For Thinking that Mixed Saunas are Perverted?

[GreekDogRescue]

I am currently staying in a spa resort in Switzerland. The facilities are immaculate but it always strikes me as odd that the conservative Germanic cultures are so keen on the mixed naked sauna.

I visit every year and endure it but every time I enter the sauna with trepidation, hoping against hope that I do not have to confront some elephantine Germanic male proudly plodding about with his crown jewels on display. Thankfully I’m increasingly myopic but WTF?

The irony is that Brits are seen as wacky nonconformists yet conservative European cultures are so keen to get their kit off at the first glimpse of a bit of heat. There are even signs up forbidding users to wear their bathing costumes. Why?

Obviously as a rule-breaking Brit I defy this but will never forget a Swiss lifeguard storming into the Davos public sauna demanding I take my bathers off. I have also been harassed in the most horrible way so now stick to hotels.

AIBU to find this all very perverted?

Are there any Scandi or Germanic contributors who can shed some light?

Well that might have been important info to add. Clearly your experience is going to color your opinion.

Yes but surely pervs are attracted to places where there are naked people.

There's just no need, swimming costumes are hardly head to toe cover ups. Shorts and bikinis absolutely fine.

It was in the OP, albeit easy to miss.

You have to remember the Carry On films which give an accurate insight into the British view of nudity.

Brits are or were seen as quite eccentric or quirky.
Do you think that eclectic and individualistic designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Zandea Rhodes or Mary Quant would have been such a huge success in France or Austria for example?

Would the Monster Raving Loony Party, Grayson Perry and punk have succeeded elsewhere?

I think you need to get out more if you think these are all ‘boring buggers’ 🤣

i can understand what your saying but i guess its one of those,

Imagine that in Skegness beach

@Memyaelf I was in Skegness in July. It was fucking freezing. 😆

Fairly sure it’s a hygiene issue for them and certainly a hang up for us brits.

How condescending.

Ohh your comment so make me laugh!! 😆.. haha… did you wear a mankini? 🤣

There is nothing explicitly sexual about the sauna in Germany or Scandinavia. There’s a certain compartmentalisation, I suppose, that comes naturally to those who grew up within that culture. They just do not see anyone as a sexual object in that environment (or at least not primarily as such) - even if they might fancy them in a different context. That makes the whole point about ‘being intrinsically perverted’ irrelevant (though of course it does not rule out the odd pervert happening to use a sauna every now and then, same as they might use a gym or a train station).

As for wearing swimming costumes, please don’t. Chlorine from pools stays in the fabric and releases fumes in the heat that are both unpleasant and unhealthy. Wrap yourself in a towel if you absolutely must.

Promise you won’t be going back there again.
There is absolutely no need to torture yourself in this way.

That does sound really confusing 😕

I love a sauna but I've never been in one abroad with different 'rules'

I don't think its perverted but I wouldn't go near one. Not a sauna but years ago in Spain I was in a poolside cafe/bar when two German women came in wearing nothing but g-strings. They were clearly very annoyed when the staff asked them to put something on. I was pleased because attractive as they were I didn't want to be looking at their bits while I ate my lunch.

Have you worked with Finns yet? That’s all I’m saying!

Asian saunas/hot springs are not mixed-sex naked. They are single sex traditionally. If mixed, then swimsuits are worn.

I'm with op. No moral judgment to people who do it, but I'd never use a mixed sex naked spa. I'm sure the majority of men in them are ok but you'd only need one pervert to make it dreadful

'As for wearing swimming costumes, please don’t. Chlorine from pools stays in the fabric and releases fumes in the heat that are both unpleasant and unhealthy. Wrap yourself in a towel if you absolutely must.'

That's what the poolside showers are for. I've never noticed fumes from costumes before.

I don't mind nudity, I just don't trust men. There are too many men who get off on exposing themselves for me to want to take a chance on being used unwillingly for their sexual gratification in a naked, mixed sauna. Especially because you never know when it's just going to be you and a perv in there.

I don't mind nude beaches. In fact I've been to one before and really quite enjoyed the feeling of sunshine unencumbered on my skin. But there you're not likely to be in such close quarters with one other person, and at the same time there are likely to be many other people around.

I was very brave and went into the sea. Nearly got hypothermia!

So, you know in countries where women have to cover up head to toe, they think it's perverted to walk around showing hair and arms etc. how can men be expected to control themselves?

It's the same with this. I can't really see how being in a costume and being naked is that different.

I am sorry to read that you were assaulted, and understand why this has affected your view.

A number of wood fired 'wild' saunas have started in the UK, especially along the Sussex coast in a number of places. The two I have been to both require you to wear swimwear, probably in part because you can be seen by passers by. Even so, at one I mentioned to them that they ought to have women only sessions.

I don't think a sauna without swimwear is wrong though.

I wouldn't say anything you said is racist, but you did use the word 'perverted' which is pretty devicive if this is supposed to be a light hearted post and then go on to celebrate differences.

Funny, I'd never describe Brits as wacky, non conformist or rule breakers. But we are pretty prudish compared with our European cousins, in my experience at least.
I wouldn't use a mixed sauna personally but each to their own.

The swimsuit thing is about hygiene. I went to a spa in the UK once and it was disgusting, people sitting directly on the benches with no towel, not hosing down seats in the steam room, bare feet everywhere.

There is nothing more unsexy than the average naked body sitting in a sauna. I prefer single sex if given the option but I don't find anything perverted about the mixed. I'm a Brit who has lived overseas for many years and changed my mindset I guess.

OP explained she was assaulted in a mixed sauna.
Please read the whole post before making ridiculous accusations.

Haha. Yes. Wacky rules breakers from the birthplace of the orderly queue.