To feel embarrassed about walking around naked in gym changing rooms?

[IShouldNotCoco]

It isn’t because I dislike my body or anything but I do feel incredibly awkward about just stripping off and walking around. Is it upbringing?

I am quite envious of all the women who seem totally unbothered about doing this. If you’re trying to get changed without exposing everything, you’re definitely in the minority at my gym.

So I’m wondering how common it is for people to feel the way I do?!

It's just yucky

DD and I have been cosidering joining a gym near us. Lots of naked bods in there. 2nd visit saw a woman line up a lot of shower items along the outer edge of the shower. Bodywash, shampoo conditioner fine, but razor and shaving foam? Took ages in there and left the shower full of stubble... Following week a woman who we guess was in her 70s or 80s was standing in front of the hairdryer mirrors stark naked, swinging her hips to the piped music, fully hair drying her pubes for a good 20 mins!! Nice place but attracts some pretty free wheelers...

I think it's normal and I think we're in a strange era where people are made to feel as if it's not. Some people are just naturally modest. I've been that way since I was a kid, it's not that I'm uncomfortable naked as such - I just don't want to be naked around people by some kind of default. I like being covered up, I've never really even worn revealing clothes. I don't particularly like to be around other naked people either (I don't care if they are naked, it's just my preference).

I've managed to travel a fair bit of Europe without needing to regularly encounter naked people or be naked.

our one, there’s a small area between the shower and the door so it’s quite easy to stay dry

Quite interesting, yet predictable, the language used to describe women who are unbothered by nudity and are just going about their day*: swanning, parading, showing off, whilst also using the word discreet for those on the 'correct' side...

• Yes, they are as much as you want to believe otherwise and which suits your narrative.

I've never seen a woman naked in all the years I've been going to the gym. My DH says men shower and change in the men's changing room but people only go into the women's to use the loo. Women change at home round our way. I've never even seen evidence of the showers having been used, no steam etc.

Are you a bloodhound?! What do you mean you can smell it? 🫨 This thread is teaching me a lot of things I don’t actually want to know.

Edit: Also people use a blow dryer on their pubic hair, even in public, really?

Yes, sad isn’t it? A woman confident enough in her body to be unclothed must have something wrong with her…

My gym doesn’t have cubicles, just one big changing room. Some women change under towels, others just strip off to get changed. I’m the latter, and shockingly I’ve even been known to walk from my locker to the shower naked. I don’t really give a toss if someone thinks I’m “swanning” or “parading”, because I’m not and as far as I’m concerned I’m in a woman-only space and I have no issue with not having any clothes on there. If others have an issue, well, that’s on them.

The gym I go to has a few cubicles and I use them. I am not into public nudity myself. Luckily it doesn't happen whenever I have been there so I assume people must think the same as me.

I'm in my mid-70s and not fussed about this. Maybe some of us were a lot more laid-back in the late 1960s, when the grown-ups were horrified at the sight of a short skirt (let alone bare breasts!), and just never "grew up" and became embarrassed by naked bodies? We all have them and they are not very interesting.

There's a big difference between unbothered by nudity and doing a full naked body creaming with one leg up on the bench in a shared space. It's unnecessary and exhibitionist, whatever you may try to argue and I would say the same about a man doing it

why does it matter if it's a "woman only space"?
why do you think it's more acceptable to be unclothed in front of strangers just because they are female?

I am female, and if I must look at naked bodies, frankly I'd much rather see a fit man 😂and most guys at my gym look pretty good - at least with their clothes on.

I don't have issues as such, but I don't describe someone walking around naked as "confident", I just roll my eyes inside and think you are acting ridiculous.

why does it matter if it's a "woman only space"?
why do you think it's more acceptable to be unclothed in front of strangers just because they are female?

Lol. It’s a changing room.

A room for people to remove one set of clothes and put on another.

How do you transition from one to the other without being unclothed at some point during the process?

Ridiculous.

Curious, I go to a gym with a women's only changing room. It never occurred to me to cover up in there? Admittedly I am very comfortable naked but it never occurred to me that me being naked would bother anyone else in a womens changing room? (Obvs not in communal changing) Our changing room only has a couple of small cubicles and I tend to just strip down on the bench by the shower...walk naked into shower and walk out again to get dry....genuinely thought this was normal changing room behaviour??? Now I'm wondering if fellow gym goers think of me as someone 'flaunting my not very exciting wares' or some form of gym floosie?

Depends entirely on how you do it obviously. Presumably when you're walking to the shower you wrap your towel around you?

Stand in one space and get dressed. No need to walk anywhere naked, no need to put one leg up on the bench, no need for naked hair drying, no need for naked chit chat etc.

My local pool and group of friends is like this, although we range from 40-70 ish. Naked acquaintances include a lady with a recent mastectomy who says she finds the inclusive and accepting atmosphere a great support.

I think that is unfair.

I am not bothered by nakedness in those circumstances but there is a certain type of person who will definitely make a point of showing off their naked body. I am reliably informed that men with certain attributes have a tendency to do it in their changing rooms! Why is that so hard to believe?

A woman getting changed who happens to be naked for a few minutes is unremarkable and unlikely to be noticed. A woman making a point of walking around, drying her hair, doing her nails, all naked....thats showing off. Lets face it, its never the saggy stretch marked knacked old birds like me doing is it?!

I live in a Nordic country and changing room nakedness is completely normal. It’s just a body, we all have one. And covering up is also completely normal if that’s what you want to do, AKA nobody gives a shiny shit either way. The level of British prudery in this thread has reached a never-before-seen peak

What do you think the purpose of the place is?

I'm told that in men's rooms it tends to be a public schoolboy thing, where they're more used to showering and changing together. I'm told.

a never-before-seen peak

Hur hur.

The level of British prudery in this thread has reached a never-before-seen peak

😂😂😂

Ah. That explains it, maybe.

I go to a gym that's also more of a club setup, i.e. various pools, saunas, tennis etc. I've seen more nudity there on 6 months than in all my previous gyms combined over the preceding decades.

It's not just a 'get changed quick and go home to shower' vibe, you do actually have a proper setup for moisturising, sitting down and drying your hair, doing makeup, etc, right? Besides, I find that spa people are way more body confident than the rest of the population. In mine, ladies of all ages, almost all white English, many older, are quite comfortable being nude or semi nude in front of others.

I'm probably one of those naked people, i.e. I'll be fully nude and not trying to hide it for at least 15-20 seconds while putting my swimsuit on. If I'm alone, it might be longer, but I appreciate in the UK people find nudity uncomfortable, so wouldn't impose my naked body on others.

Then again I´m Scandi and my childhood was spent chatting casually to all my class naked in the showers, sauna-ing etc. I don't think there's any close friends or family who I haven't seen naked and nudity of anyone doesn't make me feel uncomfortable. I just acknowledge the cultural difference and do not get naked more than necessary in the UK.

Hmmm I'm not so sure. I've never seen the type of woman you mention do anything other than change quickly and get out of there. The more body confident tend to be the 60+ ladies. I always have to stop my mum from fully stripping on public beaches! I think at some point you just don't GAF, it's your body, everybody has one.

According to the men in my life who go to the muscle man type gyms its very much the ones with a larger than average wanger!