= Nude_swimming_in_US_indoor

======================================================================
= Nude_swimming_in_US_indoor_pools =
======================================================================

Introduction
======================================================================
Nude swimming in US indoor pools was common for men and boys from the
late 1880s until the mid-1970s, but was rare for women and girls.

Male nude swimming in natural bodies of water (e.g., lakes and rivers)
was customary in the early United States. In the 19th century, when
urbanization made skinny-dipping more visible, indoor pools were
built. Public indoor pools were more prevalent in Midwest and
Northeast states than in other areas of the country. Learn-to-swim
programs were conducted in communities across the country to address
the problem of drowning. Final sessions were sometimes open houses for
families. On such occasions, swimmers might be nude while swimming but
wrap themselves in their towels otherwise. In other locations, suits
were worn for the final sessions.

Nudity was rare in girls' swim classes because of the social pressure
of female modesty. Prepubescent boys might swim nude in the presence
of female staff, family members, and spectators at public
competitions. The primary reason given by officials for nude swimming
was public health. Another reason was the clogging of pool filters by
fibers shed by swimsuits with natural fabrics, most often wool. For
male swimmers, both issues were easily addressed by forbidding
swimsuits, while female swimmers wore cotton suits that could be
steam-cleaned and shed fewer fibers. As the 20th century continued,
more indoor pools were built by local governments, schools, and the
YMCA to provide year-round swimming for exercise and sport.

Male nude swimming in the US remained a common practice through the
1950s, but declined in the 1960s due to technological and social
changes. In 1972, Title IX was passed; the law required gender
equality in physical education. Following the passage of Title IX,
most schools found coeducational use of swimming pools to be the
easiest means of compliance; which led to the abandonment of nude
swimming in school pools.

Origins of swimming pools
======================================================================
The germ theory of disease replaced older theories of infection and
illness during the 19th century in public awareness and medical
practice. The connection between cleanliness and health was just being
made in public health policy and personal habits.

"Swimming baths" and pools were built in the late 19th century in
poorer neighborhoods of northern industrial cities of the US to exert
some control over a public swimming culture that offended Victorian
sensibilities by including nakedness, roughhousing, and swearing. Such
behavior had become an issue in the 18th century, but laws prohibiting
public indecency had little effect. Naked swimmers from Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, to New York City, primarily boys and young men, ignored the
laws and sometimes flaunted themselves intentionally in view of more
upper-class passers-by.
Beginning in 1870, the first public pools in New York City were
outdoor "floating baths" made of wood surrounded by docks that allowed
river water to flow through them. In addition to health and hygiene,
they were intended to prevent drowning in the open river, a frequent
occurrence. As urban river water quality declined, floating baths
became a source of infection. Building indoor pools and adding pools
to bathhouses were done to address this problem. Since few swimmers in
these neighborhoods could afford swimsuits or wanted to wear them,
nudity among males was taken for granted.

Historian Jeff Wiltse writes that in cities such as Philadelphia,
Boston, and Milwaukee during the Progressive Era (1896-1917), indoor
and outdoor municipal pools were segregated by gender and class, but
often not by race. In working-class neighborhoods, the white residents
were mainly recent immigrants. The pools were for health and exercise,
and used by male and female swimmers on alternate days. The outdoor
pools were surrounded by a high wall to provide privacy. Women and
girls wore bathing costumes; men and boys usually went without. The
YMCA pools, which charged a fee and excluded women, were used by
middle-class swimmers. The upper classes swam at private health clubs,
which were also male-only.

At the beginning of the 20th century, nudity for the wealthiest men in
New York City was the norm at the University Club, the Yale Club on
Vanderbilt Avenue, the Racquet and Tennis Club and the New York
Athletic Club on Central Park South. Nude swimming ended after a law
was passed in the 1980s banning discrimination against women at
private clubs. Nude swimming at the San Francisco Press Club was ended
by a court order in 1988. In 1991, when there were only two women in
the US Senate, they avoided the gym and the swimming pool where some
of the male members continued to swim nude.

