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What do you wonder about Chicago, the region and its people? Pose your question to Curious City and we’ll get investigate together, with answers online, a weekly podcast, and on WBEZ 91.5 FM. Our website: http://wbez.org/curiouscity
Here's where we'll be posting updates on stories in the works. Follow us to keep track of our progress and how you can help.
Believe it or not, boys were once required to swim naked in Chicago’s public high schools . But how did that start, and how did it stop? And, was it unique to Chicago?
A recent story of ours dives into these questions. With help from documents, archivists, former Chicago Public Schools coaches, and former students, we piece together why any school ever required swimming in the nude in the first place, how the policy affected students, and why it took decades for schools to stop the practice.
The story’s been spreading around and now dozens of men (and some women!) from across the nation have something to say about it. Their stories range from amusing to downright disturbing, and include details we didn’t encounter while reporting. Here are some that stick out because of their humor, outrageousness or honesty. (To spare some contributors embarrassment or potential harassment, we’ve used first names for some commenters or we’ve allowed them to remain anonymous.)
We’ll start with some stories about odd pre-swim class practices.
Joel Schorn, who attended Oak Park-River Forest High School in the late ’70s, wrote that he and his classmates were required to go through a “disinfecting shower” before entering the pool. In our story, Lane Tech graduate Robin Washington also describes routine post-shower body inspections by upperclassmen. It turns out these weren’t just limited to the Chicago area: Ralph from Detroit says it also happened in his high school. He says that before boys were allowed in the pool, they were “inspected multiple times by an older teenager who wore trunks.”
We also received several stories about humiliating practices that happened during swim class. Jim, who attended Taft High School in Norwood Park, says kids in his class would get called names because, “they would get an erection from the cold water and then made to stand on the diving board and have a towel put over them until it fell off.” We received other messages detailing similar customs.
In addition to sharing embarrassing practices, many men say the tradition traumatized them. One anonymous source says that as a high school freshman in the early ’70s, he was “one of the last, if not the last, males to reach puberty” in his high school class.
“It was definitely the most humiliating experience of my life to have my lack of manliness on display for all to see during swimming class,” he writes. “It was comforting to realize, from your article, that a majority of the other males in this situation also found it embarrassing. I joined ROTC the following year, as I would then not have to participate in gym. I am 60 years old and have never related this traumatic experience to anyone, except now you. It definitely left a permanent scar on my psyche.”
Gerald of writes that, as a “still-developing overweight kid who didn’t have a positive body image,” he would have nightmares over hearing upperclassmen talk about having to swim nude.
“It was for this reason alone I took R.O.T.C. as an elective, even though I had no interest in the military whatsoever,” he says. “Swim class wasn’t required, and as a young teen who was questioning his own sexuality, it allowed me to preserve my dignity. I’m forever grateful I had that life-saving option.”
Several women say that, while girls were allowed to wear suits, they were subjected to inspections similar to the boys’.
Catherine Pries says at Chicago Vocational High School in the late ’60s, “We girls were subjected to ‘pit inspections,’ where we had to raise our arms to show that we had shaved our armpits, and our legs were also inspected. If they weren’t shaved, you couldn’t swim and your grade was affected.”
Melissa I. from Chicago’s Northwest suburbs says that when her mother was in high school in the early ’70s, a P.E. coach would stand at the door of the showers to make sure the girls had showered.
And, the majority of women say being able to wear suits wasn’t as great as it was made out to be.
Hilary Elizabeth Winiarz, who attended Deerfield High School, refers to them as “heinous, disgusting red fabric *things* that were community swimsuits that we could wear if we so chose.”
Joanne Schochat from Oak Park describes the typical suit as “a red ‘wife beater’ cotton T-shirt with the crotch sewn shut in the middle of the bottom hem. There was no attempt at sizing. If the thing was too big, they could give you a red shoe lace that you could tie across the back straps to keep the thing on. When they got wet, it was just like the wet T-shirt contests that were popular in the bars in the mid-’70s. If any male ventured into the pool while we were there, we would all jump into the water so that he would be deprived of a good eyeful.”
Got your own swim class story for us? Comment below or write us at curiouscity@wbez.org .

