Shower room and pool culture

efreysson · Nov 8, 2013

We have quite a swimming pool culture here in Iceland. There is a geothermally heated outdoor pool in every town worth the title, they are popular places to chat year round, and we like them clean. It's mandatory to shower thoroughly and naked before diving in, and the shower room features pool guards who keep an eye out and make sure this rule is obeyed.

I was reading the paper today and an article mentioned how foreign tourists are often shocked to discover that the showers are communal rather than separate booths, and tend to either leave or awkwardly try to change and shower from behind a towel (which just makes them stand out and look childish).

What gives? There ARE separate rooms for men and women so what's wrong with an individual of the same sex seeing your stuff? Everyone is naked so no one pays you any special heed.

Now I'm curious about different attitudes towards shower rooms and pool cleanliness around the world. What's it like in your part of the world?

My dad told me a story of an English tourist who jumped into the pool with a cigarette in his mouth. The pool guard went white with rage and screamed at him to get out and LEAVE, and the bloke didn't understand what the problem was.

jjdebenedictis · Nov 8, 2013

In Canada, there are women's change rooms and men's change rooms, and most people get naked in front of strangers in the change rooms.

That said, it's not uncommon for people to feel uncomfortable getting naked in front of strangers, even of the same sex. Many change rooms provide a few private stalls for people to change in (a little cubicle with a curtain or door), and they do get used.

All public pools have a rule that you must shower before using the pool, but to be honest, most people pretty much just stroll through the shower spray in their bathing suit--just enough to get their hair damp--and then go swim.

In other words, the shower rule is effectively ignored.

I'm pretty sure most pool attendants here would be furious at someone jumping in with a lit cigarette in their mouth, however. That's bizarre!

My brother lived in Iceland for a while and mentioned the hot springs he saw by the side of the road where the changing area was just a platform so your clothes didn't get dirty, i.e. everyone strips down in plain view of the road.

That would never be okay in Canada. Public nudity is illegal, although it's now legal in many places (although extremely uncommon) for women to go topless in public.

Caitlin Black · Nov 8, 2013

Australia is probably a touch more prudish than Canada. I haven't been to a public pool in ages, but I seem to recall never having seen naked people in the change rooms. I think some of the public pools had little stalls to change in, and some were full of people doing the towel trick.

I also don't recall ever having to shower before getting in the pool, though there were showers available. (I seem to recall being told to use the shower cubicle to get changed into my bathing suit.) And yeah, shower cubicles, not communals. I don't recall ever seeing some sort of guard on duty making sure about cleanliness.

I also think that the showers here (in the pool centres) were used mostly *after* going in the pool, to wash away the smell of chlorine.

We don't have that many public pools here, though enough to serve the public's interest in them. Australia's a beach culture though - nearly all of our cities are built near beaches, with suburbs being extended generally along the coast.

Maryn · Nov 8, 2013

I don't think the shower-room culture is consistent in a country or even a region. Where I live, I've been a member at three gyms, each with its own culture. At one, all showers are individual and you show as little nudity as possible as you get out of your sweaty stuff and go shower. The woman who walks around naked there is very much out of place. If she does it often, members will complain and someone on the staff will take her aside and speak to her about it.

The other two are less uptight, but still have somewhat modest etiquette. While the gang shower is open (there are a few private showers for the modest), except in the shower members are towel wrapped and minimize nudity.

While I respect people's preferences and attitudes against nudity, I don't see what the big deal is. We're all females here, with the occasional preschool child who's with Mommy, and so long as nobody's deliberately being sexual about nudity, what does it matter?

Maryn, concluding that people are uptight about the wrong stuff

amergina · Nov 8, 2013

The gym I go to has regular pool exercise classes, and I do know the ladies who take the classes rinse off in the shower before they head down, but yes, in their suits. The shower stalls are individual.

There are two privacy changing cubbies in the locker room, and some women do use them, but most of us just change out in the open. We're all of various ages from 18 and up. Age doesn't seem to be a factor with regard to who uses the privacy cubbies.

Bolero · Nov 8, 2013

UK - not been to a pool for years but remember a mix of showering in your swimming costume some before, some afterwards and a mix of changing in a group or changing in a cubicle. Not a lot of blatant walking around in the nude.
However a sports club I belonged to, where we were all members and not random strangers, was pretty relaxed about nudity and showering naked.

Shower room and pool culture

efreysson

Closer than ever

jjdebenedictis

is watching you via her avatar

Caitlin Black

Wild one

Maryn

At Sea

amergina

Pittsburgh Strong

Bolero