Last night in the hottub, Will and I (both wearing speedos) were joined by a couple on holidays from Australia.
Aussie’s in town isn’t odd (the place is full of them – both tourists and seasonal employees) but it was odd that we were interrupted. The couple were in their early 40’s I suppose and were on holidays as a wedding anniversay and left their kids at home.
They were kewl and the four of us chatted away and had a few drinks (no this isn’t a naughty story – although that would have been fun).
Thing was Will and I were both wearing nothing but speedos. The jets were on so the couple didn’t notice at first until Will made a run back to the room to grab more drinks. While Will was away the wife did comment on the speedo but not in a completely negative way (which I was kind of expecting).
She said “Why don’t guys wear speedos anymore?”
I passed it off as our washing was down in town and that went over OK but the discussion was open. Once Will came back the four of us talked about why speedos aren’t worn as much anymore. I remember going to the beach as a kid most of the fathers wore speedos and this experience was echoed by the others in the hottub.
I remember as a kid having to wear speedos when going to ‘Learn to Swim’ classes.
The consenses as we left the hottub was of wonder as to why it wasn’t done anymore – particularly considering that womens swimwear has gotten skimpier since that day (not very many years ago).
Which leads me to the title of this post…. In the old days Real Men Wore Speedos.
I’d love to hear some feedback on this topic – click the comments link at the top of the post. And to get you guys motivated I went looking for some pics of masculine men wearing speedos.
7 Comments
Adam West
It drives me mad that the speedo is a joke now. And I don’t understand. Is the americanisation of culture, as the US has always been very prudish about the male body (despite the ultra hi cut women’s swimwear) and I guess all the popular culture images from the US to do with the beach have the guys in boardies/baggies. The other thing is that close fitting or brief swimwear have become a gay thing – so maybe it’s something to do with gay men being out and proud (which is a good thing) so the association for straight guys is that wearing anything brief might make them seem like out gay men? It is different in Europe – loads of straight guys on the Mediterranean wear speedos and even are seen in quite ‘gay’ brands of swimwear – last summer I spent a lot of time eyeing off young (20 something) men wearing Andrew Chriistian square cut swim trunks, which I don’t think you’d see that many straight guys in the UK or US in. But is it different in Oz – as there are all these hot brands like Aussiebums and Cocksox coming onto the market there?
Anonymous
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paul
Am a 63 grandfather. As a teen in the late 50`s and 60`s speedos or what came to be speedos were what most wore and I in particular loved them and each summer bought at least one new pair,and hoped to catch the eye of some friendly stranger. The obssesion of wearing chaotic shorts came from US and has infected uk for many years now. How do you swim in them? Sadly I am not as “fit” as I was and have taken to conventional “reasonable” shorts ( dont like to see guys my age wearing speedos unless in really good shape). I restrict myself to admiring those that can ( ok leering) !
Dr. Phil
This is a perennial disappointment for me, I must say.
Back when I was a kid in the 80s, my great uncle (who was in his 60s/70s) was in pretty good shape, and around the lake during the summer, or on the boat while fishing, he’d always wear red speedos. This was something of a family joke when he wasn’t around, but I didn’t see what the big deal is.
And around the pool where my father lives now (in western WA), if a guy is wearing speedos–no matter how fit he is or how well he wears them–they make comments about how lame it is, all the while with my sister and stepmother wearing things that you wouldn’t see in Playboy in the 70s.
I had hoped Europe would be different, and sadly the bits I was in were not. I know in France and Switzerland, some pools require men to wear speedos, because some guys wear board shorts all day and therefore it’s a hygiene concern. But in Geneva one summer, generally all the younger guys were wearing at least midcut swimsuits, while all the older guys were wearing proper speedo-type suits.
In the U.K. and Ireland, things have started to change from the “all guys in speedos” situation, sadly. The only guys who wore speedos on a regular basis to the pool in Ireland were older (and generally out-of-shape) guys, or very young kids (under age 10), while younger guys of the teens to thirties generally wore the larger and larger dork shorts…how annoying. While I was in Scotland once, I got to the pool, and more guys seemed to be wearing speedos there than elsewhere…but still, it is something one sees less and less of these days.
Tragic.
Nothing says confidence and comfortability–whether you’re old, overweight, over-hairy, thin, pale, or of Adonis-like beauty–than a speedo, and I will go to my grave thinking that!
Twin
I think guys look great in speedos! Especially guys that have a lot of junk and muscles.
John
I have NO problem with a physically fit guy wearing a Speedo to the beach! Trouble is, North American men appear to be a good deal more prudish about their bodies than those in, say, Europe Or Australia. I guess it’s a cultural thing, too bad for us Speedo-watchers on this side of the Atlantic!
Jason
Nothing better then hot aussie men in speedos.