Nudity in the gym locker room

This afternoon, an older man, probably in his 60s, made something of a show of his nakedness in the locker room at my gym. Standing there naked, he yawned loudly, arms outstretched above his head. He dropped his gym bag loudly on the floor. He wandered around naked, checking himself in the mirror and using the toilet. It really seemed like he wanted people to notice him while naked, and sadly, we all did.

It sparked a conversation between my workout partner and I. The two of us have noticed that older men are naked in the locker room much more often than people our age (early 30s) and younger. Older guys think nothing of standing there naked while watching the TV in the corner, or having conversations naked, or prancing around like the fellow today. Guys our age, we wrap in a towel and then take off our pants beneath it, then scurry off to shower and have pants back on as quickly as possible.

It got us to wondering - is it a generational thing, or an age thing? Meaning, are the generation of men currently in their 60s just more accepting of it, because they've been doing that since forced dressing in HS P.E. classes, or is it an "I'm an old man and I don't give a shit what anyone thinks anymore" kind of thing, where we'll all be like that once we're old? Is the same sort of thing true in a women's locker room?

My take was that it is generational, and these guys have been doing it all their lives, but my friend says it's an age thing, and once we're old, we won't care either.

What sayeth you, board?

 

It is an "I'm an old man and I don't give a shit what anyone thinks" thing, and indeed, everyone WILL be like that once they're old.

 

The worst is that there's always at least one geezer in every locker room who feels the need to blow-dry his nutsack.

 

You take your pants off under a towel? Really? If you were a woman, you'd be labeled a prude.

 

You could ask Sanduskey for his opinion on this.

 

It's a gym locker room, balls be swingin', get over it.

Did the old guy go a little overboard on the show of nudity? Sure, but the area is reserved for males to remove their clothes, take a shower and get dressed...I think the happenstance of nudity is accepted.

 

Remember reading Pam Shriver's book years ago - major sport in women's tennis locker rooms (not just on the lesbian side, either). Martina was notorious for it.

 

Definitely generational. Most baby boom athletes would think it perfectly
normal to go to their locker, take off their gear and head to shower naked.
It's how they were raised.

 

I think some of it is generational.

I'm 41, and I still remember the locker rooms with a wall of shower heads on it, or those damn posts with four of them sticking out in different directions.

We all used to take showers after football/basketball practices in high school, but these days, the kids just throw on a jacket or sweatshirt, come home sweaty and clean up there.

 

Our HS shower room had a those pipes coming out at all angles that would
generate high pressure flow of water. At full tilt you actually had to hold on to a
rail. It was the closest a suburban white kid would get to feeling what it was like to
have a fire house turned on them in a riot.

 

You have a workout partner?