Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
speedracer said:Finally, the cultural custom of men showering with men and women showering with women in the locker room is based on the empirical observation that men tend to be sexually attracted to women and women tend to be sexually attracted to men. Most of the rest of society has caught on to the fact that this empirical observation is not universally true, but the sporting world has not. When I go to the gym, I shower at home, and I completely do not understand why locker rooms can't just have individual shower stalls.
what i find interesting is why many women's locker rooms do have individual stalls, but many men's locker rooms don't. i think that's changing, and newer gyms do have men's rooms with individual stalls, but that wasn't how it always was.
i agree that the cultural standard is based in the assumption of heterosexuality, and most people are straight, so it's not an unreasonable standard at all. but what people don't seem to understand is that gay men have adapted to this and are there to shower and get dressed just like anyone else. it only becomes a problem when a striaght man becomes aware of a gay man and this makes him feel uncomfortable, but the problem is entirely the straight man's. i can understand how he might feel a little bit strange at the idea that someone is deriving some aesthetic/sexual pleasure from seeing his naked body, but it is not a gay man's issue it is the straight man's issue for feeling terrified at the thought that someone might be enjoying standing next to him in the shower in the way he would enjoy standing next to a woman in the shower. but if you're not touched or harassed or leered at, you're not violated. relax.
as for showering with a woman, i really have no idea. i've never actually done that, and the discomfort i would feel would be due to the presence of unfamiliar anatomy in the context of showering in the gym and not due to some worry that she's checking me out. heck, i'm flattered when women find me attractive, and i enjoy mildly flirting with women as well, it's all in fun. but there are lines that we're both aware of, and we're all mature enough not to cross them.
finally, i have to post this as it was linked to in Dan Savage's column today:
[q]Straight men: Stop to consider things. And stand up for your gay friends. We have more to offer than your straight friends. We help get you laid (ladies will love the fact you have gay friends, you sexy, sensitive man, you). We will also give you hair-care product advice, baby-sit your kids, and tell your wives that blowjobs are mandatory for any happy relationship and should be administered at least three times per week. Oh, we'll also assure her that the amount of porn you watch is completely normal.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=21930
[/q]