I was on the Beach at Waikiki in the mid 80s. At that point in time, probably 2/3 of the guys were wearing brief-style suits, and the little stores near the beach had a huge collection in case you didn't bring something along. Even more interesting is that maybe 10 percent of the guys (women too) were wearing thongs. I thought this was just amazing. No one appeared to be the least bit self conscious about it all. What is considered acceptable beach wear kinda goes with the flow, and if a lot of guys decide a Speedo style suit or even a thong is fine, it will be fine.
I haven't been back there since, but Hawaiia beaches attract a very international crowd, esp Japanese. I can't believe the Asian guys these have somehow given up on their skinpy suits.
Then around 1990 I attended a convention and stayed at a Hotel in San Diego. There, you often were wearing too much clothing if you wore a brief suit. I wore thongs most of the time, and thats what many of the guys around the pool and esp the hot tub were wearing. I have thongs and a skimpy brief style suit of the same color. I would slip the brief over the thong and head off to the pool or tub. Then I would check out what the other guys around me were wearing, and slip off the brief to reveal the thong or not, depending on what was going on at the moment.
My visits to department stores at various locations and times in Florida suggests that the big department stores (Macys, J.C. Penney, etc) routinely carry skimpier swimsuits for men than we currently see locally. I gues its all a matter of what sells to the local crowd.
I too feel that all this talk about Speedos being banned in certain places and by certain groups is overrated. If a person has so many hangups that somehow a brief-style suit on a man is offensive thats a problem of the person with the hangups not a problem for the swimsuit wearer!
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