But the y played a big role in naked swimming in the u.s., canada, and elsewhere Readers are welcome to post your own experiences of swimming naked in the comments section below. Many men over fifty experienced this when they were boys
Facts versus Fiction - Historical Nude Male Swimming Archives - Page 32 - Nude Sleepers Forum
So it is worth writing more about the ymca and the cultural and religious background of its physical education programs.
This digression into a defunct magazine is pertinent to the current topic because the images of nude male swimming it presented provided indisputable proof that the practice existed and was widespread for decades.
The following are historic photographs obtained from publications and the internet depicting the common experience of how boys and young men swam in public schools, associations like the ymca and boys club, and in rivers or lakes in the nude in much of the early to mid 20th century. In conversation with another (american) avatar at a sim this week, it was pointed out to me that the 'y', the ymca, insisted on nude swimming for many years, and the males in school swim teams also swam nude, often in the company of swimsuited female swim team members Girls/young women were apparently clothed because… As best as i can determine, nude swimming was the official policy of the ymca since its inception in the 1840s, both in america and canada
A 1938 bulletin issued by the american public health association reads At indoor pools used exclusively by men, nude bathing should be required. Back in the day, the ymca was a haven for men to unleash their primal instincts, free from the constraints of clothing It was a platonic paradise where guys could bond on a whole new level, stripped of societal labels and expectations.
Remember when swimsuits weren't allowed
A history of nude swimming while it might be unbelievable today, boys were once required to swim nude at ymca pools — yet some recall the experience with no shame. On men's days at the ymca, all the men and boys had to be naked—yes totally naked The lifeguards wore their lanyards with their whistles and usually wore sandals but otherwise nothing else.
