Life, the universe, and lunch

On Locker Room Nudity

Okay, so I've rejoined the Y after a few years absence and they've re-modeled the locker rooms in the meantime. The most notable change? Dividers between the showers with curtains you can pull across the front for privacy. WTF? About half of the showers are still old-school open style ones, and I just use those because I picture all the weird scums and moulds and shit that must be growing in the corners of those stalls. (You can't tell me that they receive a good top to bottom bleaching that gets into all the nooks and crannies of those divider brackets on anything near to a regular basis.) There's just like one guy in his 60's and me that use the open showers now, and everyone else just sort of looks at us like we're carrying the plague. When did this happen? Why did this happen?

As a child of the 70's I always feel like I live in the future, but I always expected that that future would be co-ed; not pru-ed. Is it because we're more open and accepting of gays? Do straight people now feel like gays are everywhere, checking us out if we dare to shower openly in our own locker rooms? (Personally I'd find that to be a huge complement!) Why is it that the guys who grew up in the straight laced 40's and 50's have no issues with this, while the guys that grew up in the freewheeling 80's and 90's now cover themselves for every possible second that they can while getting changed at the gym?

I have to admit, I just don't get it...

posted by ...K @ 10:44 AM