I went to the spa the other day with my wife. There is something about going somewhere where everyone and everything is designed to relax you that automatically puts your mind at ease. Well, that relaxed feeling went away quite quickly at this particular spa and made me pause for a moment.
If you have read this blog before, you know that I did not go to high school in this country. Coming here for college was a bit of adjustment. My friends always joke with me that it couldn't be that rough because my home was an English speaking island which was heavily influenced by American culture. That said, there were some aspects of American culture that were not the same. The list is actually long, and we can go into it another time, but the one that became apparent at the spa was the fact that, in Trinidad, we didn't have communal showers. Translation: we didn't walk around naked in the locker rooms!
This has always bugged me: nakedness in the gym/locker room. I'm not a shy or modest person. In fact, when I was younger, I would be considered an exhibitionist by some people. I have been skinny dipping in college, and when getting a massage, fully disrobing is not an issue for me. So I'm not quite sure why it's an issue in the locker room. Am I now embarrassed by my less than athletic body? (ps. That's what I put on forms that ask about my body type! "Less-than-athletic" sounds MUCH better than FAT, which is what I actually am!) Am I afraid that someone will come over with a manifestation of manhood that makes me feel minuscule? It might have to do with not wanting to have a conversation with a dude while his leg is propped up on the bench that I'm sitting on while his twigs and berries are dangling from his tree!
Whatever it is, I tried to get over it and experience the spa (which was a fully clothed facility once you got past the gender specific areas). My wife and I had a great time that day but that first jarring moment where I had to be in a room filled with naked men took a bit of getting accustomed to. For those of you who are even more modest than me, bring a towel. I wish more men did in the locker room! LOL
These are my thoughts...what are yours?
6 comments:
I firmly believe that most [if not all] men feel this way, Hayden. When I was trimmer and more athletic [on the verge of defeating the laws of gravity] I had absolutely no issue with walking around naked. Hell, I used to emerge from the shower and look at my body in my full length mirror to make sure the imperfections were at a minimum. Today when I look at myself I see that I have so much to get rid of. So walking around naked in a locker room, spa or any other location is not gonna happen for a while. Hell, even when I was trim I never cared for communal showers. Used on only once in my entire life and that was in college. I firmly believe that we [as men], no one wants to be the eyesore. We all want to be the eye candy. This is just part of the male ego no matter how old we get. It is what it is. I still intend to lose though. Once that happens its back to be a borderline exhibitionist. LOL.
Thanks for the comment Logic! Yeah I think that it is directly linked to how you feel about yourself. I will say though, that some men have a higher opinion of themselves that the rest of the world! They need better mirrors!
Well, I think men would have more of a problem with this than women because heterosexual men, and men being visual by nature, don't want to look at other men - no matter how fit they are or are not. I would think a bunch of attractive, physically fit men still would have a problem with a bunch of penises around them just hangin' :)
I know men who have told me that they've never seen their college roommates naked in their entire 4 years of living together. Yet I've seen my college roommate nude several times. She would come in the shower right after I got out, passing thru the hallway nude. Hell, she'd come in and pee while I was in the shower. I just think women are more comfortable with this than men are in general.
However, I WILL say that some women in the locker room walk around like they're at home, and I hate watching women sit their naked asses on the bench that I also have to sit on...BEFORE they shower. Somee things to me are just nasty.
I also think it can be cultural. I find most White women are more comfortable letting it all hang out than women of color, but I could be wrong. However, when I was in Morocoo, women in the hammams walk around the communal shower nude and the older women snatch you up and scrub you down. It varies from culture to culture, so the fact that they didn't do that in Trinidad is probably the main source of your discomfort - you just didn't grow up seeing it.
Exactly Brooke. On all points. Well said.
Namer :-) you have neva lied!
I don't recall much nakedness in my hs locker room. I do recall being shocked & appalled at the amount of nakedness in my college gym locker room. It was NYU, so I just chalked it up to Greenwich Village weirdness.
I also have to agree with Brooke regarding those who put their naked fanny on the bench with no underlying towel. SERIOUSLY...did you not just see people put their sneakers up on the bench to tie their laces???
That's the other part TicketMaster! It's like you have no concern for your OWN body! The bench thing is one but dudes just be floppin' that thing every which way. It's bound to get caught in something! LOL
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