Speedo Shame Origin

[valorian2]

There's a stigma in the US about wearing Speedos and I know from reading a bunch of posts that people always start out being a little embarrassed about their swimsuit preference, and then you eventually build up the courage to wear one in public and you never look back.

But where did all that shame start for you, and when did you get rid of it?

I'm mostly asking because after going to a beach and wearing a Speedo out in public in front of a lot of people for the first time, really, I'm jonesing to do it again real bad. I loved it so much and felt so proud. But the next time I'm gonna be in a potential Speedo situation is with my family, and they are 100% the source of all my internalized Speedo shame.

Speedos were the butt of jokes for as long as I can remember. Wearing them, men that wear them, the way they look, all of that was always a big joke, like the men that wear them are inferior and not to be taken seriously and to be mocked. The idea of them or any of the men in our family wearing a Speedo was always laughable. I grew up around pools and water with my family, so this came up A LOT. And it really made all the desire I had to try on Speedos and make the switch to wearing them even more taboo, a lot more than it DEFINITELY should be since it is JUST an article of clothing.

So I now have to get through a whole weekend with them in a few weeks wearing trunks -- slightly shorter trunks though, 4-5" inseam, I've metaphorically burned all the board shorts in my possession, never looking back -- but still trunks and not the Speedo that I've packed. That'll be covered up by shorts all weekend.

Just counting down the days until I can get back to a beach myself.

[sebbie]

You raise some interesting and important issues. Let me address them point by point.

1. Body size and body image. Over the last 20-25 years, in the US at least, people on average are 20-25 lbs heavier than they were in, say, 1990. If you buy a Small Polo shirt today, it will be about the same size as a Medium would have been purchased in 1990. Clothes got bigger as more and more guys found it easier toi just cover up rather than reveal that they had added weight.

2. Men have body image issues too. They might commonly be more hung
up on this than women, even.

3. Women by and large do not seem to have the same issues should an overweight woman show up at the beach or pool that men do with respect to an overweight man showing up in a skimpy swimsuit. Go figure. Some men seem to get downright angry over this, especially in the US. So most guys quickly learn that they need to err on the side of caution when it comes to swimsuit and in particular tummy coverage.

4. Many, perhaps most men think it is fun if their wife or other significant female partner shows up in a skimpy bikini and the other guys to a degree ogle her. This is alpha male stuff, demonstrating to the other guys around the pool how fortunate you are to be able to breed with such a desirable mate. Many women play along with this and are fine with it. They like the attention, and so long as the other males do not make obvious passes that would be difficult to pass off, the skimpier the bikini the better!

5. Women see men dressed in skimpy swimwear very differently from men in mixed company around the pool. A Woman does NOT want to see her man ogled by other potentially available women. He is hers, and hers alone. In particular she doesn’t want other women to see even the covered outline of his genitalia. So far as she is concerned, that is hers, and hers alone. That’s where wearing a swim brief gets a guy into trouble.

6. Swim briefs, for better or worse, have gotten associated with being something gay guys wear. Deep down the woman worries in part that the other women in the group will conclude that her guy might be gay, or at least bisexual. Why otherwise is he showing off his body parts like this for all to see? So it’s fine if a swim team wears briefs at practice, and the guys are all ok with that. Its fine even if the swim teams includes men and women. But on a social or party occasion? Probably not!

7. Then there are all the issues guys secretly worry about if the wear a swim brief (worries they have had about snug-fitting clothing since age 11 or 12) , in particular getting an erection at an inopportune moment and everyone will see that. Better to wear clothing that will make any inopportune erections less noticeable.

8. Having said that, part of the reason I engage in such a strenuous and consistent exercise program is that I find the idea of looking good in a skimpy swim brief motivates me. Plus, I have always found them fun to wear in all sorts of different ways. Since I don’t have a wife or girlfriend I don’t spend time worrying about the other issues, but I understand why the guys who do tend to worry.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

I grew up in very rural Northern Maine USA, which one would think is about as conservative a place as there is. I was on a swim team of some type starting at age 6 or 7. My family was not poor, but we did not have money for me have swim team suits and other suits, so my last years speedos became this years recreation swimsuits. It wAs never an issue. I went to high school in Virginia to have a better chance to swim in college. I remember there that I got teased a little about my swimsuits outside of team, but it never lasted long. I have worn brief suits my whole life and it has never been an issue. Life is too short to not be who you are. It is sad that you have to play a different role around your family. I would just put on the swimsuit you like and be matter of fact about it. As long as you are in good taste, no thongs or butt showing, let them just get over it. If you are worried start with a wider cut, once they accept that go to a more normal cut. I somewhat think we make this speedo stigma more than it really is. If they think brief cut suits are gay and you are then they guessed right. If you are straight and in a speedo, it will soon be clear that you and your choice of suit are not markers of your orientation. Be who you are, wear what you want.

