To Nude or not to Nude
So went for a swim at the gym last night, felt very good and healthy then decided to pop in to the (female only) sauna. OK now here's where things got a bit weird. I've just joined this gym, at my last gym there was a mixed sauna, hence swimsuits were compulsory - still in that habit I went to this female-only sauna with my swimmers on. Now all the ladies coming in were fully naked, which is good for them but they kept giving me weird looks. It's like hello, just cos I have my swim-suit on doesn't give you the right to chastisise me with your vibes. Anyway, so what if I choose to wear a swimsuit in the sauna, it could be against my religion to be completely naked, or I could simply not want to have all my bits out on display, especially since one side of the sauna wall is made of glass. And anyway, what's it to you if I'm naked or not? So anyway, I'm sitting there sweating it out, minding my own business, ignoring the vibes, when this woman, obviously unable to hold back asks me: Uh, excuse me, are you wearing a swimsut? Am I? Oh dear! I thought I was wearing a sack. Let me look, oh my yes, you're right it does appear I have a swimsuit on. Like, duh! So I say, why yes, you highly intelligent observant woman (well I dont say that) I have a swimsuit on. And then she goes, Oh, right OK. In this way that you know she's trying to hint at something. Then she says, I thought that swimsuits melted in this heat. Honestly, that's what she said. Like what the... Well I dont know about you, but I personally don't like to wear plastic/vinyl swimsuits - hey each to their own, if you have a fetish about such things its all well and good, but me, I've never had a problem with swimsuits melting in the sauna. Btw, I only actually said that last bit. She's like, right. And then she laughs in this tralala way that only Sloansey Notting hill-types do. We sit there for a few seconds more, but it was so awkward, not to mention, it felt like someone actually increased the heat in the sauna, and pretty soon she left. I only lasted a few more seconds after her and escaped as well, and can you believe I actually heard her talking about me, presumably to the staff, that there was someone wearing a swimsuit in the sauna. Now what is with that? I looked at the sauna rules and there's nothing about wearing swimsuits. Later I caught up with M and he mentioned how quite a few of the men in the mens-only sauna keep their swimmers on - so what's the deal? What's the deal ladies? Well of course I'm going to have to bow to pressure next time and go commando. Damn you unwritten rules.
posted by samscomps at 12:03 pm
6 Comments:
Hi- I actually have the opposite problem seeing as I am a noodist and have been for many years...I don't often go to the gym/public pool/resort pools because I have no swimmers; underwear don't count!
The only time I've ever been into a no-clothes sauna (where it was not only tolerated but expected) has been at nudist resorts/clubs or at specially organised nudist swim nights- Never at any ordinary gym/ sauna.
Still- most nudists have a more tolerant attitude towards 'textiles'; what we call the non-nudists- as long as no-one's offended by my lack of clothes I'll forgive you your need to wear them.
It's also more commonly the clothed person who takes offence to other's surrounding them if they are un-clothed- though not in your case by the sound of it.
I don't know whether you may have inadvertently joined a 'nude swim club'- or maybe nudity is just the norm in this gym! Either way- if it's not in the rules let them say whatever they like; I wish it was my gym, but!Not that I have one.
Anyway- until another time...
Well I'm glad it's not me with the issue - I mean it's perfectly normal to wear your swimmers in the gym sauna right? It's a run of the mill chain gym, where the occasional "celebrity" works out - Sophie Ellis-Bextor anyone? Yeah I did use quotes when I said celebrity.
Wearing a swimsuit does not harm other people in the sauna, as long as it is clean.
And yes, it's quite normal in the UK to wear swimwear in the sauna, regardless of whether it's clean.
It doesn't mean that it's right, and it doesn't mean that it's normal or acceptable everywhere.
Y'see, the crux of the hygiene argument revolves around you using the same swimsuit in the sauna as you do in the pool, which you did.
"Melting swimsuits" isn't specifically a problem, more what else in the swimsuit that melts.
This means that any chlorine will turn to vapour, which isn't good. (And can speed up the decay of a swimsuit). It also suggests that you haven't showered properly before going into the sauna.
If your companions in the sauna are used to an entirely swimsuit-free sauna experience, it is likely that the chlorine vapour would make them uncomfortable.
Further, your swimsuit will trap a lot of sweat that will then be released into the pool next time you swim.
For these reasons many German and other European saunas have a ban on swimwear.
This nation's commonly found rule on having compulsory swimwear in mixed saunas is short-sighted. There is a simple solution, and that's to cover up with a towel. There's a difference between nudity and exposure.
Rigght... well I'm glad that got explained to me. Although I did shower before and after using the pool - doesn't everyone? So personally don't buy the whole chlorine vapour argument. And also dont know about everyone else, but I definitely wash my swimsuit after every swim. Anyway, it appears I've opened a can of worms and it seems I wasn't aware of the entire complexity of the issue...
Hope you don't mind me commenting in such an old thread.
I myself choose to be nude in a female only sauna and I prefer female only saunas for that very reason. But there's nothing shocking about you wearing a swimsuit in the sauna.
I hate the feeling of a swimsuit in the sauna, plus I've read that there are actual health benefits to being completely nude as opposed to wearing a swimsuit or towel in the sauna. Your supposed to release more toxins out of your skin if it's completely exposed to the heat and steam of the sauna, and a swimsuit prevents the skin from releasing toxins. And I'm not shy when it's only women around.
Yes, the biggest majority of ladies just go nude in a female only sauna. But I do occasionally see a lady every now and then that wears a swimsuit in the sauna.
Diana
Oh Diana, to have the time to go to a sauna - I'll strip and heck, I may even wax for the hell of it! Swimsuit, no swimsuit, it maybe 40C in there but you may well find me nodding off.... zzzzzzzzz
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