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Updated 1/08 [M 37] i have been involved with team sports since the age of 7. i have always showered after a game, gym class, workouts, etc. in high school is the first time i recall knowing that i was in the same [shower] room with a gay man, but he had been a class mate of mine since the third grade and thus i thought nothing of it.
in college i did freak out cause it was the first time i experienced girls in the locker room. the medical and training staff were primarily from the school of nursing and they were set up in the training room which was right next to the shower area.
at the gym that i've been going to for the past ten years, i have heard of many stories about guys getting it on the showers, steam room or whirlpool, but i can honestly say i have never seen that kind of activity.

[M 59] At school in my years we didn't have showers, in fact the facilities were extremely limited so communal showers were unheard of, and I was shy of being seen naked anyway. In later years this became a problem, I was married but still shy about public nudity, yet I wanted to be able to be seen and dreamt about being nude in public. It came to a head when I had been sailing with a friend at a yacht club event, we had capsized once and I had been in the water recovering the boat. I was soaked, so I had to strip off totally and shower to get the not too clean water of the pool off me. The changing room was communal as were the showers. I was next to my friend, he had stripped of totally, I was hesitating, I was cold and thought that I would have shrunk with the cold, I was nervous and scared to get my wet suit off in case he or anyone else saw me. I wriggled partly out of my suit, but sat down to get it off from my waist down, and then I had dreaded towel covering me. By now, everyone in the room was naked and/or showering (we had all finished the race at the same time), I was the only one still partly dressed.
When the suit was off, I used the towel as protection to get to the showers where I could shower but keep my back to everyone. I felt awful, I was making a spectacle of myself but couldn't help it because of my fear. I got back to my changing area and my friend was already showered and dressed, he said he would wait for me and sat talking to me, we were face to face. By now it was obvious I was shy and for no reason. I tried to get dry but still cover up with the towel, it didn't work and I knew that I was partly on show as the towel was moving, and that worried me. There was no way I could keep covered after I was dry, it would have been silly to wrap the towel round me and struggle to get my boxers on under the towel when everyone else was walking around naked. I didn't feel right turning my back on my friend to get dressed, that would have been rude, and if I did, I would be facing the rest of the room. My mind was in turmoil, I was deeply embarrassed and wanted to get away, but I couldn't until I was dressed. I faced the situation and picked my shorts up in one hand, when I was ready, I dropped the towel and got the boxers on quickly. I knew I was being stupid but couldn't help it, I had to stop this.
I had thought about how to get over this and had made a plan, and a promise to myself. The next time I went for a swim I went by myself, I picked a changing area as far from the showers as possible, I got undressed completely; I had already put my towel and trunks into the locker. I put my clothes in the locker and I locked the door, so now I was nude, and anything I could cover up with was locked away, up till now I had kept my back to the other men in the changing room. Now, I had put myself in a position similar to the sailing one, I was naked and could either chicken out and everyone would notice, or I could do what I had planned and act normal. Yes, I was highly embarrassed in the extreme, but my plan was working, I had got into a position where I almost had no choice unless I made myself look silly. Before I had gone to the baths, and knowing that I was going to make the effort to be nude and be seen, and being conscious of not being well endowed, I decided to trim my pubic hair slightly. I didn't shave, just a light trim so that more of my penis was on show and not hidden with hair.
After some thought I realised that if I stood there any longer I would attract even more attention to myself, I had nothing to hand to cover up with, I had to do something and make myself act normal, and getting dressed again wasn't an option. Even though the thought of what I had to do was exciting, I didn't have an erection or anything because I was nervous, but it was an erotic nervousness. I turned to face the room and forced myself to keep my hands away from my front, and I nervously walked the length of the room up to the showers,. The showers were communal so I had no choice now that I had walked to them, I couldn't back out, I had a shower and forced myself to do lots of turning round and bending to wash everything. During the shower, I was getting a little used to being nude in front of the others, and they were taking no notice other than a glance to see what I had got, and to be honest, I was doing the same out of curiosity. It also showed me that while I was on the small side of average, there were others around the same size and they were taking no noticed of being nude, one was a lot smaller than I was, and that pleased me in a comforting way.
I had to make the walk back to my locker to get my trunks on, there were maybe 30, probably more in there, they were getting changed and showered, they had no idea of the erotic trauma I was going through. A few looked up and acknowledged me, some were dressed, others were in differing stages of dress, some were nude, most were chatting to mates, and it seemed to be normal to chat while naked or getting dressed. Some even stood chatting totally nude and were making no effort to get dressed, they were socially talking to friends and taking no notice. After my swim, I looked forward to a repeat and took longer in the showers and getting dressed than I ever had before and made a point of talking to whoever was near me.
This was now a thrill and one I should have done, years ago but I had done it now, I had beaten the challenge I had set myself, and in truth, I had enjoyed the experience and look forward to repeating it every time I use a changing room. Has anyone else had this fear of being nude, how have you got over this restricting shyness? Do women have the same difficulties with being seen nude even by their own sex, have you done anything to get over this or just accept it as normal?

