Speedos

I thought that the picture was relevent to the conversation at hand- whilst I'll be the first to admit that I'm rather prudish, I believe that the bulk of this thread is fairly appropriate for the site. I mean, intelligent conversation regarding body image and its relationship to sports is a good thing (especially when the sport that we're discussing advocates, if not demands, that we wear very little to participate in it)... Besides, compared to the rubbish on television these days, I've found this thread to be very mild, to say the least.... peace...

Thank you, Swimsum -- very generous of you!

craven, adj. Characterized by abject fear; cowardly. n. A coward. Why should we all have to look it up?!!!

Homosexual accept in ancient Greece isn't as clear-out as I wrote previously. I was inform that a tyrant Draco put people to death for such practices particulary with teenage boys. Also, Plato wrote remarks against it and I believe the famous biographer Plutrach wrote against it. Now, in some social circles some practice a form of it but thought anal intercourse was not cool to do. This is the basis for some professors in the United States to believe that it was acceptable among the upper-classes in ancient Greece.

There was someone who wanted me to clear it up about homsexuality and the ancient Greeks. But ignore that. Anyway, if someone wants to wear their speedo at the beach that's ok with me.

In the past few days, I've been asking people I know about their opinions on the Speedo. I have been surprised to discover that, indeed, there is a somewhat negative opinion. There is one line of thinking that says the Speedo is for gays. One young man went so far as to say that a guy wearing a Speedo looks like he's "in drag." (I thought that a Speedo was supposed to minimize drag....) Then, one woman told me that there have been parents of kids on swim teams who've been very vocal Speedo enemies. The negative view of the Speedo is, I think, a real concern--it may well mean fewer guys go into swimming. There are some interesting polls talking about Speedos on www.mrpoll.com. (Type Speedo into the search box.) People who've disliked this thread might dislike some of what turns up on these polls. However, I found it an interesting view of what some ordinary people think of Speedos. On a lighter note, one woman told me that she thought that Speedo should be outlawed. It's passe, she said. Getting back to the original question, and for those who have held out on wearing a Speedo type of suit. I think one learns to adapt to it pretty quickly. It felt strange wearing my Tyr for the first time, but that passed by the end of the evening. And, within one lap, I knew why a Speedo-type of suit works better. All in all, I think it was harder getting used to wearing just swim trunks in public (I started swimming as an adult.) I frankly wish I'd taken the plunge (heh, heh) a long time ago. It's much better, even for a plain lap swimmer. In fact, of my "swimming consultants", a woman old enough to be my mother, seemed to think "At last!" when I got my new suit. Most people reading this already know this, but for those who don't, much of the "revealing" nature of a Speedo seems to depend on the cut you buy, and how tight it is. There has been some talk about jammers. Someone told me to avoid those--she thought that they were worse than the Speedo. (This was based on her observation. Other people's mileage may vary.) She said if modesty was important, some sort of layering (multiple suits, or a drag suit with a Speedo) was better.

I workout using one of Speedo's trim lined trunk style of suits. It has no pockets and offers a a good deal of drag compared to the tight Speedo. I find that working out in this type of suit and its associated drag is beneficial to me. When it comes to "game day" and I put on that tight jammer, I feel very slick in the water and that psychological aspect is an extra edge for me . Occasionally, I will train in the jammer and my set times will be faster. This keeps me familiar with the feel of the jammer so that it doesn't feel too foreign during a meet. I know folks who will wear two Speedos for the drag aspect, one loose fitting to grab the water. This serves that purpose for me. Would I wear my jammer at the beach or somebody's pool party?...probably not.

I've worn speedos since the '70s. I prefer 100% nylon suits because I don't care for the clingy lycra style, and anyway, nylon suits last longer. I've never worried about fashion rules or comments by rude puritans, because the fact is: baggy pants are uncomfortable for swimming, leave an ugly tan line, and look ridiculous when wet. Recently, I borrowed a pair of trendy swimming pants just to try them out in the pool. They so interfered with my frog kick that I could hardly do a decent *** stroke. Sorry if it offends anyone, but if they don't like it, they can look elsewhere, because I'll never be caught swimming in 'Bermudas' again!

Today's Chicago Tribune had an article entitled Speedo Brief Still Has Place in Sun. And it's not by Jay Krall -- the origininator of this thread. ... It doesn't focus much on workout swimmers, but for those interested in the topic: www.chicagotribune.com/.../chi-0309020011sep02,1,6685762.story

The same article appeared in the Los Angeles Times last week. I think Mr. Krall said he was from the Wall Street Journal.