Mining companies provided housing for workers and their families, who
shared a bathhouse with separate sections for men, women, and
children, as they did not have private bathrooms at the turn of the
20th century. The bathhouse built by the Calumet and Hecla Mining
Company in Michigan, which opened in 1910, included a swimming pool,
as suggested by Progressive reformist literature. Men and boys swam
without suits. Women and girls were allocated only 10 hours per week
to use the pool, compared to 47 for men and 13 hours for boys.
Children were defined as girls under 12 and boys under 10, who had to
be accompanied by an adult female.

Indoor pools were most common in the Northeast and Midwest. In
southern and western states, learn-to-swim programs popular in the
1940s were conducted in outdoor pools where all swimmers brought their
own suits: Phoenix, Arizona (1940 and 1947); Miami, Florida (1947);
Owensboro, Kentucky (1949); St. Louis, Missouri (1941 and 1949);
Raleigh, North Carolina (1946) and Nashville, Tennessee (1941).

Public health recommendations
===============================
As early as 1914, professionals addressed the problem of maintaining
pool water quality due to the prevalence of waterborne diseases,
including typhoid, dysentery, pneumonia, and eye and ear infections.
Initially, civil engineers recommended nudity in indoor pools for all
swimmers, male and female, where such rules could be enforced. While
this was generally accepted for men, it was true for only some pools
when used by women. Fibers from suits clogging pool filters were also
given as a reason for nudity. Fibers from wool suits were a greater
problem, which was remedied by supplying cotton suits for use by
female swimmers.

In the 1920s, close monitoring of swimmers in public pools was based
upon their being from the working class, having generally poor
hygiene, and often living in tenements with no bath facilities.
Officially, municipal pools were built in working-class neighborhoods
to provide such facilities, while YMCAs charged an entry or membership
fee that excluded the lower classes, black and white. In 1926, the
American Public Health Association (APHA) standards handbook
recommended that indoor swimming pools used by men adopt nude bathing
policies and that indoor swimming pools used by women require
swimsuits "of the simplest type".

In 1939, the swimming coach and college athletics administrator Fred
Luehring surveyed the issues and made similar recommendations,
advising that men and boys should continue to swim nude, and tests of
water quality showed the advantage over pools where suits are allowed.
He noted the problem of water quality following pool use by female
swimmers, not only due to suits being worn but their avoidance of
taking a nude shower before entering the pool by showering in their
suits. In 1940, V. T. Trusler suggested that female swimmers be
required to hang their suits over the door of shower stalls to prevent
showering in them, and be inspected in order to avoid wearing
undergarments with bathing suits. Suits for male swimmers were called
unnecessary.

In 1940, the wool suits worn by male swimmers continued to be
recognized as a source of water contamination. Cotton suits supplied
by facilities for female swimmers were a lesser problem because they
could be boiled to decontaminate them. Wool suits cannot be boiled or
heated above 105 degrees Fahrenheit without shrinkage. Wool suits used
in salt water cannot be washed effectively, as soap does not lather
due to salt residue. In 1941, reviewing the steps taken to maintain
good hygiene in pools, H. W. Craig, supervisor of swimming at the
University of Illinois, favored the continued conduct of physical
education swimming programs for men not wearing suits, and for women
using cotton suits supplied by the schools that could be steam
cleaned. Problems arose when recreational swimmers used their own
suits and avoided showering before entering the pool, which had become
more frequent with the movement toward "corecreational" swimming.

From 1926 until 1962, every edition of the APHA guidelines recommended
nude swimming for males. Given the limits of chlorination and
filtration at that time, behavioral measures were also used to
maintain water quality. In addition to recommending nudity, all
bathers were required to empty their bladders and shower nude before
entering the pool. Those suffering from skin or respiratory disease
were prohibited from using the pool.

While finding the same public health issues, the National
Environmental Health Association recommendations in 1956 included
swimmers taking nude showers and wearing only suits laundered and
sterilized by the facility, but not mandatory nude swimming.

