A question of sauna etiquette in the US
I will be in the US for a training during the next week and the resort were I will be staying also seems to have some nice wellness facilities including a sauna.
Maybe a stupid question - but if you go into a sauna in the US, do you keep your towel on?
Here you take it off, but remembering "Nipplegate" I'd like to avoid that you see any headlines about a German pervert in Florida who showed his privates around...
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Leave the towel on, us Americans are a little puritan still.
The state which separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting by fools – Thucydides
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
wait and see if other people take theirs off first. it depends on the crowd mostly. i mean, lots of us played sports in college or whatever and showered with other guys and whatnot.. i've been in saunas where most of the guys just use the towel to sit on.
like is said, it just depends of the people in there, do as they do. be one of them. conform. fit in. don't make waves. be a team player. don't go against the grain. there is no "i" in team. whoa.. sorry.. got carried away.
now i'm here, and history is vindicated.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Thanks for the replies Lord Godfrey and Big_John
This raises another question - are the saunas not mixed? Your response somehow implies that they aren't...Originally Posted by Big_John
Last edited by Ser Clegane; 03-04-2005 at 19:49.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Some are - some are not. If they are mixed it would be best to keep the towel one - or where a pair of shorts. To keep everyone from running out screaming if you remove your towel.
In one-sex saunas - I have seen where men would just sit on the towel and sweat - and some where you had to have shorts on before getting in - along with the towel. Just ask about the rules - at the health spa or club that you use - or as Big John stated - just do what everyone else does.
O well, seems like 'some' people decide to ruin a perfectly valid threat. Nice going guys... doc bean
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Just remember do not follow the example of the creepy guy sitting in the corner, he is probably not a good role model.
We do not have many saunas up here so i have no idea other than my previous bit of advice.
"A man's dying is more his survivor's affair than his own."
C.S. Lewis
"So many people tiptoe through life, so carefully, to arrive, safely, at death."
Jermaine Evans
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Towels stay on!
I don't buy this "relaxed atmosphere" amongst men in showers and saunas. You take a shower with another naked guy one day, you're picking out cutains the next.
Showering naked with another person means with a woman! And of course two women may shower together any time they please.
Unto each good man a good dog
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
well, it all depends on how secure you are in your sexuality. if you fear that seeing another man naked will 'turn' you, then you might want to avoid saunas altogether. i think it's good for people's self-image and humility to see other regular people (of both sexes) naked. speaking of humility, i showered with 4 or 5 guys from the boston celtics (us pro basketball team) about a year ago. if that doesn't humble you, nothing will.
now i'm here, and history is vindicated.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Keep the towel on.
Exactly.Towels stay on!
I don't buy this "relaxed atmosphere" amongst men in showers and saunas. You take a shower with another naked guy one day, you're picking out cutains the next.
I'd recommend wearing swimming trunks also.
Crazed Rabbit
Ja Mata, Tosa.
The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the King of England cannot enter – all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement! - William Pitt the Elder
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
case in point.
now i'm here, and history is vindicated.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Wow - I'm glad I asked.
Towel and trunks even in a one-sex sauna (which is a tad boring in the first place)?
I do not even dare to imagine the potential ruckus had I walked into a mixed sauna (if there is one) and dropped my towel
Well ... if you're in Rome, do as the Romans do I guess
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
I'm mighty secure in my sexuality. And I still don't want to shower with other men. Actually I was paraphrasing the great Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School. He refused to shower with the swim team, saying "one day you're showering together, the next day you're pinned to a freshman named Chip."
Nope, water sports are a mixed sex bag of tricks. Call me old fashioned. call me whatever you want. Just call me when the womenfolk are in the shower.
Were they gentle?
Unto each good man a good dog
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Why I avoid public saunas
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." *Jim Elliot*
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
hosakawa has won the argument.
no, they were very tall.
now i'm here, and history is vindicated.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
I usually leave my towel on so I don't strike fear in the women in there and envy amongst the men, atleast that's how it would be if I wasn't hung like a hamster!!!
RIP Tosa
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
It's not about sexuality. I just wouldn't want to look at another guys nasty private parts while I do things like shower or get sweaty. Men are generally much filthier and nastier looking then women. That's my problem at least.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Bah. Saunas. Who need em?
Why do you hate Freedom?
The US is marching backward to the values of Michael Stivic.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
GAH! Try it before you decry it.
I used to take a long sauna after a workout at the gym. Best thing in the world. A few hours of weightlifting, fifteen minutes of 150 degrees and a cool shower after. Makes you feel like a million bucks!
Unto each good man a good dog
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Lol ... what city, Ser Clegane? If it's NYC or SF, it really depends on the place, hehe. If it's all guys and their towels are off, and they're looking at you with big smiles and johnsons at attention ... as you have said you are married, I would suggest keeping your towel on and sitting in the corner in such a scenario ... hehehehehe.
Most saunas that I've been to separate the genders. In my experience, most men keep their towels on, but sometimes there are those who choose not to. It's really up to you. I think a lot has to do with your body language and how you carry yourself. If you toss your towel with a (limp) flick of the wrist and parade yourself around, wagging your arse and batting your eyebrows at your fellow sauna dudes, you might attract some unwanted attention. Then again, that might be a good way to get the sauna to yourself quickly. Then again, if it's in SF or NYC ... hehehehehe .... .
Be intent on loyalty
While others aspire to perform meritorious services
Concentrate on purity of intent
While those around you are beset by egoism
misc kanryodo
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
I've searched my book by Emily Post and I'm slowly being convinced she had the shortsightedness to completly leave this subject out. How myopic.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
I thought I avoided churches because of the godspeak and tediumWhy I avoid public saunas
Ahh... the gift of Freudian repression!
