In the 50s through the early 80s, men were comfortable wearing not only briefs, but non-brief shorts were shorter, and closer fitting. Take a look at what the typical high school or college basketball team wore from the 1950s through the 1970s. In the early 80s a few key profesional basketball players and NBA teams starter wearling longer shorts that came down to the knees. These were not only longer, but they contained a lot more cloth to look almost skirt-like (not very masculine-looking at all). These also were similar to what popular rappers of the period were usually wearing. Surfers also started wearing more clothing, that is board shorts, (the board in board shorts is a surfboard!) that in many ways looked very similar to what the pro basketball players were wearing. (Of course the pro surfers nowadays have all abandoned board shorts when surfing in favor of wet suits, but that is another story)
Meanwhile you have a whole series of other things going on...for example gay pride parades in which guys wear tiny briefs that look very different from what the (presumably straight) basketball players and surfers are wearing, and soon brief-style swimwear was being associated with determining sexual orientation however silly that might be.
Teen males used to be quite comfortable wandering around boys' high school locker rooms naked or nearly so, say wearing only a strap. But now parents are increasingly concerned about sexual abuse, and teens are very much warned about the issues. That means staying as fully clothed as possible, even if that means not even taking a shower after PE. A lot of this has gotten pretty crazy in terms of concerns, but that is how it is nowadays. A teen male wearing only a strap or a brief bathing suit might be seen as something an "invitation" for sexual abuse or perhaps a cause for teasing and bullying relating to being gay, so the shorts keep getting fuller and fuller, and the teen males spend more and more effort making certain that the clothing choice conforms with being similar to what "all the other guys are wearing." The only place where a teen guy can be comfortable in a brief swimsuit is with other guys on the school swim team who are "required" by the coach to wear the same style.
If lot of this seemingly makes no sense at all, I guess I am not surprised.
Sebbie
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