Locker Rooms

Lockerroom nudity and eroticism, what's your take on it?

Is it a place brimming with undertones of male sexuality? What are appropriate displays in a communal environment? And where the heck can we sign up for a group exam these days?

I have been a workout enthusiast since my teen years and been in many gyms over the years. I will say that 99.9% percent of the time I have not noticed any sexual overtones being communicated among the guys in the locker room. I am always try to be aware of wondering eyes and potentially any obvious looks but very rarely have I experience them.

But on those .1% times, yes there have been some outright sexual displays in the shower area. I have seen a guy masturbating once. The shower curtain was drawn and he was in the last shower stall so he thought he was in private but the top of the shower curtain was clear and so you could see enough body motion to see he was masturbating. I had a guy intentionally leave the shower curtain open in the shower stall across from me and he stroked his cock often glancing over to me to make eye contact.

But that's about it. Even if sex is on the minds of the guys in the locker rooms, the vast majority don't want to be caught in an embarrassing situation and don't do anything that looks sexual in nature.

^^^^ That sort of thing, if reported to the management, will get you thrown out of the gym.

I have no problem at all with nudity in the locker room. After all, that's the intended purpose of a locker room -- to provide a place where you can change in and out of your athletic gear. If that requires some nudity, so be it. I grew up at a time when it was expected that males would freely change and shower in front of each other (see my physical education story). I was quickly forced to get over any inhibitions about nudity during my first year of high school.

As far as eroticism is concerned, sure, I sometimes enjoy seeing other guys as they change and shower at the gym, depending on the mood I'm in. And if anyone wants to take a look at my body, I don't have a problem with that. I have yet to see anyone at my gym get aroused while changing or showering. I'm sure it happens, but I've never personally seen it. And after a hard workout, getting aroused myself is the last thing on my mind. I just want to get the sweat off of me and get home to relax.

I do enjoy locker room nudity. I like to look and be seen. I enjoy stretching my nudity, not covering on the way to or from the shower, drying off and brushing my hair in the nude.

That said, it's only erotic in my head. I would never do anything unacceptable, nor would I tolerate others being inappropriate. If you don't like locker room nudity, don't use the locker room.

If you don't like locker room nudity, don't use the locker room.

Which is exactly what so many people do today. I'm always amazed to see people (male and female) working out and really working up a good sweat, and then just heading directly to their car and leaving. Why on earth would you want to get all of that sweat all over your car seats? Have these people never heard of bacteria? Are they not aware of all of the nasty things living on the workout equipment? It's all very disgusting if you ask me. And they avoid the locker room/showers like the plague, just because they're too hung up on nudity and will do just about anything to avoid being seen in the nude.

I'm always amazed to see people (male and female) working out and really working up a good sweat, and then just heading directly to their car and leaving.

Good point Jimmy

I workout at LA Fitness in Atlanta (a large chain in many cities) and many of the people I see come and go in their gym clothes avoiding the locker rooms. I do think it has to do with feeling uncomfortable undressing in front of others.

I have also noticed that guys in their 20's-30's seem to be very conscious about keeping covered up while going from shower to locker while the older guys 60+ seem much more open and less concerned with covering up. Maybe its a generational thing- not sure.

Maybe its a generational thing- not sure.

I do think it's generational. For as self-absorbed and narcissistic as this current millennial generation is, they are also incredibly uptight and painfully modest when it comes to same-sex nudity. I think it has to do (in part) with their experiences in school P.E. classes. By the time they were in school the mandatory group showers and lockerroom nudity that those of us who are older experienced had already ceased. And as our reward for all of that (thanks Title IX), we've raised a generation of pussies!

If not a generational thing, it's very much a contemporary thing. Trends come and go, and right now we're in a very modest mindset. At least in the US.

As far as the erotic/sexuality part of this, I meant more to bring up more what Jds4med mentions. Rather than the outright cruising which is more or less lewd behavior in a public environment.

Have not been in a crowded locker room situation since the end of my PE classes in HS. That would have been Spring 1969. Don't recall anything inappropriate back then. We only had a few minutes to change, so everyone was focused on getting dressed and ready for the next class.

Have not been in a crowded locker room situation since the end of my PE classes in HS. That would have been Spring 1969. Don't recall anything inappropriate back then. We only had a few minutes to change, so everyone was focused on getting dressed and ready for the next class.

As an adult at a commercial gym, the time constraints are lax. I'm usually in the locker room for at least 15 minutes - undress, shower, bathroom, groom, housekeeping and dressing.

I'm nude for the period from undress until dressing.

As an adult at a commercial gym, the time constraints are lax. I'm usually in the locker room for at least 15 minutes - undress, shower, bathroom, groom, housekeeping and dressing.