Sono Pazzi Questi Romani
Paul Peru: Holier than thy bucket!
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Ahh, that's why those guys were all giving me their phone numbers. I couldn't figure it out.
Unto each good man a good dog
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Whoa, wait. So, in the states, after you have been in the gym and its time to shower in the changing rooms, you keep your shorts on? Weird. Surely its the same rules as using urinals, you go in, you do what you need to do (in this case, wash rather than pee, in case anyone was getting confused), eyes straight ahead at all times, you go out. No eye contact, no shorts either.I don't buy this "relaxed atmosphere" amongst men in showers and saunas. You take a shower with another naked guy one day, you're picking out cutains the next
So when DO you like to look at another guys nasty private parts...?I just wouldn't want to look at another guys nasty private parts while I do things like shower or get sweaty.
"The only thing I've gotten out of this thread is that Navaros is claiming that Satan gave Man meat. Awesome." Gorebag
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Well, I think a lot of folks here exercise immediately after work, and many go home and shower afterwards rather than use the public facilities. Some people go and sit in the jacuzzi after a work out, without showering (which is why I don't use gym jacuzzis ... yuck). Others will top off a weight/aerobic session with a swim (which I did in the past, but I showered off any sweat before swimming). The staff at the gyms I've patronized that were responsible for cleaning weren't lax, but the sheer masses that use the gyms make its bathrooms an undesireable place to get cleaned up in the minds of most. I personally don't feel "clean" after showering in a public gym, so I'll usually just head home and shower there.
My generation had to take showers after PE class, beginning in Junior High School and continuing through High School. It was uncomfortable at first for most I think, but eventually none of us gave it a second thought. We didn't rivet our eyes forward or anything like that, but we didn't stare at each other either. We just showered, made eye contact if we were talking, dried off, got dressed, and went on our way. No big deal. I recently had a discussion with some teenagers and apparently this is no longer the case in most schools here. The teens I talked with about it were most definitely not into the idea (stereotypical paranoia about gays, etc.). It made me chuckle, because in some ways we're much more open-minded about things sexual these days, and yet, in other ways we are obviously not. Mostly people seem more openminded in the talk, but not the walk ... .
I've heard it said that people are far less self-conscious about nakedness (and sexuality for that matter) in Europe than in the USA.
Be intent on loyalty
While others aspire to perform meritorious services
Concentrate on purity of intent
While those around you are beset by egoism
misc kanryodo
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Agreed wholeheartedly. I would do a series of aikido stretches and joint loosening exercises before the sauna. This, followed by the dry sauna, would eliminate muscle tension from arduous calisthenics and weightlifting, intense swimming, or getting tossed around and bent into pretzel-like shapes by my sensei. After the cool shower (which is a heavenly experience after sitting in 150-degree dry heat for 15-20 minutes), I'd be more than ready for 3-4 hours of continuous dancing or other, more recreational and social exercising ... .
Man, now I really miss having access to a sauna.
Be intent on loyalty
While others aspire to perform meritorious services
Concentrate on purity of intent
While those around you are beset by egoism
misc kanryodo
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
I don't know what they do in the States, but here I was lucky enough to have a really nice gym at the ski hill all to myself. Very few people went. And only once did I have the misfortune of encountering another naked man in the shower. and I got the hell out reeeeeal quick.
Could you pass me the soap Beirut sweetie"
Well there's that guy in the mirror over my bed, but other than him I try to avoid it. Except in a good porno. But that's kind of different.So when DO you like to look at another guys nasty private parts...?
I don't care what people call me, coward, insecure, homophobe, homosexual, homosapien, couldn't give a rat's tuckus. I just do not want to shower with naked men. Showering with naked women on the other hand is lovely and fun and tantalizing and blissful and happiness inducing and warm and wonderful indeed.
Call me biased. I simply have my preferences and that's that.
Unto each good man a good dog
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
Well, I'm so huge, I scare folks, but it really depends on what the other participants do, if you keep your towel on and everyone else is naked, then you either have size issues or are insecure.
If you take it off while everyone else has a towel on, you're gay (just kidding).
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
dont knock em, their very relaxing..im gonna put one on the end of my deck this summer. the wife and i are even debating about turning on of the spare rooms, into a hot tub/ sauna room... if so then ill put it inside... cant wait..
as for topic on hand, use your judment, and if its mixes, highly unlikely keep the towel on, id say if you wear a towel and leave it on your fine.
btw if indooer, this is kinda like what i want.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
I personally dont like them. Just a steam room more or less.dont knock em, their very relaxing..im gonna put one on the end of my deck this summer. the wife and i are even debating about turning on of the spare rooms, into a hot tub/ sauna room... if so then ill put it inside... cant wait..
as for topic on hand, use your judment, and if its mixes, highly unlikely keep the towel on, id say if you wear a towel and leave it on your fine.
btw if indooer, this is kinda like what i want.
Cold Showers all the way.
Specially in Summer.
Why do you hate Freedom?
The US is marching backward to the values of Michael Stivic.
Re: A question of sauna etiquette in the US
I've taken totally nude mixed saunas here in the US. I've also been in places where men wore two towels, one around waist, one around shoulders, in a male only sauna. It really depends on the health club and the part of the country (where I live now, they don't even HAVE saunas, you perverts!) One big no-no that's very different than the sauna culture I've experienced in Europe....absolutely no alcohol in the sauna, or the lounge room attached. You'll get shown the door, pronto.
"A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.
"Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
Strike for the South
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