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Originally Posted by PSDave
You can thank Gay Pride for the demise of the speedo as commonly worn swimwear. Prior to 2000 the speedo was a common sight. On the beach, by the pool etc. I remember coming home from the beach and guys were hitch hiking in a speedo.
Enter Gay Pride and news coverage of parades with guys dancing around in speedos in the parades and pride activities. The speedo almost became the official uniform of the gays. When the evening news and front pages of newspapers reporting a gay celebration with all participants in speedos it is only natural for people to equate the skimpy suits with gays. Straight that wore them stopped, Girlfriends told the guys they liked them but didn't want their guy tagged as gay. Even gays quit wearing them at the beach not wanting their attire to out them. It seems that gay pride has in many ways widened the gap between gays and straights. So if you feel uncomfortable wearing your speedos - thank GayPride parades. That event took the speedo from a style of swim suits to a sexual garment.
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I respectfully disagree. In general, fashion trends go from the gay community to society in general. Moreover, they were in decline well before Gay Pride parades began to be televised. I am gay and regularly attend pride parades. The participants are not all in speedos, only a small minority (of which I am one, admittedly) are, when they are allowed at all. Many parades bill themselves as "family-friendly" and do not allow them at all. Styles change, and in time change back. Making the comment that "the Gays" are solely, and to the exclusion of all other forces, responsible for the decline of speedo wearing is at best ill-informed, and at worst biased. (I fear the latter is closer to the truth, since this argument appears every year about this time, as Pride season is approaching.)