what they do in the women’s pool area. My wife refused to try it for fear she would have to be nude. :-(
Are public pools in Finland naked swimming?
My first year of High School in eastern Quebec, swimming lessons were segregated between boys and girls. It was intimidating as boys had to swim in the nude. I remember being in fear of that first day and few boys had feined being sick that day. I had gone skinny dipping with my next door neighbour. We lived in the country and we would bike to a few secluded spots by a river for a swim. The idea of a group of boys wad a totally different matter. By the next year and likely due to parents complaints, nude swimming was no longer permitted and it was no longer segregated.
Thanks for writing this. I too have a memory of swinning nude at a local YMCA, which was with the men from our church. I (now) remember loving it but because it was never discussed afterward in my family or in our church, I had forgotten it happened until I read an article similar to yours. Funny thing about the geographical differences you mention: time was a factor. My experience, which I think was in the mid 60's, was in Akron, Ohio, only 30 miles south of Cleveland where you said the policy wasn't in place In the early 70's. Another part of my reconstructed memory was that the women also swam nude in a separate pool. But was that only an assumption? I'll probably never know the answer to that question because my parents have passed and because of the fog of time.
The only time I ever saw nude swimming at a YMCA was a mid-winter reunion of my YMCA summer camp. I was 10-12 at the time, circa 1970. Only a few were nude. I kept my swimsuit on but was internally jealous having never skinny-dipped despite having long wanted to even then. As an aside, although the camp was boys only, there were female staff members, so while I heard about surreptitious nude swims, I never actually saw it.
I'm in between. I'm just old enough that nudity wasn't a thing we thought about. No nude swimming at the Y, but it was always co-ed. Showering after gym class started with sixth grade. Skinny-dipping was the norm anywhere girls weren't likely to show up. Hot tubs were naked if in the locker room, swimsuits if not.
As for society, yeah. We've come so far in so many ways yet with something as mundane as guys in the buff around other guys we seem to have slipped back to a parody of Victorian days. I say 'parody' bec IIRC Victorian men weren't too concerned either if there were no ladies around.
It's just weird. But the main question is what to do about it.
A local natural pool was being cleaned out and restored after decades of people dumping various unwanted items in it. I remember my grandfather telling us how he and his friends and brothers used to swim there. I'm guessing au naturel.
We had to shower naked in High School from age 11, back in the 60's and 70's. In the next town, the public indoor swimming pool had Men's Night and Women's Night, I'm guessing for nude swimming, but it wasn't stated on the timetable. That was the 80's or 90's and the pool has since been demolished and replaced. I don't know the policy now.
On the other hand, in Worcester there was a swimming and health spa facility. I went there every Saturday to use the sauna and steam rooms, men only on Friday and Saturday. All nude, no issues, no embarrassment, it was perfectly normal.
I missed a few weeks, and returned to find the rules had been changed and shorts were required. I didn't ask why, I assume because many of the clientele on Friday evening were openly gay. Nothing untoward went on. I was never approached with unwanted 'attention' and no sexual activity took place, I just assumed that it was the usual suspects trying to spoil other people's enjoyment in the name of their religion or 'morality'.
I grew up in a conservative fundamentalist community. Nude showers after PE were mandatory. Same sex nudity was perfectly acceptable. Mixed gender was a sin. I think it took a big hit from the Satanic-pedophile panic in the 80s. It was gone for good when the smart phone with a camera came out.
My daughter went to jr. hi in the late 90s - early oughties and showering was forbidden after PE. Of course, PE didn't amount to much and nobody got sweaty.
Hello from Nova Scotia Canada. Yes in the 1970s it was common for nude swims at the y and other public pools. Gals went braless back then and men and women would swim nude at the y and skinny dip at the local lake or beach. If it feels good do it.
When I was around 8 years old (circa 1960) my dad and I went swimming every week at the Y in Los Angeles. It was mandatory nudity, men and boys of all ages.
Why restrict the discussion to the YMCA? It was also common in the public schools. And it was mandatory! In Illinois (and probably other states), you could not graduate from high school until you had demonstrated the ability to swim 1/4 mile. You were required to take gym classes all four years of high school, and various electives were available, but one year (or maybe semester) had to be swimming. I attended high school from 1959-1963, but this was the rule for decades before that and likely after.
The males thought nothing of it, then and now, but surprisingly, the ladies made a big deal out of it at our 50th reunion.
In the 1950’s, Camp Baiting Hollow, a Boy Scout Summer Camp on the North Shore of Long Island, NY, had an opt in nude swim. This was my first publicly nude swim experience, never to be forgotten.
I grew up on a farm in Southwest Ohio. As a teenager in the mid to late seventies all the neighborhood farm boys would skinny dipping and a farm pond somewhere. The public pool in town you had to wear swimsuits. In 1976 at summer camp with the boy scouts myself and two other teenage boys decided to go streaking at the bonfire during parents night. Got a pretty good laugh out of everybody but if you do that today you'll be in juvenile detention Hall.
My husband Gary, had nude swim classes in high school. It was the defining time transforming him into nudism. Jan
Well my experience with swimming naked at the YMCA was a bit difference. I was in 3rd grade and we would go there as a class once a week. We had to line up at the door to be inspected. a teenage life guard would look as over and even touch our privates, they said it was to make sure we were clean. I saw a group of mates gathered around a teenage boy on the side of the pool so I went to see what was going on. The teenager had an erection and was explaining to the boys how to masterbate. It was funny to watch at that age. Also, some of the boys were going into another room with the teenagers, i never knew what they did. So my memory of the Y was kind of exciting for a young boy.
Oh this was in Baltimore in 1959