This morning, I took particular notice of this line on the Miami Country Day Aquatics Web site
“When purchasing a swim suit it is important that your swimmer gets the RIGHT SIZE. As a general rule, a swim suit should feel like it is 2 SIZES TOO SMALL when it is dry.”
That is very interesting. The statement is specifically directed to the mothers of sons, I assume. What it says is that undersized suits generally work better for swimming than suits that are a little too big.
Mothers of sons generally would not think that way. In fact, they usually think just the opposite. I’m not sure how your mom picked out clothing items when you were a kid. My mom was of the school “buy two sizes too big as whatever it is will last longer and you will always grow into whatever it is.” This rule applied to practically everything: shirts, jeans, underwear and swimwear.
Moms generally think they are somehow experts with respect to what is going on in the heads of their sons perhaps aged 11 or 12, and part of this expertise is to never buy clothing items that fit just right at that age, because the boy will quickly outgrow whatever it is. Saving money is equated to buying oversized clothing, unless the boy can wear castoffs from an older brother. Of course, moms understand none of this.
By age 12, nearly every boy has discovered what are turning out to be some really interesting things about his body, in particular that some body parts felt really good when touched or rubbed. The vast majority of boys that age would be totally embarrassed to share that newfound information with anyone, and least of all their mothers. Shortly thereafter a boy learns that certain types of clothing make it easier to repeat those sensations, but there is one problem: too much touching and rubbing leads to growth, growth that could become obvious if a lot of care is not taken. Thus arises the odd combination of anxiety, terror, and euphoria. The poor guy is already addicted to the feelings and sensations his body is able to create, but terrified and anxious that anyone else could accidentally find that out.
So, at this age or even earlier, the boy wants to learn how to swim, but the swim club wants him to wear a swim brief. No male swimmer wears a lot of clothing and the clothing they wear doesn’t hide a lot. He owns an oversized pair of board shorts his mom bought him (too big is always good) and at least not when wet, all the cloth hides a lot of stuff. But a swim brief for a swim team is a whole new world. Here is a garment that, when wet is going to likely reveal the exact state of the anatomy to the rest of the peer group of both sexes. That would be a potential situation that could not only cause a lot of anxiety but also to some potentially embarrassing situations. How to the older, more confident male swimmers deal with all of this. They seem to treat wearing a swim brief as just all in a normal day. How can that be? The boy says to himself “am I unique in having this problem?” “How do the older boys deal with what might very well happen? They seem so unconcerned about their bodies! Maybe I am the only one facing this!”
But as this quite indicates, things are only going to get worse not better. Now the swim coach want my mom to buy me not only a brief, but a swim brief that is two sizes too small, as it will stretch out in the water and as it is worn over time. I suspect that the warning that too large a suit could fall off completely while swimming in the pool is an admonition based on sad experience of coaches, and not just hypothetical. The embarrassment from that trumps the embarrassment from getting an erection in too small a suit, and having that become obviously and painfully apparent during a practice.
Guys struggle with all of this. They are addicted to the wonderful sensations their bodies are capably of producing, and perhaps especially so while wearing a really snug swimsuit. At the same time they are terrified that they are alone in having to deal with the problem. Moms buying swimsuits for their sons generally understand none of this.
Sebbie
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