Let's celebrate that the young people are going back to briefs and let's lead by example wherever we live, whether it is Maine, Vermont, California, or any other place.

D67

I am young lol. Im also not ripped but I'm not too fat... Can see My balls when I look down so...

guy needs help....
 

Re. post#39 I am not sure how much this is written tongue-in-cheek but will he not collapse in shock if he sees a tanga, let alone a sunga?
http://whataboutsaopaulo.com/brazili...speedo-phobia/

Many never go back once they try it... It is that comfortable

Guy needs help
 

My only response to Andrew's last question in the article is: "ya think???"

D67

If he is "making frequent trips to the beach in an attempt to bronze my lily white body." then why did he " walked onto the beach wearing a white vest and pair of knee length board shorts"
It doesn't make sense, if you want a tan you should remove excess clothing, and if everyone else has done the same , then why worry.

He says that some pools in the UK have banned Speedos? Can't say I've heard of any.

Stigmatized speedos
 

I just came back from my local Y where I did my laps. I forgot that today was member appreciation day. The pool was open to families and there were several families already there at 10:00 AM. I was able to swim in the lane near the side of the pool and I was wearing my new Turbo Ipanema. Not a single look or word - families just continued to swim and play in the water. Maine is a very progressive state and I believe that people just let others go about their business without comment. I suspect that Turbofan and Dorcas from Vermont and STS from Maine would agree that New Englanders are pretty low key when it comes to subjects like swimsuits.

D67

I'm Canadian, from Toronto.
I don't think we're as speedo phobic as you yanks.

Alton Towers a permanent fun fair and resort banned speedos from their pool, I believe they were getting guys showing up in micro bikinis and thongs. Banning classic racing styles as well seems a bit extreme, but it was a woman in charge.

Sorry Turbofan, when you first joined the forum I thought Byron had made reference to Dorcas3 also being from Vermont so I assumed you were. I agree with what you wrote, yanks are more conservative about wearing a speedo, but here in Maine, no one seems to care if people do.

D67

Agreed
 

I agree D67. It's never been an issue. I even wore a square cut Funky Trunk to a local ice cream stand near the lake and not one person batted an eye.

the ladies at the club talk about my swimsuits and seem to approve of what they see. I know this because an aerobics instructor works part time with my wife and as typical females they talk a lot... they love seeing toned, athletic bods but prefer otherwise to wear larger swimwear.
I have no idea what guys think of it, I'll estimate about one in twenty wear briefs, another one in twenty wear jammers, the rest are in anything else especially board shorts. But the latter are not actual swimmers by any stretch of the imagination. I do often get into discussions about physical fitness and nutrition which can lead to compliments about my 55 year old bod so I surmise that I am noticed as I notice others.
From what I've learned at this site I presume gay guys want to see all men in a speedo, not being critical of the body shape wearing it. If there were any at our pool wouldn't I be likely to get a comment or glances from them? I don't know, but I wouldn't mind.
I would never wear anything too skimpy there, and it isn't really totally public, it's a members only health club. I have never seen any rules about swimwear.
I agree with those who say, "Wear what you want and don't worry about it" but will add "if you fear people will not like what they see, maybe there's a reason for it, but that is their problem!"

So girls can pose at a beach and guys can't? Why not?

--Tim

Posing requires affectation, placing the body to best advantage for the spectator. A man can wear speedos, bikini briefs and even swim thongs without posing. One should act indifferently to any viewers, get on with what you are doing and ignore the looks of those around you. Sunbathe or run on the beach, swim in the sea going out past those that paddle in the shallows but do it for yourself.
Modesty is not in what you wear but in how you wear it. The muscly but fat guy in his board shorts that always seems to be in the way making other's step aside as he walks by kicking sand about is posing, showing how tough he is. The group of younger guys in speedos kicking a ball about are doing it for their own pleasure, of course people are watching but they don't care!

Hey Torchwatch, I agree with you completely. You summed the whole issue up beautifully.

D67

I agree with Torchwatch that one should do what they want and wear what they like. I may be the minority, but I really don't buy all the stigma stuff. A Speedo is a perfectly acceptable swim suit. The guy in boardies might not choose to weat a speedo, so whay. I likewise will pass on the boardies. I respecy his right to choose, and find people are fine with my choice.

I think that you're right about the stigma thing, STS. Maybe our perceptions are what they are because here in Maine people don't bother each other and don't make a big deal out of things like what kind of swimsuit one is wearing.

