Help DH won't wear speedos but going to France!

[letitgoletitgo6]

Taking DCs to Disney land Paris in May. DH has severe body dysmorphia and getting clothes that he will wear is a nightmare as he genuinely hates the way he looks (there's absolutely nothing wrong with the way he looks but it's not as easy as just telling him that!)

So I've recently found out about the law in France about all men and boys having to wear speedos when swimming. We aren't staying at Disney we are staying at the centre parks so we definitely plan on going swimming. He's point blank refusing to wear them which I do completely understand as he will worry about it every hour until we go. However if he doesn't go then non of us can go in as Dc are small and can't swim without help and I can't help both on my own. Is there a speedo alternative that's a bit more body forgiving that I could suggest to him?

We went to a center Parcs and eurocamp site and neither enforced this rule - my husband took some Speedos but didn't wear them.

👀😂

Ironically, Speedos are strangely emasculating .

It’s about hygiene.

And most of these speedos still offer more coverage than a lot of women’s bottoms…

So now they just put a pair of Speedos on after a sweaty day in the fields or on their tractors instead.

It looks like problem solved here.

For those asking why etc, it is a policy in French municipal pools that nobody swims in any item of clothing, that can be worn when someone is not swimming. For example, men in seaside towns often wander around in swim shorts as outerwear when not intending to swim. Likewise, many French pools insist on swim hats for both men and women.

Policy in resort, campsite and hotel pools varies.

People keep saying it's about hygiene but that doesn't answer the question. Why are longer swimming shorts unhygienic? It's not like people are swimming in their pants.

Women’s swim wear has been getting progressively skimpier. Whereas men’s seems to have gained fabric…
especially in the 90ies when many swim shorts reached below the knees!

This and banning Burkini, France are weird about enforcing bodies aren't they.

It's hardly hygiene. They're not checking swimming items are clean/ soap residue free. - and you could do that with any item of swimwear if you wanted to. Its intended to ban modest clothing.

An hour to persuade him into the pool sounds miserable for you all. I'd just assume he wont be going in the water and take the kids myself You can do other things as a family

That has been answered:
it’s because people used to enter the pool wearing their regular shorts / the shorts they’ve been wearing all day.

have you never seen a group of lads wearing their board shorts whilst walking around town? It used to be fairly common when I was young(er).

When I was a teenager quite a few of my male friends used to put their shorts on at home, hang out with their friends, go to the local swimming pool later in the day and just hop in (with some „perfunctory“ shower poolside).

My DH wore normal trunks over speedos. It’s a hygiene thing, which doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense to me, but does mean that there is no reason why he can’t wear a t shirt and baggy shorts as long as his bits are tightly enclosed in Lycra.

So many different reasons given for this rule on this thread - sand (not much of an issue near Paris...), traffic fumes, taking water out of the pool, etc. When I lived in France I was told it was due to STDs - symptoms would be hidden by shorts but visible in speedos. It doesn't seem there is a clear motivation, but it is now a cultural norm.

Personally if I was running a pool I'd encourage bigger swimwear. It might make it harder for the underwater flashers like the one who flashed me in France by fishing his tackle out of the side of his Speedos when he saw I was swimming with goggles nearby.

Do they not care about skin cancer in France? I only swim in a rashie and board shorts these days for sun protection - gives better protection than just sunscreen for those parts of the body that don't generally see the light of day and hence are more vulnerable to sun burn.

But it’s different if a woman can choose what to wear rather than being told.
Several posters on here mentioned that women are expected to wear bikinis in France.
No idea if that’s true, but I know several women who wouldn’t be comfortable with that.
Personally, I don’t mind wearing a bikini top, but I would hate skimpy bottoms and prefer swimming shorts.

@letitgoletitgo6
At centre parcs near Disney all three men in our party wore short loose-style trunks, not knee length, more mid thigh, one also wore a rash vest. It was all completely fine. Maybe it’s only an issue at hardcore swimming length type pools.
I think the rash vest is a life saver for one of the more self conscious men in the party and is worth considering.

Hygiene.
Too many people go swimming in baggy shorts they’ve been wearing and sitting about in all day.
It’s a good rule.

And it’s better than Malaysia where I have regularly seen young men in the pool wearing jeans and T-shirts.

Eurocamps say it too, but don't enforce it. They don't allow t-shirts though.

No, not in the rest of Europe. The Brits are the only ones covering up in Europe.

If he won't conform, and he's being a dick if he doesn't, you take the kids in one at a time perhaps.

I think the law only applies to public swimming pools.

I would bring a pair of swimming trunks for your husband and swimming caps for the whole family just in case, in the hope that you don't have to wear them.

I would probably also err on the side of your husband's swimming shorts not being too big or baggy. Basically he shouldn't be going in the pool wearing the kind of shorts that he could also wear to have a beer at a beachfront bar without attracting any funny looks.

I think the theory is that they could have been wearing the same pair of longer shorts as normal outdoor clothing for the last week or so before going in the pool wearing them.

At the huge aqua parcs complex near my parents holiday home in SW France this rule as far as I know has never been enforced! Les Antibes it’s called.

They even sell board shorts in the shop there! Or they did.

It’s an area with lots of tourists though so would be hard to enforce.

I’m envisaging lifeguards on the nearest beach (a 40 minute bloody drive away!) patrolling Baywatch style armed with Speedo budgie smugglers and forcing pale Brits to wear them if they weren’t wearing them! 🤣😱

I’d buy the long Lycra shorts just in case though.

The French really aren’t that uptight but as it’s Paris area maybe they are. Who knows?

Whether it is enforced in campsites will probably depend on:

• whether the pool is open for the public (ie not just limited to guests)
• how strict the management is
• how recently the local authority last visited