Outside the United States during the same period, hygiene issues were
recognized, but close supervision of swimmers and control of bathing
suits could be an alternative to nudity. In Canada, public health
recommendations allowed for suits, but nudity was recommended in pools
used exclusively by men. A brochure sent to parents of children in the
Toronto, Ontario, school system in 1963 stated that boys participating
in the summer education program could swim in bathing trunks or nude.
At YMCA pools in Ontario, nudity predominated from the 1960s to as
late as the 1990s in some locations. A factor in the change was hiring
women lifeguards for male classes. In England, it was recommended that
suits for both men and women be inspected and stored by the facility.

Racial segregation
======================================================================
During the interwar period, 1918-1939, when many more pools were
constructed, public schools and recreation facilities were segregated
in the United States, de jure until the passage of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, or de facto due to residential patterns. In some cities
segregation was maintained by violence against black swimmers who
attempted to enter pools.

Prior to the 1960s, the YMCA built separate facilities in black and
white neighborhoods. The first black YMCA with a pool was the Twelfth
Street YMCA in Washington, DC which was completed in 1912. Swimming
nude was required, but did not appeal to all. In the 1940s, a
Washington Evening Star article emphasized knowing how to swim being a
defense asset as well as a safety measure, while also noting that
"colored" boys could register at the 12th Street Y for their lessons
rather than at the 1732 G Street YMCA, a block from the White House.

In Dayton, Ohio, 1940 all boys and girls age 11 to 14 who could not
swim were eligible to take free lessons at the YMCA, YWCA, or Roosvelt
High School; "Negro" children were assigned to classes at the Linden
Community Center. In 1942 six agencies in Plainfield, New Jersey
offered free swimming lessons at black and white branches of the YMCA
and YWCA; the Jewish Community Center, and Watchung Lake. Suits were
not required for men and boys at either YMCA. In a 1944 article citing
the history and benefits of the YMCA programs for all, photographs
showed the separate swimming classes for black and white boys, without
suits.

In spite of the Civil Rights Act, a summer camp in Montgomery, Alabama
hosted by the YMCA refused entry to two black children in 1969,
resulting in a landmark desegregation decision which included the YMCA
as a public accommodation. Across the south, municipalities closed
recreational facilities rather than integrate them. Some public pools
were transferred to private ownership, and re-opened as segregated
facilities.

YMCA/YWCA
======================================================================
The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and Young Women's
Christian Association (YWCA) were founded in London, England in 1844
and 1855, respectively. Although not formally connected, in the 20th
century they had similar missions, so sometimes acted cooperatively.
There were also differences, in particular the YWCA's greater
recognition of sexual and racial equality.

The first YMCA indoor pool in the United States was built in 1885, in
Brooklyn, New York. Male nudity was required at YMCA pools in both the
US and Canada until they became mixed-gender in the 1970s. The
downtown Miami YMCA, built in 1918 and demolished in 1978, featured
what was considered a modern swimming pool at the time. While noting
the filtration system made the pool water clean enough to drink,
nudity is shown in a promotional photograph from the 1930s.

In 1955 a graduate student in education at Boston University conducted
a survey of 100 boys age 11 to 13 who had dropped their YMCA
membership. Statistics had shown that this age group had the highest
dropout rate, and the research was to discover why. Given their age,
responses to a questionnaire were collected in an interview. Since
swimming was the reason most often stated for joining the YMCA, except
for having friends that were also members, significance was assumed
regarding questions about swimming, in particular doing so without
suits. Of the 100, 35 said they would prefer to swim in suits, but 65
said they would not prefer suits. Sanitation, the simplicity of
needing to bring only a towel for swim class, and less problem with
lint and dirt were given as reasons to swim nude, but also the
psychological value of boys seeing they are physically normal. Many
reasons were given for not continuing their YMCA membership, but
issues regarding swimming were not high.

The first YWCA in the US, built in 1877, included gymnastics among its
programs, which was criticized by outside educators, who favored only
formal education for women. The first swimming pools in YWCAs were
built in 1905 in Buffalo, New York and Montgomery, Alabama. A pool
soon became standard in city YWCA buildings. The suits used by women
at the YWCA pools until 1930 were not the undyed cotton recommended by
public health officials, but the same black wool bathing costumes worn
by women at beaches.

