Baywatch

[PSDave]

Hulu has recently put on the entire Baywatch series from the first all the way to the finale (over 200 episodes). It is really an interesting study of the evolution of swimwear over the 10 year run of the show. So far I have gotten through 3 seasons and have enjoyed the show and the beautiful bodies (writing has its moments but generally quite sophmoric).
The big thing I noticed is the casual wearing and attitudes about speedos. Of course the lifeguards are seen in them but a lot more frequently than would ever happen now. Guys on the beach wear them (though not in multitudes -- but never shy of the cameras) In a couple scenes guys in speedos come up to the female lifeguards and are anything but shy.
Of course this is the early 90's and they weren't the taboo they have become with the time. Watching has been an eduction. I was there on the L.A. beaches during this time and remember the beach scene then. What I have noticed and recalled about speedos then is you just wore them. I wasn't making a statement, just choice of swimwear. I was on high school and college swim teams and they were a natural choice. Besides, they fit nicely under pants so I could cut class and head to the beach. It is simple, take your clothes off and slip them on. guys wore suits that fit properly -- not one or two sizes too small. It looks natural -- not too small to create a genital pancake so inventory of the contents is simple. No cock rings, push up built in or added , just the actual guy wearing them.
As the decade progressed, gays were coming out and certain beaches became were all gay and, of course, all in speedos. Places like AhMen, International Male and Parr of Arizona came out with smaller and smaller suits that, needless to say, caught on quickly. In Brazil all guys wore a skimpy bikini that became real popular on many US beaches. (now known as a Rio cut)
The more people noted the gay beaches, the more the speedo became the official uniform of the gays. Toss in the the Pride parades with dozens of speedo clad men pranced down the street and suddenly a design in swimwear for its stigma. Even the str8 guys that still preferred speedos were teased by their friends - even though they knew their friend was str8 - so they fell to peer pressure and on went the board shorts.
I think that watching this series will be an education for those that didn't have the pleasure of speedo freedom in the 80s and early 90's.
To clarify, I think that two other factors were involved in the Southern California lifestyle. First, the beach culture was led by the Surfer. They were the godson the beaches with toned and tanned bodies and shocks of sun bleached hair.Everyone wanted to be a surfer and adopted the looks. (remember the Beach Boys?) Because of the rough surface of the boards the guys opted for the mid thigh, heavy cotton "board shorts". Button or velcro fly and lacing at the waist. They were practical in that they had pockets for board wax and car keys. Second, Hollywood is in Los Angeles. It is no secret that the entertainment industry is heavily populated with gays. It was becoming less and less necessary to hide their being gay. However, that meant the loss of the speedos on LA beaches.
If you like hot guys in Speedos (or TYR as it is) this is a great series to watch.

PS if you watch the segment about Raging Waters, check out the guys blue shorts as they get out of the water.

[Torchwatch]

In 1969 after repeated police raids the gay and transvestite customers of the Stonewall Pub in New York resisted arrest and spontaneously protested on the streets. After a protest lasting a few days they won, the police were forced to back off and Gay Pride began.

The music played in the gay nightclubs that followed was Disco, which the gay and gay friendly community danced to.

"Disco Demolition Night was an ill-fated baseball promotion on July 12, 1979 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois." As a publicity stunt to sell tickets they blew up a crate full of disco records. It was a homophobic reaction against the gay nightclubs and the disco music they played.

In the 1970's and 80's short shorts and speedos were just what you wore for soccer, running and swimming. Short shorts were just called shorts as nobody except pensioners (with old army surplus shorts) wore long shorts. In the UK we didn't know about board shorts as surfers wore wet suits.

In the late 1980's there was a change in fashion from wearing brief underwear to wearing boxer shorts, the boxer shorts were actually longer than the soccer shorts worn over them which looked dreadful so men and boys started looking for shorts to wear that were longer than their boxers.

At first those who continued to wear briefs were considered unfashionable but gradually swim briefs and short shorts started to be considered as inappropriate and then gay.
In 2003 this advert came out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbnkhqzp4l8
The age of wearing the same big baggy shorts for everything had arrived.