No, we're not in high school P.E. classes anymore. I remember having maybe 7 or 8 minutes after class to jog back to my locker and dial the combination to open it, quickly strip off my gym clothes, walk to the gang showers (nude of course), rinse off with 50 or so of my closest friends (also all nude), get a clean towel, dry off, deposit the now-soiled towel in the shower-room hamper, walk back to my locker (still nude) and finally get dressed in my street clothes.

Today at my gym, being nude for about 15 minutes sounds about right for me too. I'm usually not in a big hurry and once I get back to my locker I strip down completely and go take my shower.

I do believe this is a generational thing. When I grew up in the '60s, we had swimming classes in the nude at the YMCA as well in High School. To me, it wasn't a big deal. While in the military, we had naked group physical exams, open showers, naked "short arm" and personal hygiene inspections. Again, it was just something we all expected. Same with college dorms ... open showers, men walking down the hall naked (showing off, no doubt). I too have noticed the younger men in the locker room usually wrap their towel around their waste, rather than walk naked from the shower. However, most of us that used the steam room (next to the open showers), sit there naked. Again, it's no big deal to me, but I understand why some men chose to cover up.

Pretty good topic you got going on here, and a lot of great comments. My only concern is that I would be concerned about getting caught staring. I would never want to cause any trouble. But I guess if you're nude, you know someone is going to look.

I too am from a generation of HS group showers---same at boy scout camp. I was doing a repair at my old scout camp a few years back and did notice that the group showers are now a private stall type showers and I bet the schools are getting about the same.---again, maybe we now have a bunch of boys/young men with something to hide. I wonder if nudism organizations will survive the changes or will their membership be for the over 50 group only?

I too am from a generation of HS group showers---same at boy scout camp. I was doing a repair at my old scout camp a few years back and did notice that the group showers are now a private stall type showers and I bet the schools are getting about the same.---again, maybe we now have a bunch of boys/young men with something to hide. I wonder if nudism organizations will survive the changes or will their membership be for the over 50 group only?

They already are. The places I've been are either older or family. You rarely see the 20-somethings or 30-somethings.

Regarding being "caught staring" in the locker room; every man I know occasionally "takes a peek" at the surroundings. Name one guy who doesn't want to ensure he's up to snuff ... or not. It's what guys do.

Regarding being "caught staring" in the locker room; every man I know occasionally "takes a peek" at the surroundings. Name one guy who doesn't want to ensure he's up to snuff ... or not. It's what guys do.

There's a huge difference between taking a look and staring.

I agree, it is hard not to get a quick look in. A quick glance to check them out but then quickly look away- I plead guilty to that one. I have been stared at and I know what that feels like- very different and I would never do that to someone.

Peripheral vision is your friend. Take a quick peek, sure, that's OK - everyone does that. But starring at another guy with drool dripping from your open mouth would not be proper. Neither would taking matters into your own hands while you're looking. And you know what, if someone actually wants to stare at me, I'm OK with that. I would personally take it as a compliment, unless he stares for awhile and then heads to the toilet to throw up. 😮

I think the amount of locker room nudity can vary from gym to gym in a community (and even time of day at the same gym). I belong to the Y and I've seen guys from 18 to 80 naked in the locker room. You do see guys who try putting their underwear on while wearing a towel (which seems like a lot of work) but there are also guys in their 20s or 30s who stand naked at the wall mounted hair dryers. I'd say most guys who use the locker room will be naked at least briefly but don't make a huge production of it (it's very much towel off then underwear on).

I've also been to a few other gyms in town where things in general feel more uptight and that carries over to the locker room.

I, also, am of a slightly older generation (High school in the '70s, Navy, sometimes attached to the Marine Corps throughout the '80s) and you soon learn that modesty is a luxury, and privacy is virtually non-existent.

Now, I'm no "gym rat" but I have belonged to the Y and a couple of other gyms over the years. Nudity in the locker/shower/sauna/steam room is just a given. Personally, I feel quite comfortable naked and don't hurry when in a locker room situation.

That said, I never really paid much attention to those around me. Some dress quickly, some always have a towel wrapped around their middle, and some take their time showering and dressing. Whatever floats your boat. You do your thing, and I'll do mine and all is good.

As for eroticism, perhaps it is me, but I never noticed any sort of erotic or sexual situations going on. If it happens, it was out of my sight. I have never been propositioned or anything of that nature, (I'm both married and straight) and if I had been oogled (Unlikely. As I said, I'm no gym rat or anything) I never noticed. Don't know exactly what I would do if a guy hit on me, but probably just politely tell him I'm not interested.

As for eroticism, perhaps it is me, but I never noticed any sort of erotic or sexual situations going on. If it happens, it was out of my sight.

