Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

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fountainhall

Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by fountainhall »

A curious item on a tumblr site recently. I am curious where schoolboys would not be wearing swimming gear in 1952. According to the article, it was policy not to have boys of any age wearing swimming gear. With the guy questioned being named Skip, my assumption would be the USA. But I find this hard to believe. Any ideas?

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Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by Undaunted »

The thought process behind the posting of this on a gay chat room is disturbing.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
fountainhall

Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by fountainhall »

How odd that anyone would think a matter of historical fact is "disturbing"! In what way, I wonder? I suppose the various discussions on this forum about male nudity in Japanese and Taiwanese hot springs attended by a wide variety of ages - including fathers with their young sons - is also disturbing!
Jun

Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by Jun »

I'm with Fountainhall on this. Whether the subject is discussed on a gay chat room or pops up in a google search, well, what's the difference ?

The whole concept of nudity is merely one of culture.

We were born nude. Most animals remain that way for life.
The norms in our society ebb & flow.
In the last century, there are photos of people swimming nude in Hyde park. I cannot imagine that happening in modern society, yet young people might post selfies of themselves nude, which could be a much more permanent record.
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Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by Dodger »

There's a set of beautiful waterfalls up in Si Saket Province near Khantaralak (on Thai /Cambodian border) where the boys swim nude almost exclusively. I used to go there frequently before my boyfriend (Thep) passed away as it was just 20 minutes up the road from our house.

There are a series of seven large pools flowing from the base of the waterfall. Six of the pools are easy to get to and always populated with Thai families and couples - and the seventh pool which is obscured from the others and difficult to get to because you have to walk downhill along a narrow path leading through the jungle landscape which is commonly filled with mud. This is the pool that the boys have commandeered because of its privacy. There are always bottles of Leo or Tiger Beer being passed around...an occasional smell of ganja in the air (especially when I'm there)...and the sounds of a crackly stereo playing Garabau (Thai country) music in the background..

Boys of all ages swim and enjoy the day playing boy games in the nude. I was always welcomed with BIG SMILES when they saw me foraging down the path as I always had a few large bottles of Singha in my backpack to share. There's nothing more exhilarating than basking in the sun naked - and the boys could care less. Just a good time in nature with a constant boner.
fountainhall

Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by fountainhall »

Funny how it's usually westerners with hang-ups about public nudity that object to it. Most Asians have had centuries of being accustomed to it - until the Christian missionaries arrived in the wake of the colonialists. Even then, though, many have refused to abandon centuries old customs.
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Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by Undaunted »

I am sure it is a cultural norm to see old white guys "foraging" thru the forrest to glare at their "boners" :!:
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Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by Dodger »

Funny you should say that - because I didn't find this place by accident.

Two of Thep's younger nephews (Pan and Ape) are the ones who led me to this place the first time. They immediately dropped their shorts and jumped in the water with a dozen of their friends from the village. Not a minute later Pan and two of the older boys were dragging me down the muddy slope into the water. It was a riot. Who said anything about "culture"?
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Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by Smiles »

As this thread started off with a reference to an historical 1952 I can add my still-alive-but-sporadic rememberances of the local YMCA in Victoria British Columbia (my family lived there from 1955 to 1960).
The YMCA was located a few blocks from our house and my Dad took me swimming there a million times: Full Monty in those days ... there was no choice, nudity was the official YMCA swimming pool regulation back then. Don't remember being shy.
I do recall a lot of middle-to-old-age men 'hanging around' ... so to speak. :geek:

I've never stepped foot in to a YMCA since those days. Is that still a swimming rule now? Somehow I doubt it.
Cheers ... ( and just one more reason why I love living in Thailand )

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Re: Where did Boys Not Wear Swimming Trunks in 1952?

Post by fountainhall »

I have written elsewhere of my many trips to Bali in the early 1980s when it was common for men of all ages to find a stream or a water spiggot after work, fully strip off and openly wash no matter who was nearby or passing by.
Smiles wrote:I've never stepped foot in to a YMCA since those days. Is that still a swimming rule now? Somehow I doubt it.
I have never been to a YMCA but am absolutely certain your doubts are correct. I recall about 10 years ago my best friend told me about his 15-year old grandson who lived in Middle America. After sports events at their school the older children had to return home in their sports gear to take showers there. They were not permitted to shower in the changing room shower facilities! What made it so strange for the boy was that he is half Korean and had spent his first dozen or so years in Korea where open bathing was the norm.
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