# Nude swimming lessons at the Y?! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279 "2009-05-31T19:54:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/1 "2009-05-31T19:54:11Z")
Apparently, swimming lessons were given at the YMCA - back in the day - with both instructor(s) and class in the nude. I don’t know why they wouldn’t wear bathing suits. It seems very strange to me, and I hope that doesn’t brand me as prudish or anything - it just seems strange. Anyone have any experience with this, or could confirm it? One of my brothers did confirm that nude swims were par at the YMCA, of course not when they were open for family swim or for women/girls to be there. Heh. Color me … confused is probably the closest. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/2 "2009-05-31T20:03:47Z")
Males used to have to conform to certain Spartan ideals regarding exercise. This was one. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/3 "2009-05-31T20:31:34Z")
Young man, there’s a place you can go. I said, young man, when you’re short on your dough. You can stay there, and I’m sure you will find Many ways to have a good time. It’s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A. It’s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A. They have everything that you need to enjoy, You can hang out with all the boys … ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/4 "2009-05-31T20:41:49Z")
We’ve had discussions about nude swimming classes at high schools as well as the Y on this Board before, and people havve substantiated it with cites. It surprises me – we always used suits at our Y, and I’d never seen pictures of nude swimming before, or heard of it. Actually, the idea of high school swimming is pretty cool, and goes back quite a ways in many towns. I would’ve killed to have it n our school. Nude or not. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/5 "2009-05-31T20:46:55Z")
Funny, we were just talking about this today at my great-nieces bday party. (weird, huh?). My BIL did this in college swimming back in the early 70s. He was taking lifeguard lessons and they all had to swim nude! ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/6 "2009-05-31T20:51:31Z")
Schools used to do it too. It simply wasn’t though necessary for males to wear bathing suits when no females were present. Women & girls were supposed to be modest, men & boys weren’t supposed to give a damn if someone saw them naked. There were hygienic reasons as well; swimsuits used to be made of wool and pool filters couldn’t handle that. No dealing with wet suits left in lockers or people wearing dirty suits in the pool. Pre-pool showering used to be enforced more as well. According to my father nobody (boys, teachers, or parents) thought it was a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/7 "2009-05-31T22:17:34Z")
Yep. Saw it in the early 70’s. It was just normal. No fibers for the pool filter from the older/basic natural-fiber material, and there were no plastic shopping bags to throw your wet stuff into…and no Rubbermain containers! I heard it was done in all boys schools just for the reasons above, too. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/8 "2009-05-31T22:22:09Z")
> [@tarragon918](#): > > Apparently, swimming lessons were given at the YMCA - back in the day - with both instructor(s) and class in the nude. I don’t know why they wouldn’t wear bathing suits. It seems very strange to me, and I hope that doesn’t brand me as prudish or anything - it just seems strange. > > Anyone have any experience with this, or could confirm it? One of my brothers did confirm that nude swims were par at the YMCA, of course not when they were open for family swim or for women/girls to be there. Heh. > > Color me … confused is probably the closest. In most non-competitive indoor swimming scenarios the only practical reason for wearing a suit is that women might see you. In non-female environments why bother? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/9 "2009-05-31T22:51:34Z")
I don’t particularly want anybody seeing me naked. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/10 "2009-05-31T23:59:58Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > I don’t particularly want anybody seeing me naked. Social attitudes about male nudity have become increasingly restrictive over the last 50 years: look at how shorts have gotten longer, for example. Also, you rarely see men in public–even in their front yards–without a shirt. I noticed a few years back that people that play pick-up games like Ultimate now carry 2 shirts with them, a dark and a light, for when they divide into teams. Just a decade ago, it was more likely to be “shirts” vs. “skins”. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/11 "2009-06-01T00:03:22Z")
We had mandatory nude swimming in high school (early 60s). Only the boys; girls had a different pool and wore suits & caps. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/12 "2009-06-01T00:06:40Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Actually, the idea of high school swimming is pretty cool, and goes back quite a ways in many towns. I would’ve killed to have it n our school. Nude or not. Each semester we had swimming every day for 6 weeks. It was mandatory, and you couldn’t graduate if you didn’t know how to swim. ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/13 "2009-06-01T01:23:53Z")
My HS didn’t have a pool and therefore no swimming; we only belonged to the Y for a short time (jr. high years for me). It’s funny that one brother remembers the nude swims and the other brother doesn’t–both of them (they’re 11 months apart in age) took lessons together, at the same Y. I’ve since read on other forums (a link provided me by one of my brothers) about gym classes held in the nude - instructor also nude. Okay, that is beyond the border in my book. Especially if it’s an all-boy school. Good Og! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/14 "2009-06-01T01:29:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Each semester we had swimming every day for 6 weeks. It was mandatory, and you couldn’t graduate if you didn’t know how to swim. We had the same thing at MIT. But the closest institutional pool to my high school was _miles_ away. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/15 "2009-06-01T02:09:28Z")
> [@tarragon918](#): > > I’ve since read on other forums (a link provided me by one of my brothers) about gym classes held in the nude - instructor also nude. Okay, that is beyond the border in my book. Especially if it’s an all-boy school. Good Og! Why? Because it’ll devolve into an aquatic fuckfest? Because it’ll turn them into fags? You say you don’t want to come off as prudish, but then you say such silly, silly things like this. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/16 "2009-06-01T02:41:28Z")
I was going to ask about the YWCA, but it was addressed in post #6. But I’d still like to have a box lunch at the Y. ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/17 "2009-06-01T02:57:42Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Why? Because it’ll devolve into an aquatic fuckfest? Because it’ll turn them into fags? > > You say you don’t want to come off as prudish, but then you say such silly, silly things like this. I just don’t see any reason why a PE class would need to be taught in the nude … to students also nude. That is why it is beyond the border, imnsho apparently. A teacher is also a person of authority, which can be used the wrong way. I’ll grant that my idea of modesty probably differs from others–but nude gym class is beyond a modesty issue with me. LOL ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/18 "2009-06-01T03:03:40Z")
Nude swimming for males sure was the norm at the Y in my youth. There was no stigma or thoughts that it would lead to any sort of heightened sexuality. Actually, I prefer to swim nude. It increases the feeling of freedom that swimming and paddling around gives in the first place. Good thing for the neighbors that my backyard has high fences. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/19 "2009-06-01T06:57:15Z")
A nude gym class sounds painful — too much flippy floppy, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279/20 "2009-06-01T08:08:00Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Why? Because it’ll devolve into an aquatic fuckfest? Because it’ll turn them into fags? > > You say you don’t want to come off as prudish, but then you say such silly, silly things like this. Dial back the crazy just a little bit. Why would asking about nude swimming at the Y (which is seen as very irregular today) be seen as prudish? I’d say anyone born in the last 40 years would have no idea such a thing ever occured and being dumbfounded at students forced to take a swim class in the nude… _taught by nude teachers_… is a pretty understandable reaction. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nude-swimming-lessons-at-the-y/498279.md?page=2)