tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post9130889113546506098..comments2024-03-28T00:34:55.054-05:00Comments on The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™ : The Origins of Nude Swimming in Illinois Public Schools and Community Pools.Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10605531495401356831noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-14543766412174021992023-11-06T22:00:58.984-06:002023-11-06T22:00:58.984-06:00Your crosstown rival Glenbrook South had nude swim...Your crosstown rival Glenbrook South had nude swimming for us boys up to 1974-75 (my freshman year). After that we were provided navy blue or black nylon swim briefs (some were labeled White Stag) which would be washed after every use. Should have sanitized the locker room floors as some of us got warts on our feet (which got us out of swim class anyway).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-36220282042426095722023-07-27T10:49:02.256-05:002023-07-27T10:49:02.256-05:00An interesting topic, because I also have personal...An interesting topic, because I also have personal experience with it. I was in 1982 as a European exchange student for three months at a high school in Illinois and four months at one in Wisconsin, and still in 1982 we boys, and only we boys, had to swim naked at both schools. That was probably the last phase in which there was nude swimming at US schools, most had probably abolished it by that time. For me it was unusual, but not at all uncomfortable or even humiliating, as is sometimes claimed. When I first had swimming lessons in Illinois with the other 15 boys I went with them to the locker room and was assigned a locker that was in a different aisle of the locker room than that of my classmates. So I stripped Barefoot took off my shorts and polo shirt, I wore had my swim briefs already under the shorts, and then put on flip flops to go into the shower and then into the pool hall, just like I was used to at home in Germany. I was still standing in front of the locker when the first other guys came into my hallway, through which you could get to the shower, including my partner student, who told me from behind that we guys have to swim naked at school. When I turned around from the locker, I saw that the boys who were standing around me in the hallway by now were all completely naked. Of course, they grinned a bit at the German exchange student in swim briefs, and I’m sure they were curious to see how I would react. For me it was no problem: I simply untied my speedos, pulled them down and put them in the locker, and when my partner student then told me that naked also means barefoot, that flip-flops were not allowed and that I had to be barefoot in the shower and the pool hall, I took them off as well. That was at that time quite loose and relaxed. Of course, it was normal among 16 year olds, that the guys looked at my crotch to see how the German is built there and there was then also one or the other adolescent saying and especially great astonishment that a German has a circumcised penis, but that was it. Everything was relaxed and nobody was teased or bullied. Everyone was accepted as they were. You could even say that the nudity made everyone the same and I had the feeling that the moment I pulled down my speedos in front of the others and was naked like them, I was really accepted into the community. Retrospectively, I have to say: we guys were never as calm, relaxed, and companionable as we were during swimming lessons when we were all naked. And it was no different at my second high school in Wisconsin! There I asked my partner student beforehand if we had to swim naked at the school, and after he said yes, I stripped naked in the locker room from the beginning like everyone else. This was also completely relaxed and without any problems.
<br />To swim naked, even in swimming lessons at school was still common at that time (at least at these two schools), no one questioned or rejected it, it was considered quite normal and natural. One had a completely normal attitude to the body (as I knew it also from Europe), nobody was embarrassed or even ashamed because of his bare genitals and ass cheeks and so I had the impression at both schools that none of the boys had problems with the requirement to swim naked or even felt humiliated.
<br />In retrospect I even say: this was one of the very few positive impressions I had at the two US high schools and I also think that this was absolutely not bad for the development of the boys or young men.
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-24158627515716855522023-04-23T23:34:22.079-05:002023-04-23T23:34:22.079-05:00Now you have proof. It's worth a free drink or...Now you have proof. It's worth a free drink or two at bars. Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10605531495401356831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-30161163905646025922023-04-23T20:14:40.673-05:002023-04-23T20:14:40.673-05:00My husband tells of nude swimming at Lane Tech in ...My husband tells of nude swimming at Lane Tech in Chicago in the 1960s. He was assigned the duty of taking numbers of the boys before they went in. He sat in a chair and one by one they came up and gave their numbers.<br /><br />My millennial friend tells me the high school he attended in upstate NY has nice locker rooms with private showers but no one uses them. They just change after gym class and go back to class. It would seem the younger generation is quite prudish. If you mention nude swimming to them they are shocked. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-30777236197900886762023-03-21T08:01:51.724-05:002023-03-21T08:01:51.724-05:00I went to Thornton HS in Harvey, IL 1973–74 (befor...I went to Thornton HS in Harvey, IL 1973–74 (before family moved out of area). For freshman, that meant a mandatory 9 weeks of swimming as part of PE class.<br /><br />For the guys, that also meant something else. It meant 9 weeks of NUDE swimming class, 5 days a week.