Speedo Pride

[sebbie]

Not that many years ago, wearing a Speedo, at least by any male who was not a competitive swimmer or diver, seemed to be interpreted as an indication that a guy was gay, as bigger swimwear, often board shorts, was considered the correct swimwear for any "straight" guy. But particularly over the past decade, this seems to have changed a lot, and most people do not nowadays conclude that any guy at a recreational pool or beach in a Speedo must also be gay.

A more recent event has been the expansion of Prime merchandise at Speedo and the other swimwear companies, tee shirts and swimsuits with Pride rainbow logos, multicolored suits employing the colors of the Pride flag. Logos that proclaim Pride or use the word Pride in large lettering on the back of the suit. There are many different designs and styles.

Not that many years ago, most gay guys probably were secretive about being gay, and for a lot of guys wearing a Pride themed suit or tee would be a way of coming out about being gay without having to utter a word. But this would seem like a limited clothing market as in how many guys would want to do this.

Still, Speedo has a lot of Pride merchandise on their Web site, more suits and tees that you would expect if the primary market were gay men interested in announcing to the world that they are gay by wearing a suit or tee in public.

So, what exactly is going on here? If a swimmer were to wear a Pride suit or tee, does that mean that he himself is surely gay, or is wearing one of these items simply a way of conveying to the world that he is supportive of the Pride movement and says nothing about the guy's personal sexuality in public?

A decade ago, I would not even be asking the question, and simply assuming that the only guy wearing a suit with a Pride logo would be a guy who was openly gay. Times change.

Something very similar apparently applies to females who wear Pride suits or other merchandise.

[Minimalist75]

Back in the 70s and early 80s, there were no implications of sexual preference in wearing speedo. As they became less common after that, most straight men stopped wearing them and gay men were more likely to continue doing so.

[Torchwatch]

The reason gay men have separate gay bars, gay discos, gay walking clubs and gay areas on a beach is that in a gay area they don't have to act str8.
At work, on the bus, in a cafe if a gay man lets slip that he might be gay he's suddenly the gay in the room and it's ok to shun, mock or bully him.
Guys who are naturally camp and can't hide it have to put on a larger than life camp queen act turning their life into a comedy to avoid being beaten up.
In the gay area they can relax, stop acting str8, tune camp down to it's natural level and be themselves.
When gay pride comes along and a thousand gay men will march down the street and all the bullies will be in hiding it's time to be outrageous, get out those rainbow speedos and strut them down the High Street.