Updated 9/07 [M] To the [M] who replied to my note about the locker room: my most sincere apologies if I stirred up any painful memories. It never ceases to amaze me just how cruel young people can be. Anybody who is perceived as "different" or "weak" is so often the subject of great ridicule. Often this abuse goes to the non-athletic or awkward kids, who are ostracized from the "cool" crowd. What that cool crowd (both male and female) does not realize is that, likely, they're reaching their peak in life at 17. Youth, indeed, is wasted on the young. My sympathies go to you for having to endure those humiliating experiences. I hope that life after high school was better. My intentions were certainly not to stir up anyone's painful memories. Far from it. They were more to point out how things have (seemingly) changed in the 30 years (!) since I graduated from high school and to see if there were any other perspectives (male or female) on communal, same sex nudity. A locker room would be the most logical place.

Updated 8/07 [M] At our school, showering at the end of gym class became mandatory in sixth grade, and was mandatory throughout junior high and high school (though in high school they didn't watch too closely). Most of us took as short a shower as possible, barely getting wet. We would hardly be dressed again when the bell would sound for us to go to our next class. I don't think anyone felt comfortable being naked around each other. I know I didn't. I was shorter than everyody else and a little fat. I didn't want anybody to see my body. My penis was also very small. I didn't want anyone to see that. Also, our gym teacher in junior high would often watch us to see that we took showers, and the look on his face while his eyes were on us while we were naked gave many us the creeps.
There were some bullies in my class in seventh and eighth grade who would gang up on me and beat me up whenever they got me alone in the school building. In the locker room showers, they would urinate on me.

Updated 7/07 [M 48] Times have changed a bit in terms of locker room culture. My first “experience” was seventh grade gym class. I think it was the first time I was in a room where the boys stripped down to their tighty-whities (which we all wore back then). At first it was very awkward for me, especially as I was a chubby kid, but I got used to it. Nobody showered after gym class. It was straight back into street clothes. The only person I saw showering was some varsity athlete, probably after a free period work out. The first time I saw a classmate shower was my freshman year. It was weird, primarily because he was the only one.
This all changed a bit my sophomore year, when I was on the JV football team (as opposed to “playing on the team”). This was my first experience with male communal nudity and showering. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too awkward, probably because everybody else was showering. It probably helped my cause that I was of similar “development” (tool size and amount of pubic hair) as the rest of the guys. One poor guy hadn’t yet gotten a muff; if it weren’t for the fact that he was so obnoxious, I’d have felt more sorry for him. For the most part, it was really no big deal. Looking back, I’m a bit surprised that nobody got any spontaneous erections, given our ages and the situation. In that environment, however, that would have been most embarrassing. I never caught anyone masturbating, either. I can’t remember if it was during my freshman or sophomore year, but it was around that time that I took my first public shower in a more “adult” setting. I used to go run at a local university, taking advantage of its indoor track during the winter. My foray into more public nudity led me to get an extremely full erection in the shower (I won’t be so bold as to call myself “enormous.”). I can’t help but think that I was aroused by the thought of being legitimately naked in public. Thankfully, there was no one else around! I had not yet started to masturbate, so there was no temptation. I must have been quite a sight but, I must admit, I enjoyed it.
Over the years (through adulthood) from time to time I’d shower in locker rooms, in the “open” setting, usually in a university facility, but sometimes at a local gym. I really don’t think that anybody paid any mind. Maybe it’s a male thing. Still, I do think that it’s a homoerotic environment, albeit mildly so, and I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with that, as long as people show due respect to others and conduct themselves appropriately. In a harmless, non predatory way, I enjoyed it.
Even without staring, which would be inappropriate, you can’t help but look at other guys’ equipment. I’d notice odd things like that most Asian men don’t have much body hair, except for a bush of black pubic hair. You also see how many have been circumcised (the vast majority). I just assume that women make similar comparisons. I remember a former girlfriend saying she once saw a woman with a huge bush, saying I’d probably love that sight (true!).
While I’d never “strut” or “parade,” which would just be inappropriate, there was a part of me, I’ll admit, that I liked being in that environment. It was probably youthful/pubescent curiosity, but on more than one occasion there was a classmate I wanted to see naked, and perhaps wanted him to see me naked. Even when I was older I enjoyed the communal nudity of the shower. Not too many years ago, on a very hot day, a friend and I stripped down in his garden area (it’s pretty secluded) for a quick rinse off. I didn’t get an erection, but I must admit I enjoyed the experience. I later mentioned this to a female friend, to which she replied “maybe he did, too.” It was fun, in a male bonding sort of way. Nowadays, it is very different.
A friend tells me that, even on high school sports teams, a lot (if not most/all) of the players just go straight home after practice, and shower there. The basic reason is homophobia. I find that ridiculous. On Saturdays I go to our local pool for our daughter’s swim class (parents and tots). While my wife takes her to the women’s locker room, I go to the men’s. The shower protocol is “suits on” which, to me, is slightly odd.
My understanding is that the women are even more secretive than the men. To me it’s a bit weird, but not wanting to make anyone else feel awkward, I comply. I guess I don’t want to stir up controversy. I’d be curious to find out about other people’s experiences and perspectives on group nudity.

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