Same here, I've never noticed any sexual activity at my Y. However, from what I've read it really varies by Y location (my city has multiple branches), the day of the week, and the time of day. Some Y branches are listed on cruising sites, along with the suggested time and day of week to be there if you're interested in more than just a workout. So I think it does happen, but not all the time.

That is a great point about the different moods in gym locker rooms. Nothing is ever said but you can feel and sense when the mood is more open or very uptight and everybody is covering up. It does probably vary by time of day in some gyms while others are more consistent throughout the day.

I have been working out in a smaller gym since spending more time in a northern Georgia mountain town. The locker room is tiny and can only comfortably accommodate 2-3 guys at a time. I have never seen anybody naked in this locker room. I do take showers but will put on my under ware after showing behind the door that closes off the shower stall for privacy. In contrast, when I workout at my much larger gym in Atlanta (LA Fitness) I will carry a towel in front of me lightly draped but never wrapped around my waist.

I have seen something sexual in a locker room only once. I was showering and shaving in a gym that had two or three large shower areas with a long row of shower heads on each wall. As I was shaving under one of the shower heads, I noticed that there was another guy at a shower head that was on the opposite wall from me. He was masturbating. I ignored him but I was curious how long he would keep doing it. I never turned around and looked at him directly and he was still under the same shower head when I left. I assume that he was either an exhibitionist or looking for a guy to join him.

This was a large traditional big city gym with a huge locker room and more than one set of showers. I belonged there for several years and that was the only time I saw anything like that. It reminded me of the locker rooms when I was in school, especially in college, where the number of modest guys was low compared to everyone else. I grew up in the time when we didn't wear a towel to go to the showers and no one was allowed to be shy about stripping down before or after a workout. And I would guess that most of the guys that belonged to this gym had the same experiences because I remember no one putting on their underwear underneath a towel like you hear about now. Nudity was just not considered anything or at least it wasn't something that most guys avoided at all costs. An example of that was me showering and then shaving in the showers. Other guys did that too because it was just easier than getting out of the shower, getting dressed, and then shaving at one of the sinks. Yet other guys would shower first, then go to one of the sinks and shave either still nude or a few would go put some underwear on first and then shave. This happened in the mornings only as many guys like me would workout first thing and then shower and shave before going to work. Nothing unusual about a line of guys at the sinks shaving although I wouldn't have bothered to go back to my locker just to pull on some briefs before shaving.

I def shower after the gym except at one of my chain gyms (bc the shower is nasty). I'm modest out of respect for others. I glance and get glanced at but even as a gay man, I'm uncomfortable with overt cruising if nothing else bc it makes the experience uncomfortable for others in the same locker room.... And I would love to do a group physical situation if anyone knows of one in so cal!

Regarding "being caught staring", always remember if ever confronted "To know i was looking at you for however long, you had to also be looking at me for however long"

Last time i frequented a gym, quarter century ago (early 90's), no hang ups about nudity, using a group shower area, the small whirlpool, or any of that. Whenever there was another nude male in the area, i generally looked away & i sensed that everyone did the same when it came to me.

You're in a hurry to get started, so you change quickly into gym clothes & afterwards, you're somewhat exhausted from your workout so you're just looking down, away from others as you head to the shower, with the focus of getting cleaned up & what you're gonna do or eat when you get out of there. It just seemed like all the other guys shared the same sentiment.

I certainly undressed and dressed as fast as I could in school sports lockers. As kids, we occasionally traded licks with towels but the tendency was to get over it quickly. As a teenager? Staring would probably have been considered a "pederastic perversion", and back in those days it was very difficult to be a gay teenager (many anti-homosexual slurs).

In a regular locker room I haven't experienced any openly sexual behaviour. In junior high school we may have played "keep away" with some poor souls underwear on occasion but nothing really sexual. At a gay gym/bath house it's a lot different and open sexual displays are expected. You don't go for the work out. (At least not the one in the gym.)

Behavior in the locker rooms when I was kid was not sexual in any conscious way but there was a lot of horseplay among the boys in junior high especially and some in high school. More in team sports than regular PE but it was really more like hazing than anything else. Yes, stealing some guy's underwear so he had to go without any for the rest of the day was a regular stunt. Playing keep away with his jockstrap so he couldn't dress out in his PE uniform and was running around in the locker room naked trying to get it back was fun unless it was you. Spraying each other's balls with spray deodorant as they came out of the showers was another prank. By the way, that stung. Pulling back the waistband of his jockstrap and popping him. Yanking down a guy's gym shorts, not always in the locker room only. Giving a guy a wedgie in his briefs. Nothing sexual, just funny to the ones doing it. Unless the coach caught us and then not so funny.