Gross Old Men...

[pianomike]

So i joined the Y today and after working out I to go to take a shower in the locker room, now this YMCA is brand spanking new (amazing building) and the locker rooms have individual shower stalls, and the lockers are in a separate area than the showers.
Now i understand that there are people who need to get undressed to change and what not but some people take it over the top. (as in just standing around naked while in conversation for like 20 min.) and it seems to only be the GROSS OLD MEN.
now today there was this gorgeous guy (about mid 20s) and i don't mind that. (infact i had to stop myself from staring)
But old guys seem to deliberately stay naked longer for some reason, idk. maybe it's just me. (and believe me they have nothing to show off)
Anyone else share the same thoughts?

[mattypants]

isnt this just an 'old people' thing in general?
they can strike up a [usually never ending] conversation whenever and forget about stuff...like being naked

just my input

[GhostDog]

I don't know. Maybe once you get past a certain age you're like, "Whatever, I'm old and wrinkly and nobody cares. I'll be naked as long as I want, to hell with what anyone else thinks! IT'S NAKED TIME!"

Generally not giving a shit as you get older would explain the number of applique vests I see older people wearing.

Having never been an old person, though, I really don't know. =P

[pianomike]

i guess, but how could you forget your standing there naked?
that would be hard for me, lol

----------

also, quick question? (for the women folk)
Is this also common in the womens locker room?
just wondering?
Do women ever "strut their stuff"? (pardon the term)

[olides84]

I think there was lots more comfortableness with nudity in the older generations. I don't know how long ago this was, but I've heard that swimsuits weren't even allowed in the YMCA pools when it was only men/boys.

Well, I'm glad you at least got to see a gorgeous guy today !

Sorry, not to be a dick, but this could offend some older men. You are basically generalizing and putting all older men into one group. Most of the time when we get older we let out bodies go and we keep some of the old habits we had when we were younger. You can see this all over the beaches (especially in Europe) from both the older men and women.

If you don't like seeing old men standing around naked, then don't look. They have every right to feel comfortable with themselves after 50+ years on this earth. Personally I think that people have become more prudish! I think North Americans in general are very prudish about being naked around each other. When I was an exchange student in Norway I used to hand out with my friends in a Sauna, butt ass naked. There were boys and girls mixed! At school after gym we had to shower and they were big communal showers and no one was acting all insecure.

Leave the older guys alone! One day you will be that dude! Be careful what you say as you could totally offend someone. You could for example replace "old men" with "skinny twinks" or "fat slobs" or "hairy bears". If you mentioned any of those groups, there would be some who'd be offended. Same goes for the older generation of men!

Besides, maybe they don't wanna see your skinny butt walking around nude either!

[BrownBoi89]

Originally Posted by Etienne

Sorry, not to be a dick, but this could offend some older men. You are basically generalizing and putting all older men into one group. Most of the time when we get older we let out bodies go and we keep some of the old habits we had when we were younger. You can see this all over the beaches (especially in Europe) from both the older men and women.

If you don't like seeing old men standing around naked, then don't look. They have every right to feel comfortable with themselves after 50+ years on this earth. Personally I think that people have become more prudish! I think North Americans in general are very prudish about being naked around each other. When I was an exchange student in Norway I used to hand out with my friends in a Sauna, butt ass naked. There were boys and girls mixed! At school after gym we had to shower and they were big communal showers and no one was acting all insecure.

Leave the older guys alone! One day you will be that dude! Be careful what you say as you could totally offend someone. You could for example replace "old men" with "skinny twinks" or "fat slobs" or "hairy bears". If you mentioned any of those groups, there would be some who'd be offended. Same goes for the older generation of men!

Besides, maybe they don't wanna see your skinny butt walking around nude either!

Good, now I dont have to write anything

i would also say dont look but i wouldnt wanna be seeing an old naked man. there was something on tv the other day with naked guys, not just old ones, and they were all unsightly. i mean they must know not to parade around. they will get laughed at. i was nearly sick seeing the programme. lucky it was turned over haha

Originally Posted by gaz83

We only have one life and we just gotta take things as they come to us.

enough said...

[Corny]

It's a locker room. It's the showers.
People are naked there - nobody forces you to look. It seems you have a problem with that.
Are you there for lusting over the bodies of the hot young well-built guys? Or are you there for working out? Maybe you should join a young people only gymn - good luck finding one.

[Taylor]

It's not that gross... They're just old, it happens to everyone. If they want to be naked that's fine. Whenever i've gone to the gym and the locker room there are old men, but there are a good amount of younger men as well. It's not really a place to check out guys, even though it is SO hard not to sometimes. SO you cant blame them for being naked, it's not that gross, just deal with it, that's what happens with bodies over time.

[Lexington]

>>>Sorry, not to be a dick, but this could offend some older men.

It would, but we get used to it over time.

We used to be young ourselves. And most of us had the same thoughts in our younger years. I recall hoping against hope that hot guys would not only get undressed in the gym at the same time as me, but of course, even when one hot guy would be there, there'd be these older guys, and fatter guys, and plain guys. And I'd see the hot guy scurry out of there, and get pissed at all the other ones for chasing him off. How DARE they ruin my show! Why don't they take their fat/ugly/old asses out of there?

Of course, the fact that *I* was plain and fat never crossed my mind. I've always been a bit self-centered.

Now I'm all three - plain, fat AND old. And I can only speak for me, but if I'm chatting in the locker room, it's because I'm involved in the conversation. I'm not hanging out hoping some young meat shows up and drops trou. I'm not averse to that, but I'm not averse to more plain/fat/old guys doing the same. If I want to look at hot guys taking their clothes off, I've got an internet connection.