1930s
=======
In 1930, the 'Tribune' newspaper in Pocatello, Idaho sponsored 'learn
to swim' classes at the YMCA, announcing that girls must bring towels
and suits, boys only towels. A Madison, Wisconsin swim meet held at
the 'Y' in 1931 did not allow suits or spectators. In May 1936 the
Charleston, West Virginia YMCA announced its tenth annual "Learn to
Swim" program for boys age 8 to 15 not able to swim, noting bathing
suits not being required. The YMCA in Wichita, Kansas was used in
1937 for a 'learn to swim' campaign. In a 1937 national survey of
intermediate swimming programs in YMCAs, it was noted that among the
health control methods, the management of suits was given a low
priority due to the number of classes that swim without suits. The
YMCA in Emporia, Kansas was used for a 1939 children's 'learn to swim'
campaign.

1940s
=======
In Benton Harbor, Michigan local newspapers in June 1941 sponsored a
course at the "Y" for men over 18 that could not swim, noting in the
announcement that no suits were required. Also in Benton Harbor,
programs for children in 1943 and 1945 announced that girls should
bring a suit and towel, boys only a towel. In 1949 classes had become
mixed-gender, so suits were worn. In 1941 the "Y" swim classes in
Madison, Wisconsin were co-sponsored by the 'Wisconsin State Journal'
and praised by mayor James R. Law Jr. The learn-to-swim classes at the
YMCA in Marion, Ohio in 1942 was also announce with the message that
girls should bring a suit and towel, boys only a towel.

Unlike other states, the swimming programs in 1940 and 1941 operated
by the Red Cross using YWCA pools in Salt Lake City, Utah specified
that both boys and girls should bring their own suits. However when
the Red Cross offered a "Swim for Health Week" for both men and women
at a YMCA pool in Berkeley, California in 1943, women were asked to
bring a towel and suit, men only a towel.

At the YMCA in the South End of Chicago in 1944, a summer program for
boys and girls had classes for 500 students in half-hour sessions
separated by sex and age. Fridays were family night for adults to see
the student's accomplishments. In Tucson, Arizona the YMCA pool was
used in 1945 to teach any boy unable to swim, and in 1946 boys age 9
through junior high; suits were not worn. Free YMCA classes in
Franklin, Pennsylvania were for both boys and girls in 1945, only the
girls being asked to bring suits. The enrollment for boys 7 to 14 for
a swim class at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa "Y" after summer 1947 bible
school sessions were explicit that "No suit required". The
instructions for the YMCA swim school in Davenport, Iowa in 1949 was
that each boy bring a towel, but "suits are not necessary".

Swimming classes for women and girls (in swimsuits) were held at
YWCAs, sometimes in coordination with YMCA classes in the same
locality. The 1948 registration blank for the annual swim program for
non-swimmers in Lincoln, Nebraska emphasized that girls should bring a
towel but not their own suits, but rent suits at the YWCA. Boys should
bring a towel but no suit for their YMCA classes. The learn-to-swim
program continued in Lincoln for a decade. Coordinated YMCA/YWCA
classes were also held in Washington, Iowa in 1948, again all were
asked to bring towels, only girls to bring suits.

1950s
=======
Swim classes at the YMCA for boys continued into the 1950s, as in
Steubenville, Ohio. A photograph publicizing the learn-to-swim program
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1950 was captioned "In order to have
thorough sanitation, swim suits are not used by swimmers in the YMCA
pool. This accounts for the drapery of towels when the picture was
taken." In 1955 the creation of a league of four teams for 8 to
10-year-old boys in York, Pennsylvania was announced. The swim meet
spectators were limited to male only. In 1956, the Tucson Arizona YMCA
held its 36th annual Learn to Swim campaign.

