Fifty years after the advent of the birth control pill, most guys under 50 are not comfortable being naked around other guys. Before the pill, families had more kids, likely only one income, smaller homes, brothers shared bedrooms, and families shared one bathroom. Families didn't necessarily buy bathing suits - boys swam naked in the creek or swimming hole. Boys grew up seeing their brothers, dads, and friends naked on a regular basis. All gym had only gang showers. In most high schools, PE was by separate gender, boys swam naked, and the whole class showered together afterwards. The pill made families smaller and both parents worked. Families had more money and fewer kids. Homes were larger, and most boys started growing up with their own rooms, possibly even without brothers. As an ever increasing percentage of boys grew up not seeing other guys naked, they felt weird swimming in the nude, and the concept of showering with other guys became more and more foreign. All of this was happening as homosexuality was becoming more and more out in the open. Boys felt uncomfortable showering with other guys because that seems "gay". As a result, we now have the locker room scene which is all too familiar - most guys over 50 are comfortable being naked - most guys under 50 aren't - and we see the ridiculous towel dance that so many young guys do to make sure no one sees his bare ass. Most gyms are remodeling with individual showers because the young guys won't use the gang showers. Does any of this matter? Perhaps not. However, in addition to becoming a society with more and more need for individuality, boys are now growing up with extreme shyness, negative body image, and are lacking in the confidence boys used to get once they got their bushes and could walk proudly through the locker room, their bush being a badge of manhood, as a proud man among men. This lack of courage, that used to be acquired in the locker room, is absent in other aspects of life as well. Boys/men don't know how to bond with other males. The most visible manifestation of this shame of manhood is the shaving of the manhair - guys having no bush and being ashamed to be seen naked by other guys. This can be turned around. Guys who are comfortable looking like men (having a manbush) and are comfortable being naked in the locker room, need to lead the way to reclaiming the locker room for the Naked Bushmen. Every time you show courage by not covering up your body in the locker room, you're helping to reclaim the locker room. Naked Bushmen unite and be the strong trailblazers to return the locker room to the ultimate mancave it once was.[img]null[/img]

Nice concept.
I personally am not gonna worry anymore about
a shaved crotch. Whatever is trendy for others
may or may not be my cup of tea.
A shaved crotch doesn't do anything for me,
and I'm not gonna help it nor will I do anything
to make the world safer for it. It's on its own.
I'll stick to my furry critters.

Really interesting take on things Cincinnati, thanks for sharing!

Totally agree with everything you said. I hadn't really thought what lead to the downfall of men looking like men but the way you described the history of things makes total sense. Luckily Im only 33 but grew up in an open house. No shame here lol

I'm 46 and have no qualms at all about being naked around anyone. I also have a small penis and am no embarrassed by it either. I do shave my balls and trim my pubes very short, so I'm no "bushman".

I agree with Cincinnati's lament about the good old days when guys were still comfortable swimming or showering as a group. However, I have the opposite opinion about shaving around our crotches- I always thought it was done to show off the goods.