Coogee

[Byron]

:mad: This has quite ruined my day - buried in boardies.
Supposedly Sydney's sexiest beach but you will only find a
speedo in one of 87 pics ! (30 )

http://www.2dayfm.com.au/shows/kyleandjackieo/galleries/sexy-beach

[louis]

That is a darn good question ,
Well I communicated with 6 aussie guys I know living in Australia, asked them for an answer to this question as such: hey are speedos still popular and worn on Bondi beach and general on beaches in Australia,.
Here are the results, 4 out of six say definetely that are popular and worn on Bondi beach and on beaches in Australia
The outher 2 say that board shorts prevail but most wear speedos under them.
So there you are.
Permit me to say that a few even mentionned that they find american influence very sad indeed in Australia.
Just to be fair, I must mention never the less that all 6 are speedo lovers.
3 gays and 3 non gays but all speedo lovers.

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

Speedos are not popular anywhere, except for on competitive swimmers and triathletes. It's not because of America. Australia has never had any problem being it's own country. The fact is, society in general has shied away from tighter, smaller, revealing guy's suits... regardless of where you live. Heck, for years Canadian's coming to beaches in Maine wore Speedo type suits, despite everyone's supposedly prudish American views. However, even strong willed Canadians have shifted to longer, more conservative boardies or shorts. Let's face it, whether we agree or not, like it or not, a guy on a beach in a tight, revealing suit will be assumed to be gay unless proven otherwise. That fact is a big a mark against anyone wearing them (who is str8, and most people are) than the views of one country. Having said that, I have worn my brief swimsuits exclusively for years. Sure I probably get some behind the scenes comments that I do not hear, but it has never been an issue and I am perfectly comfortable doing so.... even in supposedly awful America.

Like Louis I posed this question once. In my case to a group of entirely gay guys "would u rather see a hot guy in a Speedo or board shorts. There were 15guys (I do not know their swimwear preference). All but 2 resoundingly said boardies and at least 5 had clearly strong anti brief wearing views. Even in the gay community, Speedos for fashion are not widely regarded.

On my college swim team, I was the only guy who wore briefs outside of swim practice and meets.

In the end, do we really care what others think?

[Swimmboy]

I must agree with SwimTeamSpeedo - this crap about blaming America for the disappearance of Speedos in Australia, the UK, etc., is absurd. 98% of people from those countries have never even been here - are you telling me a few US-made TV shows and movies changed the dressing habits of your populations? If so, they must not have much willpower to preserve their own cultural identity! And the people on this board who lament about how "popular" Speedos were in the US back in the glorious 70s - bull! Just watch the 1975 movie "Jaws" - loads of beach scenes and not a Speedo anywhere (one square-cut was all I saw). Yeah, I know Christopher Atkins wore a Speedo on Dallas - but what was his role? A swim instructor for the kids! I wear Speedos at public pools and beaches in America, and don't give a damn what anyone says. I don't follow the crowd - I do my own thing. If guys in other countries are too timid to be themselves, I feel sorry for them.

[stayinspeedo]

Well said Swimmboy!!!

[Byron]

Generally agree with the aforesaid but I spotted "............will be assumed to be gay unless........"

This brings us to the cultural identity issue which follows and I do not foresee Russian and other East European males willing to accept that statement when traditionally enjoying the sun in their speedos on the beaches of the Black Sea.

Btw, don't underrate the power of Hollywood. Ephemeral it may be but it has and does have an influence on clothing styles in its movie productions over some ninety years (baseball caps anybody ?).

[SwimTeamSpeedo]

What I do care about is when people bash my country unfairly. Speedos or any brief suits are as common on beaches in most countries as they are in the USA. Your original post certainly establishes that, Byron. Some places they are more common (Ogunquit, Maine; South Beach) and others not. I also think people get too hung upon why people wear boardies or whether they are the only one in a brief. I no more want to have someone tell me what to wear than I want to tell someone else what to wear. If a guy likes boardies, cool! If I like brief suits, cool! And heck, the right guy in board shorts is just as hot as the right guy in a brief.

A far better solution is if all the closet brief wearers just wore what they want. That would certainly increase the number of Speedos or other brands out there on the beaches.

[Byron]

I have to agree that we see a lot, and maybe too much, written on the lines of "too many boardies are outnumbering speedos on our beaches (and in some pools) and who or what is to blame for this relentless trend?"

I started this thread somewhat tongue in cheek as "buried in boardies" - but there is nevertheless a cogent point to be made if brief suits lose out 86-1 in pics from a "sexiest beach" in the land of the Speedo.