Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - In the Locker Room: Comfortable with Nudity?

CinnamonGirl · 04-15-2010, 02:15 PM

I've been on both sides of the fence. Playing sports in high school, and being in all the dramatic productions for four years means I've always been comfortable changing in front of people...but getting naked? That was a different story.

My very first locker room experience was at the local YMCA. I was..I don't know, 11 or 12? I was there as the guest of a good friend, and we played basketball and went for a swim. In the shower, I took my clothes with me, and hung them on the back of the shower door-- just seemed like the thing to do. I was completely amazed when a woman in her 20s (I guess...it's hard to judge ages when everyone's a grown-up in your eyes) walked from the showers to the locker area COMPLETELY NAKED. There were two parts to the amazement: 1) that she was perfectly comfortable being naked in front of other people, and 2) dear lord, she had an absolutely SMOKIN' body. I was still tomboy-skinny, with angles instead of curves, and I remember thinking "wow, I hope I look like that someday."

All right, fast forward. We never showered after high school gym (and I always scheduled it as the last or next-to-last class for that very reason), so I didn't really deal with locker rooms again until I started using the facilities at Sinclair.

At that point, I was dealing with some pretty hardcore self-esteem issues, and I was the Shimmy Girl. There were only two actual shower stalls with doors, and I would wait until one was available, skipping the communal shower altogether. I kept my head down, didn't meet anyone's eyes, tried to keep my towel wrapped around me as I was getting dressed, and just generally got in and out as quickly as I could.

The next quarter, I didn't have as much time between classes, and therefore didn't have time to wait for a stall if it was crowded. I gritted my teeth, and used the communal shower. Pretty sure I was blushing madly the first few times, but after a while, I got used to it.

Probably around then, I started noticing that very few people had the same hangups I did. Sinclair is a community college, so besides the regular college-age kids, there were lots of non-traditional students (like me), and quite a few seniors that were just taking a phys ed class or two. In most cases, these women had no issues with nudity whatsoever. They were comfortable, not only with being completely naked in front of strangers, but with having detailed conversations while they were naked.

Huh, I thought. That must be nice. And little by little, I started to get more comfortable with my own body. I still use a towel, sure, but, like snowy said, when it's time to get dressed, I throw my towel up on the locker and just...get dressed. If I have time to dry my hair, I'm perfectly cool doing so in jeans and a bra.

Granted, I still have some issues. If the girls' soccer team was changing before a game, I'd revert back to "get in and out as quickly as possible, and show the minimum amount of skin."

But in general, I'm a lot cooler with it now. And, frankly, it's kind of awesome. Not because I'm like "hey, look! I'm naked!" But because I'm not worrying that everyone's watching and judging.

04-15-2010, 02:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
CinnamonGirl She's Actual Size Location: Central Republic of Where-in-the-Hell	I've been on both sides of the fence. Playing sports in high school, and being in all the dramatic productions for four years means I've always been comfortable changing in front of people...but getting naked? That was a different story. My very first locker room experience was at the local YMCA. I was..I don't know, 11 or 12? I was there as the guest of a good friend, and we played basketball and went for a swim. In the shower, I took my clothes with me, and hung them on the back of the shower door-- just seemed like the thing to do. I was completely amazed when a woman in her 20s (I guess...it's hard to judge ages when everyone's a grown-up in your eyes) walked from the showers to the locker area COMPLETELY NAKED. There were two parts to the amazement: 1) that she was perfectly comfortable being naked in front of other people, and 2) dear lord, she had an absolutely SMOKIN' body. I was still tomboy-skinny, with angles instead of curves, and I remember thinking "wow, I hope I look like that someday." All right, fast forward. We never showered after high school gym (and I always scheduled it as the last or next-to-last class for that very reason), so I didn't really deal with locker rooms again until I started using the facilities at Sinclair. At that point, I was dealing with some pretty hardcore self-esteem issues, and I was the Shimmy Girl. There were only two actual shower stalls with doors, and I would wait until one was available, skipping the communal shower altogether. I kept my head down, didn't meet anyone's eyes, tried to keep my towel wrapped around me as I was getting dressed, and just generally got in and out as quickly as I could. The next quarter, I didn't have as much time between classes, and therefore didn't have time to wait for a stall if it was crowded. I gritted my teeth, and used the communal shower. Pretty sure I was blushing madly the first few times, but after a while, I got used to it. Probably around then, I started noticing that very few people had the same hangups I did. Sinclair is a community college, so besides the regular college-age kids, there were lots of non-traditional students (like me), and quite a few seniors that were just taking a phys ed class or two. In most cases, these women had no issues with nudity whatsoever. They were comfortable, not only with being completely naked in front of strangers, but with having detailed conversations while they were naked. Huh, I thought. That must be nice. And little by little, I started to get more comfortable with my own body. I still use a towel, sure, but, like snowy said, when it's time to get dressed, I throw my towel up on the locker and just...get dressed. If I have time to dry my hair, I'm perfectly cool doing so in jeans and a bra. Granted, I still have some issues. If the girls' soccer team was changing before a game, I'd revert back to "get in and out as quickly as possible, and show the minimum amount of skin." But in general, I'm a lot cooler with it now. And, frankly, it's kind of awesome. Not because I'm like "hey, look! I'm naked!" But because I'm not worrying that everyone's watching and judging. __________________ "...for though she was ordinary, she possessed health, wit, courage, charm, and cheerfulness. But because she was not beautiful, no one ever seemed to notice these other qualities, which is so often the way of the world." "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"