1960s
=======
In 1960, some of the swimming events for boys at the Y in Waterloo,
Iowa swim suits were optional. During the transition to sex equality,
attempts were made to retain male nudity at YMCAs by limiting access
to the pool by women to certain hours, but since they had full
membership, such plans was deemed discriminatory.

Boys' clubs
======================================================================
A 1940 article in 'LIFE' magazine describes the pool in the Olneyville
Boys' Club as providing an alternative to juvenile delinquency in a
declining mill neighborhood. Photos show the naked boys crowded into
the "dingy little 60 ft. swimming pool" as they had for fifteen years.
In 1941, the Olneyville Club won two of the five final events at a
national Boys Club of America swimming championship. Following a 1954
cattle judging contest in Wichita Falls, Texas, boys participating
were invited to the Wichita Falls Boys Club for a free swim party, no
swim suits being needed.

Public schools
======================================================================
The 1909 elementary school swimming championship for New York City
included nearly forty schools in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn;
and was held at what was then called the Interior Public Bath, the
first municipal indoor swimming pool built in New York City. In the
1920s, schools began building indoor swimming pools for purposes of
physical fitness and swimming instruction. In 1900, there were only 67
public pools in the United States; by 1929 there were more than 5,000.
Due to hot weather, the Englewood High pool in New Jersey was open to
the public one day per week in July 1926. The announcement emphasized
the observance of public health recommendations, all swimmers required
to take a soap shower before entering the pool. No mixed bathing was
permitted, suits were not allowed for men and boys, while women and
girls wore the standard Y.W.C.A. suit. A 1926 announcement of the
school swimming schedule in Ironwood, Michigan was explicit that boys
would not be permitted to wear suits, and would be supervised to
insure a shower was taken and that there was no sign of disease. In
1934 a survey of schools in California, some allowed boys to swim nude
or with athletic supporters, others supplied suits to boys as they did
for all girls.

In 1935 the school superintendent in Pontiac, Michigan approved nude
swim classes for boys in high school, saying it recalled "the days of
the old swimming hole". A thesis on high school swimming in Indiana in
1939 found only 16 pools in 848 schools, in which all of the boys swam
without suits. In 1940 a New York City school official continued to
favor boys wearing bathing suits only in pools visible to both sexes.
Girls were issued cotton suits that could be boiled to disinfect them
between uses; the wool suits used by boys could not because they would
shrink and lose their shape. In addition, fibers from wool swimsuits
could clog pool filters. Swim classes were advocated not only for
exercise, but as a recreational activity that, once learned, could
become a lifelong pursuit. The swim classes were also looked upon as
an opportunity to teach children proper hygiene.

Although some advantages in coeducational swim classes were recognized
as early as 1934, the need to maintain pool water quality by insuring
cleanliness of both swimmers and swimsuits dictated separate boys and
girls classes and the banning of wool suits. Few pools had been
constructed for coeducation, having a single shower room. In a survey
of Indiana high schools in 1939, all boys swim classes were nude,
while girls wore suits, 87% being cotton suits issued by the school.
Students bringing their own suits was discouraged, the institutions
not having control of decontamination. A 1947 survey of schools in
northern Utah found more local variation. Only three of the six
schools had pools. One allowed swimmers to wear their own suits, one
supplied cotton suits. At the one that required nudity, the athletic
director cited the problem of lint from suits clogging the pool
filter. The October 16, 1950 'Life' magazine published a photograph of
boys swimming together in the indoor pool of New Trier High School in
Winnetka, Illinois; the caption did not mention they were naked. A
southern city with indoor pools in the junior and senior high schools
is Houston, Texas, which required nudity until the mid-1960s. While
some former students in 2008 remembered the experience as negative,
mainly due to bullying, older men who had attended 30 years earlier
had no problem, citing different attitudes regarding privacy before
WWII.

In 1960 school officials and parents began questioning nude swimming
in North Tonawanda, New York, where it had been the practice at the
high school for 30 years. Rather than a ban on nudity, suits were made
optional by a 4-1 vote of the school board. In 1963, as it had for 33
years, the city of Troy, New York continued its mandatory citywide
program of swim classes for all students in grades 4-8 and 9-12; boys
swimming nude. A letter to parents emphasized the importance of
learning at least the basics of swimming for survival in an emergency.