But, beyond Maine, I've worn speedos of various sizes in many places in the US, Bermuda, the Caribbean, and Europe and have never felt in any way that I should be wearing something else because of any stigma associated with speedos.

Speedo wearers are a bit like Goths. A type of dress/lifestyle different from the norm. With Goths some people ridicule them or are aggressive to them, but in general are fine with it. Just like Speedos.

and others?
 

Do Hell's Angels fit in there too?

The "Norm" for dress is not a law of physics - it's what ever people decide to go along with or they are too chicken to oppose. That's what's wrong with society today.

Most people are just a bunch of sheep and rather not get involved in anything that requires opposition to the so called "norm".

Norman
 

This guy norm seems to have a lot of influence in the dos and don'ts of what we humans have come to wear on various occasions in our evolving societies. I think he must surely have had a hand in developing the speedo out of one of those magnificent male codpieces from the couturiers of the past.:)

I think spedos were more acceptable when gay rights weren't as prevalent. After it was acceptable for men to be out, straight men had to identify themselves as straight and wearing tight revealing swimsuits was not a good way to do that.

I think baggy suits and poorly dressed men was a backlash against the gay revolution. Its turning the tide back though.

we heterosexual swimmers get a good laugh at the notion that speedo wearers are gay. It shows how stupid and wrong some people are.

I somewhat agree with Turbofan. Some straight guys were put off wearing briefs fearing to be thought as gay. I hope the tide is turning on board shorts though.

Ott
 

Yes - "bunch of sheep" and "stupid and wrong" both apply . The origins of stereotypical labelling have been much debated in past threads here but my finger still points to the antics in gay pride parades, which seem to leave some straight guys desperate (in their lack of self-confidence*) to demonstrate to their womenfolk and others , in one way or another , "no,no,no - I really could not be one of THEM!"
(which of course in one sense is true)

*the amusing thing being that gays in some cases can now be seen to be more macho than str8s

When gay rights became more prevalent and through no help from the flamboyant guys in the parades, there was an overall trend away from brief suits. But, also of consideration is that the fashion industry dictates what will be popular in any given season. Board shorts worn low on the hips became the style because that was what was promoted by the industry which seized the opportunity to change the styles because of the backlash. Look at ads in print media and online companies now and you see shorter boardies, briefs, and "trunks" which are nothing more than the old boxer suits.

D67

I always thought with the gay issue it was the other way round, in that straight men wouldn't want to wear very little it case it attracted gays.

I don't know about that Bede. I've never heard that as a reason straight men don't wear briefs. I always thought straight guys wouldn't wear speedos because they feared others would make the wrong assumption that they were gay.

D67

"attracted" ?
 

Attracted as in a passing glance or by prompting a more in-your-face and embarrassing approach?
(gays are intelligent enough to exercise discretion and not always make utterly superficial choices - though camp chatter will inevitably reinforce that stereotypical image unfortunately).

I am with CD and Dooley on this - the fashion industry and the sheep have always maintained a good working partnership.

And on that issue, how would you know if anyone was thinking you were gay? Unless they said you were, but why would their opinion matter to you?

Exactly. And as far as "attracting", well so what, I don't mind, really, all people are welcome to look at me and speak to me. Check out a Facebook page called I'm Straight And I Wear Speedos. It's kind of fun

For the idea that speedos are "gay fetish wear" and STR8 men don't want to be mislabeled as gay because they wear them, here's another viewpoint.

The gay movement has seized on about anything that appears erotic and sexy. So why not avoid wearing jeans, t shirts, and sneakers?

Accordingly men's clothing can be made just plain bland, sterile, and devoid of anything related to the male physique.

First, Speedo is a brand and not a style, much like Kleenex is a brand and not a generic name for tissue. I do think a big segment of society sees a guy on a beach in a brief or less cut swimsuit and they leap to gay. I bet most posters on this board make the same leap. It is easy to understand, go to any beach with a gay section and suddenly you start to see swimwear that is smaller and tighter. Nothing wrong with that, but lets be realistic, outside of swimming sport use, the outward wearing of small cut suits is far more common in gay arenas. Heck, some gay guys choose not to wear them out of a desire not to look gay. I do not like broad generalizations and do not agee with it.

I think the move back to shorter cuts will help lift some of the association. However, I do not see the day where brief cut swimwear is the majority, except at the local team pool.

New clothing styles of all types often are first adopted by gays, but then frequently are gradually assimilated into the straight community as the particular fashion becomes more widely worn. Remember the old "International Male" catalogs, and the "undergear" catalogs. Gay guys frequently tend to be more body conscious than their straight counterparts, and tend to favor clothing styles that show a fit-and-trim body. For some unknown reason, most straight guys are less interested in this.