STS

[Dooley67]

I've been wearing brief suits since I was a late teenager in NY, Brooklyn specifically, where either speedo type suits or square cuts were very common for guys, so it was never an issue. When I came to Maine for graduate school at the age of 21, I continued wearing speedos and never had an issue with it.

The only time I stopped wearing speedos for about a year was when I had gained 15 unwanted pounds and I didn't like the way I looked in a brief suit. I didn't like the way I looked in a fitted dress shirt either. You see, it was my choice and my decision. Since losing the weight and becoming a serious swimmer, I returned to wearing speedos, the narrower the better - my limit is 1.5" for my own sense of what looks decent. For me it was how I felt I looked, not how others' thought I looked or what others' think of me because I wear speedos. I've worn speedos in beaches in the US and in other countries being sensitive to the customs of the countries other than the U.S. I wear them because that's my swimsuit of choice.

My point in writing all of this is that you need to do what is acceptable to you (within the framework of decency), not what you think is acceptable to others. I agree with STS that the perceived speedo stigma may be made to be more than it actually is. While we could attach all sorts of psychological meanings to the phenomenon, it may very well be like what Freud said, "a cigar is sometimes just a cigar."

Valorian 2, you may take some heat from your family, but if you have evolved into a more self confident person in certain ways, one of which is as one who feels comfortable wearing a speedo, then let your family know that's who you are at this point in your life. And don't apologize or feel the need to justify your decision to be who you are. It may be tough at first, but they'll eventually adjust and, realistically, they will have to if they want you to continue coming to family events. Be who you are. Good luck.

D67

[PSDave]

I don't know where you are but having grown up in the Los Angeles area I can offer reasons for there.
When i was in school your weren't cool unless you were a surfer. You had to own a surfboard, have sun bleached hair and wear color blocked surfer trunks. They had the pockets to store your wax for the surfboard, car keys since surfing left you sitting on the board out in the water -- not by a towel on the beach --and some change to get a soda or call for a ride. The designs have varied through the years but the basic surfer trunk with the lace at the waist has pretty much held true. Some longer and baggier suits have come long but disappear to the standard of the surfer trunk. Boxer Shorts underwear was really popular in college. I remember "boxer rebellions" where all the guys would show up to parties wearing only their boxer shorts.
I think getting guys to give up hanging loose for tight undies or swimwear isn't and easy task.
However -- there were beaches that weren't surfer hangouts and other styles like speedos were still part of the mix. Venice Beach (also known as Muscle Beach) was always popular by body builders wearing the next to nothing posing suits and Santa Monica was pretty much a free for all of styles.
Between the surfer look and the Beach Boys songs, and the California look seemed to set the trend that for some reason has never changed.
I do remember the Duran Duran videos that featured the guys in black speedo briefs, they started to appear at pool parties more, but it wasn't enough to overcome the long tradition of those surfer trunks. Damn. No matter what we think or would like, the truth of the matter is that unless the teens decide that speedos are cool, there is little chance to see their popularity surge again soon.

[Bede735]

My point in writing all of this is that you need to do what is acceptable to you (within the framework of decency), not what you think is acceptable to others.
D67
It must be so. If you buy any new clothes you're the one who tries it on, looks in the mirror at yourself, and makes the judgment that it's fine. You're not going to walk around the store asking for other people's opinion. It's exactly the same for swimwear. If you're okay with it, then other people's opinions are irrelevant. Well apart from ones, say, who are in charge of the public pool, who decide if you're wearing acceptable swimwear. Fortunately there is a wide tolerance in what that is.

[tightjeans]

Ok all good replies. Please don't overlook the negative perception of the public in this country of the conduct at the various gay rights parades and functions. I know a number of gays over the years who are repelled by it as well.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

I think Tightjeans makes a great point. There is a time and a place for everything. Wearing suits inappropriate for public display in a public setting, gay or str8, ruins it for everyone.

[Blue Nike]

I equate the jubilant celebration you see at gay pride parades with the same outlandish, joyful, and often overtly sexual activity that you see at Carnivale parades around the world. And who would condemn that? It's a party!