<br /><br />There were various reasons given as to why that was depending on who you spoke to and in spite of the outcries by some - the nude classes went on and were mandatory - refuse and you failed PE - period.<br /><br />I can recall even now the Friday before the start of swimming class the following Monday one of my classmates inquiring about swimming suits (as to whether we had to purchase one or the school would be providing them) and our PE teacher replying “neither, you won't be wearing swim suits, boys do swimming class nude here. No one cares what you look like and if you are shy, get over it".<br /><br />The first week or so there were a lot of hands covering things with guys trying their best to stay covered even while jumping into the pool.<br /><br />After about a week no one was doing that anymore. Everyone got used to what was happening. And quoting the PE teacher “no one cared".<br /><br />There was a couple instances where you question the “thinking" when our regular PE teacher wasn't there and the sub was a female - but even that didn't seem to bother anyone: nude we got and swimming class went on as usual.<br /><br />My understanding is that practice at Thornton stopped in the late-90′s, early 2000′s sometime. Even with the explanations given still never really understood it, but, I did it, just like every other male freshman at the school did for many years before and after me did.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-83277377622446545822022-12-31T15:46:24.955-06:002022-12-31T15:46:24.955-06:00I learned to swim in hs like most city boys. It wa...I learned to swim in hs like most city boys. It was nude in the pool, dressed for classroom instruction. Most were embarrassed at first, but we soon accepted it and actually I liked swimming without a suit.<br />A few times the female PE instructor came to the pool bc the regular coach had a meeting. She let us have open swim and water polo so no one concerned. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-32233043206886832252022-11-22T08:54:52.907-06:002022-11-22T08:54:52.907-06:00Very interesting narrative. We swam nude at PWHS ...Very interesting narrative. We swam nude at PWHS in '73, 74 & 75 but we're daily issued Speedo suits in '76 when we had co-ed P.E. classes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-17070300224089578372022-11-15T11:19:28.818-06:002022-11-15T11:19:28.818-06:00When I was an exchange student at Glenbrook North ...When I was an exchange student at Glenbrook North HS in 1982, we boys still had to swim naked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-70241691173721942502022-05-06T01:23:21.327-05:002022-05-06T01:23:21.327-05:00That pool in the top-most image looks exactly like...That pool in the top-most image looks exactly like the one that was in the basement of my high school, under the gym. Very narrow decks and white glazed brick everywhere. We were freaked out as freshman when we had to swim nude, but after that, it was not a big deal. We even played water polo in gym class! That got pretty rough, and guys routinely got choked and banged-up. Our pool used something called bromine instead of chlorine. It was really hard on the eyes. And when my old school was torn down in the 90s, the last thing left was the remains of the pool.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-78177456446827972602022-05-05T15:47:26.718-05:002022-05-05T15:47:26.718-05:00Chemicals, like Chlorine. Chemicals, like Chlorine. Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10605531495401356831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-28361329097542036382022-05-05T08:58:23.871-05:002022-05-05T08:58:23.871-05:00Nude Swimming should still be the norm today. What...Nude Swimming should still be the norm today. What has happened to America that has caused society to reject what had been the normal & natural a few decades ago!?? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-41747551532006243072022-03-22T06:09:43.900-05:002022-03-22T06:09:43.900-05:00I remember swimming nude at the Y, I was just a ki...I remember swimming nude at the Y, I was just a kid at the time and never thought about it. When I got into High School in the late 60s, we had to swim nude. I hated it . I hated it to the point on swim day I would just cut the class or stay home with a tummy or headacheAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-36406938574817782712021-10-30T22:29:41.946-05:002021-10-30T22:29:41.946-05:00All the guys swam nude in the swimming holes at th...All the guys swam nude in the swimming holes at the edge of town in Youngstown, Ohio in the late 1940's and early 1950's. <br />We would ride our bikes to the swimming hole and would later ride naked on the trails through the woods until we got to the highway.<br /><br />From the late 1940's until we went off to college we swam without swimsuits at the local YMCA. Being nude at the Y was not an issue for me because I was used to my nude swimming days with my friends who also went to the Y with me.<br /><br />At college in Cleveland at Case All the gym classes swam nude and I swam nude for the swimming qualification test when I was in the Army<br /> I should have tried to fail the test so I could have spent a few hours daily at the heated indoor pool instead of outdoors in the winter. HAHAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-42122229375050161342021-10-30T15:44:10.553-05:002021-10-30T15:44:10.553-05:00I have always wondered how in America which is an ...I have always wondered how in America which is an example of democracy has not been equal treatment for genders in schools. Why boys had to swim nude and girls not? I don't think it is fair. In Europe (these examples are not from schools, but general) boys and girls were almost everywhere treated equally what concerns nudity. In German sports camps children swam often nude and always both genders. Also in Soviet Union pioneer camp Artek nude swimming was introduced until 1962. Separate areas (distance 150-200 m) for boys and girls and both nude. Because in Soviet Union until 1980's was no synthetic swimsuits and cotton swimsuits became too wet. Also in sauna culture countries like Sweden or Finland always common nudity for both genders and among youngsters also. Why America decided other way?