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>> The purpose of the towel is >>to dry yourself off. If I see someone wrap the towel around themselves >>to hide private parts, you will be thrown out of the class > >Somehow, I doubt that the instructor woujld have said "private parts" while >setting out to convince that genitals aren't private.
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>> How do the French naturists on holiday treat Americans >>who can just stumble along in French? > >About the same as American naturists treat foreigners who >just stumble along in >English. People will be friendly, but most will be >disinclined to spend a lot of time struggling with language >problems. If you want to socialize, it's better to find >someone who wants to work on their English, and then >stick to English.
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Rincon wrote: > > Jenny6833A wrote> > >> How do the French naturists on holiday treat Americans >>who can just > stumble along in French?
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Cama wrote: >I went to the University of Maryland from 1968-1972 on
>They taught swimming techniques and diving.
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On Tue, 25 May 1999 08:25:18 -0400, Cama < ka...@epix.net > wrote:
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>Hey people, > >The story is really true. It is not fantasy. You can easily check the >info. The "set up" I described with the locker room still exists >today. Please, before you imply that someone is lying, check it out. >Oh yes, he may not have said "private parts", but he made it perfectly >clear and we all knew exactly what he meant. I could never have made >up so elaborate a story. That's why I gave names, places, and used my >real name. If you want to talk to me about it, call me or e-mail me. >I am the only "Cama" physician in the nation. Very easy to find. Joe >Cama (the original poster).
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On 4/23/2019 11:16 AM, jenn...@gmail.com wrote:
>

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LOL

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I have a true story to tell. The details are as close to reality as I can remember. I absolutely assure you that this is a true story and I will mention specific details. I posted this story 3-4 years ago. Here's a repeat.
I went to the University of Maryland from 1968-1972 on the College Park campus. Gym was required at the time, and one could not graduate without it. Just by blind luck, my first semester in the Freshman year started with Gym at 8 am. And, to add insult to injury, the gym class was swimming. I grew up not far from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, so I was an accomplished swimmer. I wasn't a bit scared. I was just nervous about starting college.
On that Monday of the first semester, I walked from my dorm on one side of the campus to the opposite side (about one mile) to find the swimming pool. It was an Olympic indoor heated pool. As I filed into the pool area, I couldn't help but notice that the class was big--maybe 100 guys. They were of all ages: The youngest was about 18 (I was 19), and the oldest was about 45. We mulled around a bit, then sat on the white tile bleechers awaiting the teacher. It was a little bit chilly out as the weather approached fall. Most of the guys were dressed with pants and light jackets.
Then, a remarkable event occurred. The teacher, about 30 years old, entered the pool area from a side door. You could hear a pin drop! He was totally naked! He held a clip board with a computer print-out of the class. He was loud and very arrogant. He scared us. We began to speak--whispering. Then he spoke.
He shouted, "So you think this is funnY, don't you? You think I look weird. Well, you guys had better shut up! You see, we do not wear clothing in MY pool. Get it right. No suits. You see, bathing suits are dirty. They det left in lockers and stink. They breed disease. I don't allow that." There was a hush of dead silence. I was afraid to breathe, because I knew there would be more.
At that moment, the assistant teacher walked in, locking the door behind him. He was naked, smiling, and seemed nice. He was in his twenties.
The teacher then said, "You will be issued one white towel and a small bar of soap. They both have only one purpose. You see, you will remove your clothes in the locker room down stairs. Then, you will pick up the towel and soap. As you enter the corridor to the pool, you will notice showers on the wall." I remembered about twenty bare shower heads in a tiled room. "You will shower BEFORE you enter my pool. Yes, that is becausee people are dirty and you will not dirty MY pool. If you want to shower when you leave, you may. I don't care. And I'm not done. There are more rules. The purpose of the towel is to dry yourself off. If I see someone wrap the towel around themselves to hide private parts, you will be thrown out of the class and flunk gym. I am not joking! Now, please leave and I'll see you on Wednesday."
The pool was silent. People hurried out, thinking about what happened, