Eggzakerly...
Plenty of nudists down South Brittany way (Carnac down past Lorient)
I do think the British a bit prudish, not that it’s a bad thing in some respects... like I’d not want to see your Mum in the nude in Tescos, but couldn’t care less on a beach ..
Why does that matter for swimming or sitting about in the sun. I don’t expect you to be walking around the shops or going to work in them
This leaves me a little confused. I’m not sure it’s appropriate for you to decide what I may or may not be comfortable wearing...
If you don’t like it, don’t go to France. More for me.
I am not sure they’d miss you all that much either.
What a ridiculous. idiotic position to take.
I take another option, I choose to wear the long Speedos.
When did the British stop wearing swimming trunks and start wearing shorts?
It's quite simple really. Merkans have always worn shorts (baggies in 60s parlance). It's a Mormon chastity thing with them because they're puritans. Everybody else wore the minimum they could get away with. Then surfing became fashionable and we all became wannabe Merkans so we started aping them in every respect possible. When Europeans went to surf locations frequented by Merkans the Merkans were shocked. Obviously they'd seen swimming trunks used in swimming sports but not by the general public. They referred to the people as Euros and the apparel as "Speedos". Aussies who are still in the 1950s, coined the term "budgie smuggler" I believe. Like many Aussie habits it has the merit of being less po-faced than the Merkan equivalent, while being just as judgemental and prudish. Admittedly the Italians idea of minimal is a step further than even the French or pre-Merkan Brits. Germans of course get their kit off altogether at the first sight of water or a pine tree, as do Scandinavians and this is a completely asexual thing. This may have all changed now that we have gone back in time to a cross between the 50s and the 80s. But I was in Greece a couple of weeks ago and saw more than one "Euro" wearing pretty minimal swim-wear, so they have obviously not caved in to the American right.
It was that creepy guy at the pool who had peeled the “S” off.
He ruined it for everyone.
PP you should be on the stage.
What’s the problem, this is stw, everyone of us has a body like a Greek god, no?
Indeed.
*spits coffee*
I don’t remember posing for that!😂😂😂
They suit a very small range of body types.
Considering we're talking about going swimming in a pool, flappy shorts suit nobody.
The sensible thing to do would be to wear nothing, but that would risk *gasp* people seeing lady bits or men's pee pees or (maybe worse still) A FEMALE NIPPLE!!!!
So to avoid these huge risks we wear Speedos. Then people get worried that somebody might see the outline of a wang, and steal the soul of the wang's owner (or something), so we wear baggies.
It's even more daft than wearing baggies for MTBing.
steal the soul of the wang’s owner
Could be worse. Imagine if they stole the wang of the soul's owner !!
I have no issue with what other people choose to wear - frankly, it’s not much my business. However, being a bit lardy - I prefer to cover up a bit more as I feel more comfortable exposing less of my fatness. How anyone else feels about my attire is largely immaterial.
As for whether larger “flappy” shorts are a great idea for swimming - let’s be honest few of us in a pool on holiday are swimming for performance, we are staying cool and/or having fun with our children. Having larger thighs as well - muscle not fat in that particular area of my body, most shorts don’t flap much anyway. If we were all truly swimming for performance, would we not be wearing those ribbed costumes that were popular in competitive swimming about 15 years ago...?
Legislating for what people wear in a pool is however ridiculous. If anyone can come up with data to suggest pools are more easily maintained or stay cleaner because of tight trunks - I would like to see it - but I would bet it doesn’t’ exist. It’s a naff argument to support a custom. There are a lot of those about in this world...
I’d strongly suggest we are better off letting people be happy and comfortable and leave rules in swimming pools to concentrate on the safety and wellbeing of users. I can imagine there are huge safety reasons to wear tight trunks over anything else.
Tight vs. loose is all about an aesthetic - aesthetics are best left to people to choose for themselves. Surely, that is wear these things are best left. The swimming garments you wear - don’t hurt anyone else after all.
..or if they wanged the steel of the owners Soul
Could be worse. Imagine if they stole the wang of the soul’s owner !!
That would be psychotic.
The sensible thing to do would be to wear nothing, but that would risk *gasp* people seeing lady bits or men’s pee pees or (maybe worse still) A FEMALE NIPPLE!!!!
It probably does go back to the hang ups UK people have around nudity. Went on a group holiday years ago in Italy. Me and girlfriend straight into the mixed sauna, the rest of the group wouldn't dare to go in.
(having said that I didn't appreciate the slap on the thigh I got from the german guy when I sat down)
What did he slap on your thigh?
What did he slap on your thigh?
The Bratwurst he was carrying?
Wearing clothing does not equal a problem with nudity. What an absolutely over-simplified, over generalised and narrow view.
What on Earth has the choices people make about their bodies got to do with you?
On the beach the frenchies wear underpants under their shorts. You see the branded elasticated waist peeping over the waist of their shorts.
WTF is that about?
Question though is when did we kick the Victorian obsession with covering everything up and went to speedos, and why?
I’ll say it, Speedos (the budgie smuggler variety) just make the wearer look a tad molestery (is that even a word?) and kind of sinister. I’m not a prude, I just don’t want to see that much of other men when I’m trying to chill in the pool.
If you’re competing then yeah, go for it. On holiday with the family or just relaxing by the pool? Cover up pervert 😉
If you’re competing then yeah, go for it. On holiday with the family or just relaxing by the pool? Cover up pervert
Do you feel the same about girls in bikinis? Or is it just penises you feel uncomfortable about?
I'll rephrase my previous comment to make it clearer. The French require men to wear swimming trunks rather than baggier shorts as its a method of social control to exclude "certain elements" of French society from swimming pools and facilities because those "certain elements" have cultural inhibitions about wearing tight clothing covering the gentleman's area.
Oh, and pasty Brits.
Do you feel the same about girls in bikinis? Or is it just penises you feel uncomfortable about?
He did say, "if you're competing ... ", which might be a clue.
Or is it just penises you feel uncomfortable about?
Wangxiety?
I’ll rephrase my previous comment to make it clearer. The French require men to wear swimming trunks rather than baggier shorts as its a method of social control to exclude “certain elements” of French society from swimming pools and facilities because those “certain elements” have cultural inhibitions about wearing tight clothing covering the gentleman’s area.
You mean funkmasterp?
Do you feel the same about girls in bikinis? Or is it just penises you feel uncomfortable about?
Not uncomfortable around penises. If I was I wouldn’t post on here. It’s more the overall look of a man in them who’s not actually swimming. It’d be like wearing Lycra or full downhill gear for going to the shop or Leasure ride with the family . A bit odd. Same goes for bikinis too I guess.
A French swimming pool earlier:
@ AP, sorry but a lot of nonsense.
My local pool in France, made speedo compulsory late 80s. Before that, we wore shorts .
Reasons given were for hygiène, people wore non swimming shorts to go swimming. Had them on all day and then Jumped in the pool.
Till the 80s, most French men had y front pants. When caleçon became a thing, the pool banned them for swimming.
The short ban was not so much for proper swimming shorts but more for caleçons. ( underwear) .
^^ Now that I can see.
@cchris2lou;
Can you explain the french custom for underpants under board shorts for beach swimming?
It’s more the overall look of a man in them who’s not actually swimming.
But we are talking about swimming in them aren't we? Ot maybe sunbathing on the beach.
The beach is a bit of a free for all really, you are not going shopping or to the pub you are at the beach or by a pool. Some people look better in them than others but so what, what does it matter?
when i was a teenager i wore speedos below swimming shorts to try and hide my pleasure at seeing all those lovely ladies !
not sure why someone older would do it ? unless some boards shorts dont have an inside mesh , and they dont like their bits swinging all over the place .
Some people look better in them than others but so what, what does it matter?
It doesn’t. I just think they look ****ing wrong on anyone not doing lengths / actually swimming as opposed to generally arsing about at the pool. I’d rather folk be naked than wear them. I wouldn’t run off screaming if I saw somebody wearing them. Just think anyone looks a right **** in them.
It’s like having a kick about with your mates and one turns up wearing team kit, shin pads and football boots. He’d be a bit of a dick.
edit - shit! Honestly thought we were talking about playing around in a pool as opposed to actually swimming. If actually swimming, yeah rock those smugglers. If not, ****ing weirdo 😉
Except if you turn up to a French pool, all the men will be wearing them because if they aren't, they don't get let in. So it's not at all like having a kick about with your mates and one turns up wearing team kit, shin pads and football boots.
Wearing clothing does not equal a problem with nudity. What an absolutely over-simplified, over generalised and narrow view.
Unless it's a wetsuit or drysuit being worn to stay warm in the pool or on the beach, I can't see any other reason you'd wear clothes.
And those saying it's all about rules and we should be free to wear what we want, all the "you look a pedo in Speedos" comments suggest that there may be unwritten social rules in our society too...
Except if you turn up to a French pool, all the men will be wearing them because if they aren’t, they don’t get let in. So it’s not at all like having a kick about with your mates and one turns up wearing team kit, shin pads and football boots.
It is, just means the French are lunatics.
So it’s not at all like having a kick about with your mates and one turns up wearing team kit, shin pads and football boots.
It's more like you're going for a bike ride in Swinley and someone turns up in a team top.
Oh....
Hang on a mo...
The hygiene reason is rubbish, you could easily have your trunks on all day before going swimming.
Or... we can just adopt the crazy live and let live attitude where people can feel comfortable clothed as they like.
Where we start to judge what others should be comfortable doing and then try and enforce it, is a bit of a slippery slope. No one should be judging anyone else based on how they are dressed or how modest they want to be or even if they are naked.
Really, it's kinda annoying if you forget and don't have them ... but otherwise it's like ageing about driving on the wrong side of the road.
I think the reason is mostly just because swimming trunks are for swimming and beach trunks are for beaches.
I've heard loads of explanations - non seem to really hold water (oops) ... but its the rule for municipal pools throughout France and probably pre-dates beach type shorts to when shorts were cut-off jeans or similar.
It may help to explain the French obsession with correct clothing if I tell you that once, when I lived in Paris and it snowed, I overheard an elderly lady saying to her friend in shocked tones: “…and do you know, people are even walking around the streets in sports attire!”
I remember being laughed at in Norway for wearing English business shoes in Winter.... or wearing a suit to work.... that old lady could have been my French teacher when I lived there. 😀 (Though she was an old dear really)
No one should be judging anyone else based on how they are dressed or how modest they want to be or even if they are naked.
A laudable sentiment, but if the 70 year old convicted peadophile who lives 3 houses down from me started walking past my 14 year old daughters bedroom window, bollock naked, I'd be judging him for sure.
Context is everything.
^^What if he was wearing Speedos?
He's not French......and they wouldn't really go with his electronic tag.
What a ridiculous. idiotic position to take.
I take another option, I choose to wear the long Speedos.
Good for you, but mine is not a position, just a suggestion to resolve the "issue" (which I don't see as an issue).
Nothing ridiculous or idiotic in suggesting a simple solution that resolves the issue brilliantly, gives me more space in France and highlights that the French won't miss him, at least collectively. These are just facts actually. A pretty Cartesian approach, don't you think ? (although not quite as pragmatic as the long Speedos approach).