[Torchwatch]

As a child I used to be embarrassed at the sight of overly cute children on television especially in American drama like original Star Trek. In Britain the overly posh drama school children playing working class kids made me cringe. They did not represent me, they created an adults view of childhood that excluded me and everyone I knew. We felt embarrassed and alienated by the portrayal of young people on the media.

Men wear speedos for many reasons; at one extreme are those whose speedos are simply sportswear for training and racing and who deny that they have any sensual or sexual reactions from their swimwear. At the other extreme are those that wear speedos, bikinis and thongs in public gay pride marches, cavorting their almost naked bodies in a sexual manner trying to tempt viewers with their sensuality.

Homophobes are turned on by the reckless gay abandon at the pride parade but they repress their excitement turning it into disgust and hatred. Seeing men cavorting in thongs they start calling all brief swimwear including racing speedos as being gay. The swimmer who has no sexual attachment to his speedos will feel embarrassed at being publicly represented by those at the bacchanalia. Rather than being lumped together with all those almost naked dancers he will deny them and suggest that publicly cavorting in speedos is wrong.

I think the swimmer is mistaken, some people will find the sight of him in his speedos to be sexy even if he doesn't himself. the homophobes will be excited and disgusted by him whether he is str8 or gay. The swimmer should do his swim training and racing in his speedos but he should try to be tolerant of the Pride Paraders having their day of fun.

For myself I'll wear 2" classic racing speedos when I train in a public pool, when I get to a quiet beach I'll wear a 1" bikini or even a thong depending on how far I can get from the madding crowd. I don't want to be forced into wearing board shorts or a burqa when I'm 100 yard from the next person.

[tightjeans]

I equate the jubilant celebration you see at gay pride parades with the same outlandish, joyful, and often overtly sexual activity that you see at Carnivale parades around the world. And who would condemn that? It's a party!
I have no personal inhibitions to condemning the activity which occurs at some of the "Carnival Parades".

[PSDave]

I too would not condemn the party atmosphere. However, these celebrations, for the most part, are the only mass media publicity the gay community gets. If the partiers are dancing around in speedos or in drag, that is the image that is projected.
It is all a matter of perception. If the only time people see gays in the paper or on TV they are wearing speedos -- what do you think they will think when they see a man on the beach or around a pool wearing a speedo?

[Bede735]

On the other hand, if the only time they see an Amazonian Indian on TV wearing very little, would they make a comparison to a man on a beach wearing very little?

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Truth be told, the "speedo stigma" is not a manifestation of the straight community. Plenty of gay guys see another guy in a speedo at the beach and they assume he is gay. That said, if anyone is going to decide my sexual orientation based on the swimsuit I wear, so be it. I jusy hope they also think I can rock my swimsuit well. :)

[Dooley67]

The real issue is stereotyping a person by the clothing he/she wears. Is a young woman who wears work boots a lesbian; is a guy who wears pink shirts gay, etc., etc. If a person is defined by what he/she wears, then the whole person is not being seen or considered; what is assumed is that person is gay because he wears a speedo. People are more than what they wear, more than what color they are, more than what nationality they are.

D67

[California Dolphin]

I don't understand the reasoning that speedos and short shorts became a "symbol" of the Gay Community.

Prior to the 90's, speedos and short shorts were very normal for young men and teenagers. How could something that's already the norm become a unique symbol for a particular group? Furthermore, speedos and short shorts have always been deemed as moderately erotic no matter about the sexual orientation of the wearer or the viewer.

I believe the trend away from short shorts and speedos was actually initiated by Michael Jordan who introduced long shorts on the basketball court and unfortunately that style is now the rock solid norm for men's shorts and swim suits.

However, I believe the trend is slowly being reversed and I'm seeing more guys in short running shorts. Change won't happen by itself and you have to "Take the initiative".

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Well said, D67. Bravo!

[Bede735]

I Prior to the 90's, speedos and short shorts were very normal for young men and teenagers. How could something that's already the norm become a unique symbol for a particular group? ".
Because the media loves a stereotype. Another example is the English flag. Because a far right xenophobic group uses it, it is then assumed that if you display it you must be xenophobic.
Also, it used to be if you had very short hair, it was assumed that you were a hoodlum.

[TooBig]

Just a quicky here
The English flag is the cross of St.George. The British flag is the Union Jack. Very relevat with the "United" Kingdom facing possible dismemberment

[Torchwatch]

The extreme right BNP use both flags England and Great Britain.

It appears the whole Scottish independence referendum was a means by the prime minister to turn the Scottish people away from the Labour Party and towards the SNP. the Labour party lost it's Scottish MPs and lost the general election.