None of this touches on the fact that there ARE people who hang out in the locker rooms hoping to catch a glimpse of flesh, and perhaps make a move. But know that they come in all shapes, sizes, body types, and ages. It's just that it's easier to brand the older guys "dirty perverts" than it is the hot young ones.

Lex

[joeyconnick]

Thanks for saying all that, Etienne.

In particular, this part:

Originally Posted by Etienne

Leave the older guys alone! One day you will be that dude!

That's the part I've never understood: is the concept that everyone's getting older every second of the day that hard to understand? I've always thought the whole "ewww older people are gross" thing is, well, just advance dissing yourself. When I used to go clubbing frequently in my early 20s, I often called my friends out when they made similar comments about older guys in clubs.

It's one thing if someone you don't find attractive (for whatever reason) kinda corners you into conversation--that's frustrating, although I still think it behooves us to be polite initially. But seriously, you're upset with people for being naked in a locker room and having conversations with each other? I mean, maybe I'd be sympathetic if older naked guys were always approaching you, leering at you, and invading your personal space, but otherwise live and let live.

But more than anything, please remember this conversation in 30 years (or even 20).

[Sylver]

If it bothers you, then don't look!

[Étoile]

Wow, someone's Mr. Vain eh?

[Lexington]

>>>I've always thought the whole "ewww older people are gross" thing is, well, just advance dissing yourself. When I used to go clubbing frequently in my early 20s, I often called my friends out when they made similar comments about older guys in clubs.

The thing is - older people have been younger. Younger people have never been older. And it's common for younger folk to look on older people not as "younger people who have aged" but as a completely separate entity. Like they've always been like that. I'm not sure why that is, but it seems to be fairly common. Perhaps because if you can convince yourself of that, it means it won't happen to you.

Lex

[RaeofLite]

People stare at people. And in the case of aging, I think as you age you start to care less because "everything's going downhill anyway" ...and guess what sir? You'll be a "gross old man" to some punk kid one day too.

[Chip]

I also think that, by and large, a lot of older guys just become a lot more comfortable with their bodies.

I go to a clothing optional hot springs (which is really a nude hot springs, since almost nobody wears clothes and those who do usually end up feeling a little self conscious.) It's a mix of ages, from families with kids to people in their 80s. It's a totally non-sexual vibe (they will actually very politely throw you out if you engage in sexual activity, stare at people, or hit on people) and a very, very accepting vibe.

While I agree with Lex that there are some people (and they can be 20 or 60) who hang out in locker rooms *trying* to show off, i think the majority of them are just not bothered by the idea of being naked.

When I used to teach a therapeutic massage class at Oberlin College, one of the most common comments I got from people who took the class was how it for the first time allowed them to separate nudity from sex. In the US, at least, most of us are raised to tie the two together, and we therefore have some sort of guilt or shame or embarrassment about being naked even though, when you think about it, there's no real reason to feel that way at all. And while it's definitely true that some guys will be staring at you while you're changing because they're thinking , uh, unclean thoughts, there are plenty of others who are staring right past you, or remembering when they looked like you, or something far less nefarious.

[joeyconnick]

Originally Posted by Lexington

>>>I've always thought the whole "ewww older people are gross" thing is, well, just advance dissing yourself. When I used to go clubbing frequently in my early 20s, I often called my friends out when they made similar comments about older guys in clubs.

The thing is - older people have been younger. Younger people have never been older. And it's common for younger folk to look on older people not as "younger people who have aged" but as a completely separate entity. Like they've always been like that. I'm not sure why that is, but it seems to be fairly common. Perhaps because if you can convince yourself of that, it means it won't happen to you.

Yes, well there are plenty of things that are common that are completely unacceptable (if you ask me). Like reality television, white chocolate, and the notion that people should excused for ageism simply because they're young.

Apparently as humans (even young ones) we have brains and the ability to reason, to abstract, basically the ability to imagine situations we might actually never have experienced, so it would be nice to see people engage that capacity rather than being blind. I don't think people should be let off the hook for being prejudiced simply because they're young. That's half the problem right there: low expectations and coddling. "Oh ageism, that's just young people and their inexperience." That would be akin to saying "Oh straight people and their homophobia/heterosexism, that's just their inexperience and ignorance." People don't change and grow without being challenged. And ignorance, while perhaps initially an explanation, is no excuse.

I'm hardly any kind of genius; if I could figure it out in my early 20s, I'm sure the concept is within reach of most, if not all, people.

[Sylver]

Originally Posted by joeyconnick

Yes, well there are plenty of things that are common that are completely unacceptable (if you ask me). Like reality television, white chocolate, and the notion that people should excused for ageism simply because they're young.

Apparently as humans (even young ones) we have brains and the ability to reason, to abstract, basically the ability to imagine situations we might actually never have experienced, so it would be nice to see people engage that capacity rather than being blind. I don't think people should be let off the hook for being prejudiced simply because they're young. That's half the problem right there: low expectations and coddling. "Oh ageism, that's just young people and their inexperience." That would be akin to saying "Oh straight people and their homophobia/heterosexism, that's just their inexperience and ignorance." People don't change and grow without being challenged. And ignorance, while perhaps initially an explanation, is no excuse.

I'm hardly any kind of genius; if I could figure it out in my early 20s, I'm sure the concept is within reach of most, if not all, people.

What he said. Maybe on an even simpler level, it's not nice to put your fellow human beings down for any reason, so don't do it. Share the love, brothers and sisters!