The recent resurgence in popularity of skinny jeans for all guys is an interesting illustration. The last time these were that popular with guys was when I was in high school in the 1960s. Then we never thought of the design with respect to sexual orientation and we wore them simply because we thought we looked good wearing them. Note however, that the boy bands seeking attention from screaming teen girls almost always are wearing really skinny jeans.

The Sears store in western ND (Minot) had maybe 8 or 10 real Speedo briefs hanging on the rack when I was ther in late June. Its been maybe 20 years since I had last seen Speedos on display in any department store in the upper MIdwest. Not sure what is going on except that the entire area is experiencing a lot of in-migration from states such as Texas, recently.

Sebbie

Clarification
 

OK guys, I need some clarification here. STS rightfully said that Speedo is a brand, not a type of swimsuit. I will often refer to a brief suit as a speedo or as a bikini. So, since Speedo is a brand, how do we differentiate between a "speedo type" suit and a bikini? Is it the size of the side seam or whether the suit creates the "v" shape or low cut straight line that Turbofan talked about?

D67

The more I clarify the more you will become confused.

Speedo is a brand, speedo is a variation on the basic Speedo racing brief design by other manufacturers.

The basic Speedo racing brief is a smooth front bikini, the width at the sides is variable as are colour and fabric.

A square cut swim suit has legs while a bikini has leg holes.

The words brief and bikini mean the same thing, but a bikini tends to be briefer than a brief.

The limit to the side width of a brief/bikini is the sum of the width of the waist elastic and the leg elastic.

A full cut covers your bum, a Brazilian cut shows the sides of your bum and a thong shows your bum cheeks. The limit to the rear width of a thong/bikini/brief is the sum of the widths of the elastic used.

A low cut suit reveals the top of your ass crack, while a high cut suit could cover your navel.

A smooth front bikini (Speedo) uses a single piece of fabric for the front of the suit. It holds everything in and smooth's it over, hiding inconvenient details. A pouch adds the 3rd dimension to the front of a suit, everything moves forwards and greater details are apparent. A filled pouch suggests that you are well endowed while a massive under filled pouch is boasting.

A front lined suit avoids embarrassment should you "dribble" slightly between the locker room toilets and the pool. A front lined suit also helps smooth over everything making the swimmer more presentable in public and less liable to embarrassment. An unlined suit when wet will cling tightly and reveal the shape of everything underneath.

A thin white fabric becomes transparent when wet, a thick black fabric remains opaque. Other colours and fabric thicknesses create a spectrum of choices.

Decide where you will wear your bikini, and who will see it and how you want them to react. Choose something conservative and safe for the public pool where lifeguards will be protecting women and children. Have something more adventurous ready for the quiet beach, miles from town where you can express yourself more freely. Since you are allowed to own more than one swim suit experiment around the house and in your own shower (or even pool if you have one).

Clarification
 

Torchwatch,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a thorough explanation. Actually, I am less confused after reading it. What I take from your explanation is that brief and bikini are the same but a bikini tends to be smaller than a brief and that what I referred to as a "speedo type" suit is really a brief that is somewhat larger than a bikini. And, when talking about a Speedo, we're talking about the brand and nothing more.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but a brief that has a side seam of maybe 1" or 1.5" and is low cut in the front below the hip bones would be called a bikini. A 2" might also be called a bikini if it were also low cut, but any side seam larger and a higher cut in front and back would be considered a brief.

D67

In Alice in Wonderland Humpty Dumpty said that his words meant whatever he wanted them to. So it is with men's swimwear, all the manufacturers are using different words to mean the same things and the same words to use different things. There are differences in meaning between different designers and cultures within the English speaking world.

Although there was already a Bikini Atoll in the Pacific used for nuclear tests the swimwear bikini was introduced by French engineer Louis Réard and separately by fashion designer Jacques Heim in Paris in 1946.

British men's underwear has included briefs for many years and so swim briefs were just a variation.

You are therefore as right or wrong as you want to be.

I don't know if you've seen the movie Bang the Drum Slowly with Robert De Niro in one of his earliest films. A baseball themed movie, some of the players in the clubhouse play a game called Tegwar, a game without rules. The rules are made up by the players as they play. Rules can't be challenged by anyone so the game is what it morphs into. So maybe it's the same in the swimsuit world. You say potato, I say potahto; you say bikini, I say brief!

D67