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-1685225512471238332021-09-19T21:00:44.257-05:002021-09-19T21:00:44.257-05:00We swam nude too in Jr and High School. The women ...We swam nude too in Jr and High School. The women gym teachers helped instruct the boys but the men teachers didn't help with the girls even though they wore suits. There was a hallway from the pool to the locker rooms. When you opened the doors to the boys locker room you could see right in but the girls locker room entrance had a divider so we couldn't get a peek lol. I wish i was 11 again life was so much easier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-83181348893938052542021-09-19T15:07:44.174-05:002021-09-19T15:07:44.174-05:00The high school I attended in the mid 1950's h...The high school I attended in the mid 1950's had nude swimming for the boys and tank suits for the girls. There was a boys swimming pool and a girls swimming pool, as well as separate gyms. Rumor had it that a school board member back in the early 1920's when the facility was built, insisted that the boys and girls were not to intermingle in gym, or swimming, hence separate facilities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-48660591657657845282021-03-03T21:10:07.112-06:002021-03-03T21:10:07.112-06:00No one has mentioned college swimming. In 1973, wo...No one has mentioned college swimming. In 1973, women swimming indoors in Ida Noyes Hall at the University of Chicago swam nude (with swim caps, lol). I was a newlywed just moved up from Texas, and was shocked down to my absent socks. And it was the first time I had ever sat around a group of naked adult women--indeed a new experience. But I loved to swim, and got used to it. Do not know when that custom was discontinued. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01447349232267513921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-80723973930572453642021-02-01T02:59:20.887-06:002021-02-01T02:59:20.887-06:00We swam naked at Taft HS in the mid 70s, it would ...We swam naked at Taft HS in the mid 70s, it would then feel strange to wear a suit when swimming at the lakefront come summer. The doors coming up from the separate locker rooms had the old fashioned keyholes. There would be a few times we would hear giggling coming from behind the girls door. Of course one of us guys would stand in front of the keyhole, facing it, making some smart remark. Fun days. <br />Great website by the way, thank you. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-59362199361323105002020-09-14T08:44:29.574-05:002020-09-14T08:44:29.574-05:00@DougRoberts - I don't see anything in Title I...@DougRoberts - I don't see anything in Title IX that covers nude swimming.<br /><br />https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2012/06/20/titleixreport.pdf <br />Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10605531495401356831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-5089082393479997752020-09-14T07:37:53.019-05:002020-09-14T07:37:53.019-05:00Tittle IX was enacted in 1972. That ended nude swi...Tittle IX was enacted in 1972. That ended nude swimming, unfortunately.Doug Roberts, Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00295290035409620972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-27191518231422766212020-07-24T19:47:26.444-05:002020-07-24T19:47:26.444-05:00Lowell Tech, Lowell, MA 1971. During orientation w...Lowell Tech, Lowell, MA 1971. During orientation week, all boys had to do a swim test in the nude. Those of us that failed then had to do a swim class (in the nude) as one of our PE requirements. It was my 1st time ever skinny dipping & I liked it. Girls didn't have to do the test or take PE and there were never any girls present during swim class. Bikerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14337739874615826612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-32217812033921814322020-06-13T10:54:14.924-05:002020-06-13T10:54:14.924-05:00I went to Lane, graduated in 1980. I believe 1978 ...I went to Lane, graduated in 1980. I believe 1978 was the last year we had to swim naked, because in the fall of 1978 all of the gym and swim classes were made co-ed, which finally put an end to naked swimming. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-4335292620506953392020-06-01T14:14:49.667-05:002020-06-01T14:14:49.667-05:00Morton East High School in Cicero had guys PE clas...Morton East High School in Cicero had guys PE classes swim like that in the early 60s, I think. I had Freshman year in 1968 there as a girl and had tank top style suits and transferred to RB for the following 3 years and had the same type of swim suit. I am not sure if the guys then at either school got swimming trunks to wear. DDKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10624979420518584178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-52197161059058615732020-01-08T16:38:51.853-06:002020-01-08T16:38:51.853-06:00We swam nude at Chicago's Mt. Carmel H.S. duri...We swam nude at Chicago's Mt. Carmel H.S. during the mid 60's. I was always fascinated that the PE instructors would, without fail, select the coldest days in January or February to begin our aquatic activityJim Muldoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03853020256241614042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2698674352470153088.post-12939454565463165692020-01-08T16:35:13.182-06:002020-01-08T16:35:13.182-06:00Went to Lane , graduated in 1972 swam naked for fr...Went to Lane , graduated in 1972 swam naked for freshman lessons. I was a lifeguard and swam on the swim team, we wore Speedo suits for both activities. We also did arm rubs and hair checks to check if the student had washed prior to coming in to the pool. We also had bleach trays that the swimmers had to walk through after their showers. I don't know when they stopped, but my son didn't swim naked when he went in the early 2000's.kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01134093236232103988noreply@blogger.com