Girls' classes
================
In 1939 one book on public health did agree that nudity would be the
most sanitary option for girls as well as boys, and that this was
practiced at some schools, but never widespread as with boys. In 1947
the 150 girls age 9 to 13 at the Liberty School in Highland Park,
Michigan were directed to wear swimsuits by the Superintendent of
Schools in response to a group of mothers protesting to the board of
education. Nude swimming for girls had been optional for six weeks
prior to the order. Nude swim classes continued for the 200 elementary
school girls from two other schools. Boys in the schools had not worn
suits in their separate classes for years, and girls requested to do
the same in order to give them more time in the pool rather than
changing. While following the wishes of parents who believed girls
should behave modestly, all the board members disagreed, stating that
there was "no moral issue involved".

Other programs for young people
======================================================================
The Iowa State College pool in Ames, Iowa was used for children's swim
classes in the summer of 1939, noting that boys do not wear suits for
their morning classes. At men's general swimming sessions in the
evenings for students and faculty, suit were not worn.

In the summers of 1944 and 1945, the Chicago Parks offered a summer
swimming program for children, boys on Monday and Tuesday and
Wednesday, girls on Thursday and Friday. In two high schools' indoor
pools, girls were required to bring a suit, but boys swam without.

The Tamalpais High School pool in Mill Valley, California was open to
the public three days per week in the summer of 1944. During the days
when boys swam in the morning, girls and women in the afternoon, the
boys did not wear suits. Boys under 7 were allowed to come to the
afternoon sessions with their mothers, but had to bring suits. The
University of Oklahoma pool in Norman, Oklahoma was used for summer
swim programs, with separate classes for cub scouts and boy scouts. In
1951 the new pool in Marysville High School was opened to grade school
students on Saturday. Boys were allowed to wear a swimsuit if they
wanted, but wool suits were not allowed. In 1958 the announcement
included only the need to bring a towel. In 1961, listed among the
attendees for the cub scout sessions were two den mothers.

The Sheboygan, Wisconsin Department of Public Recreation held "Learn
to Swim" classes for middle school children at the Central High School
pool. The classes were held on Saturday morning during the school
year, Monday through Friday mornings in summer. Among the earliest
newspaper announcements of the classes, in 1926 the article ended by
saying "there will be no restrictions on swimming suits." In 1930, the
announcement more clearly states that girls would be issued suits and
towels, boys only towels. The news article in 1940 includes two
photographs, one of a girl's class posing in their suits, the other of
the boy's class, all nude, watching one student demonstrating a dive.

Through the 1950s until 1960, the Sheboygan Press published the
schedules of the separate classes for boys and girls, noting that
girls would be issued suits, but boys would be nude. A longer article
in 1954 included details on the conduct of classes. There were an
equal number of boys and girls, 404 in total, age 10 to 14 and divided
into 14 half-hour classes each day. There were four teachers, three
men and one woman, plus two female locker room attendants. "Boys swim
unhampered by suits and bring only a towel as their contribution each
afternoon. Girls bring their own bathing caps and are supplied with
suits, for the morning workout". All swimmers were required to take a
soap shower nude before entering the pool. The final class was
designated visitor's day, with no mention of boys not being nude with
families present. A similar article in 1957 by the same author noted
the capacity crowd of mothers and fathers in the pool balcony as
indicating support for the program. In 1959, suits for boys was
optional. After 1960, all students in the summer program were required
to bring their own suits because mixed-sex recreational sessions had
been added to the schedule. However, boys continued to swim without
suits at the Recreation Department swimming program during the school
year. Waukesha, Wisconsin also conducted classes for children, with
boys nude and girls provided suits. The courses included Red Cross
certification.

