Shower etiquette at the swimming pool

Missus_Hyde

At the gym I go to, the facilities are "basic", to say the least. The shower cubicles and toilets are single sex, but very badly designed as in order to use the two toilets, it's necessary to go through the communal changing area to reach them. Coupled with the fact that the changing room and toilets are also shared between the gym members and the members of the golf club, it's rather like showering in the middle of Victoria Station, as there is quite a bit of through traffic from the golf members tramping backwards and forwards to the toilets, who also tend to bring in half the golf course on their muddy shoes (far too much trouble for them to remove their shoes before using the facilities, of course! :mad:)

Although not overly bothered about having to strip off under these circumstances, I've found that it does put one at a psychological disadvantage meeting fully clothed people, when only dressed in a towel or less and I've become a dab hand at drying myself and getting my underwear on in double quick time!

duchy

Why do shower cubicles exist if not to strip off in ?

Logically you've been wearing swimwear in front of people in and around the pool so the only reason they exist is so you can change your state of dress to shower properly - surely ?

I do agree that people who use a gym on a regular basis or play sport tend to be less worried about the odd non sexual flash of flesh - whether that is down to less modesty or the fact that regular exercise means the body tends to be in better nick -I'm not sure.

megaginge

Torry_Quine wrote: »

As for 'megaginges' comments, what on earth makes you think you have the right to comment on Torry's religion?! What the heck has THAT got to do with anything?!

I'm just drawing a comparison from religious literature to pose a question. Deary me, calm down :-)

Jagraf

duchy wrote: »

Why do shower cubicles exist if not to strip off in ?

Logically you've been wearing swimwear in front of people in and around the pool so the only reason they exist is so you can change your state of dress to shower properly - surely ?

I do agree that people who use a gym on a regular basis or play sport tend to be less worried about the odd non sexual flash of flesh - whether that is down to less modesty or the fact that regular exercise means the body tends to be in better nick -I'm not sure.

I don't think there's necessarily a category, it's just down to how you feel and what you personally think is appropriate. Maybe with group sports you are much more of a 'family' - I certainly felt this way with a group of people I teamed up with for netball, but I don't want to walk round naked / be naked in front of strangers, irrespective of where I am.

I don't think it has anything to do with body image - you can still be modest and think you are in great shape, etc.

Pyxis

Jagraf wrote: »

I don't think there's necessarily a category, it's just down to how you feel and what you personally think is appropriate. Maybe with group sports you are much more of a 'family' - I certainly felt this way with a group of people I teamed up with for netball, but I don't want to walk round naked / be naked in front of strangers, irrespective of where I am.
.

That's interesting.

For me, I think I'd be more averse to people I know seeing me nude, than random strangers I probably won't see again.

Jagraf

Pyxis wrote: »

That's interesting.

For me, I think I'd be more averse to people I know seeing me nude, than random strangers I probably won't see again.

Just shows how random it all is- I suspect nothing to do with religion, age, height, shoe size, confidence, or any other imaginary scenario :)

Homeownertobe

I was thinking about this today at the gym before work. After we'd finished our workout four of us out of the group went to use the showers at the box before going on to work. It didn't strike me as at all odd, and no-one seemed to be bothered by the fact of it. It is what it is. However, I will say this - usually there's only two of us using the showers after an evening session, and that's probably standard giving how few showers there actually are there.

Lily-Rose_3

Hell would freeze over before I would be lollygagging nekkid in front of strangers OR people I know! (except for Dh of course.)

And I wouldn't have taken my daughter anywhere where there was naked people either. I never told her, or implied that nakedness was wrong, but I would not have felt comfortable with her seeing the genitals of strangers.

Call me odd! Whatever.

boliston

Pyxis wrote: »

That's interesting.

For me, I think I'd be more averse to people I know seeing me nude, than random strangers I probably won't see again.

Same for me - it's a bit like with those rows of urinals for gents - i'd happily use that at something like a motorway service station but not at the office where i would know everyone

thorsoak

Like others who attended schools where communal showers were compulsory after games ....and who was still the only one in Vth Form wearing a vest and not a bra, I developed the art of dressing and undressing under a towel, and the nakedness of others does not bother me. My OH and I wanted our children to grow up accepting their own bodies, and whilst never flaunting nakedness, it was never a big thing in our family - and we took them into communal changing rooms if that was all that was available - though it was noted that the boys all turned away from other people when changing once they reached the age of 9 or 10. In turn, they have done the same with their children.

What worries me about making a big thing about nakedness is that we all want our children to accept their bodies as they are and not as shown in the media. If we do not want them to have unrealistic ideas of what women and men look like naked, then surely taking them into communal changing rooms must help them to accept the fact that some people have large bodies, others are skinny, some have fat tummies etc etc etc.