Colleges and universities
======================================================================
In 1920, a review of swimming pools found similar concerns for hygiene
at the collegiate level. "In men's pools, where bathing suits are not
ordinarily worn," inspection of swimmers was done by attendants to see
that a thorough preliminary shower was taken. A thesis done in 1955
included a survey of colleges and universities in the United States
that found a nearly even split between institutions where men in swim
classes wore suits versus those where swimmers were nude. However,
there were regional differences, 68.5% of schools in the Midwest and
70% in the East being nude, while suits were worn more often in the
South (63.2%), Southwest (60%) and West (62.5%).

Colleges for men, such as those operated by the Jesuits, ended nude
swimming when they admitted women in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Public universities, such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Iowa
State University and the University of Maryland required nudity for
male swimmers until the 1970s.

Questioning and decline of nudity
======================================================================
By the 1950s, new developments in pool chlorination, filtration, and
nylon swimsuits led to the gradual elimination of nudity from
recommendations for pool sanitation. Swimsuits for boys were sometimes
optional. The APHA abandoned its recommendation of nude swimming for
males in 1962. However, the custom did not immediately cease, the
rationale switching from hygiene to the cost savings and maintaining a
tradition of male behavior.

In 1961, some parents in Menasha, Wisconsin asked the school board to
give boys permission to wear swim trunks, asserting psychological
issues for the youngest boys. The board voted down a petition signed
by 371 parents on the grounds that buying swim trunks would be
expensive and that nude swimming built men's character; one board
member asserted that "this experience is a good one for later life,
for example the armed services, where the disregard for privacy is
real and serious". Another board member noted that swimmers had no
privacy in the gang showers required for the classes. A letter from
the Department of Public Education stated that nudity for boys was
practiced throughout the state to promote sanitation and to save time.
A survey of other schools found suits were worn only at schools where
the pool was not completely separate from other areas.

In Janesville, Wisconsin nude swimming became an issue at Marshall
Junior High in 1967 in part because boys at nearby Franklin Junior
High wore suits, their pool having outside windows. The boys at
Franklin were issued nylon suits, as were the girls at both schools.
One coach noted that boys being from different backgrounds and being
at different stages of maturity, some found nudity embarrassing, while
others took it for granted. Parents, physicians, and clergy voiced
various positions pro and con. The deciding factor was again the cost
of purchasing suits for all boys. By 1976, suits had become optional,
but most students chose to do without at Marshall and Craig High
School, the only schools without open observation areas.

In 1966 and 1967, the Manitowoc, Wisconsin Recreation Department held
evening recreational swimming utilizing school pools, families on
Tuesdays, women on Wednesdays. On Thursdays, part of the session was
for fathers and sons, while the final hour was for men only. Women
were supplied suits if they did not bring their own; for men and boys,
suits were "permitted...those wishing to wear trunks must bring their
own". Children's classes were on Saturday mornings, with separate
sessions by age and sex. Only girls were required to bring a suit.

In a 1973 Duluth, Minnesota school board meeting, a discussion of
"skinny-dipping" in the boys junior high school swim classes following
complaints from parents who cited modesty according to the supervisor
of physical education. A school board member called this false modesty
in a gym class where students must shower nude. For the board, the
issue was the $12,000 needed to buy suits for 2500 students in the
district.

During the 1970s, the adoption of mixed-gender swimming led to the
gradual abandonment of nude male swimming in schools. Federal Title IX
rules mandating gender equality in physical education led most schools
to switch to co-educational classes, ending nude swimming in public
schools by the 1980s. In the 21st century, the practice has been
forgotten, denied having existed, or viewed as an example of
questionable behaviors in the past that are no longer acceptable.
However, Jungian psychoanalyst Barry Miller views the sexualization of
nudity in male only situations such as locker rooms and swimming pools
as a loss.

Notes
======================================================================
:a.Located at 232 West 60th Street, Manhattan, 'Interior Public Bath'
had been built in 1906. In 2013 the West 60th Street bath building
reopened after extensive renovations as the Gertrude Ederle Recreation
Center.
:b.Alternatives to nudity might be an athletic supporter or gym
shorts.

License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nude_swimming_in_US_indoor_pools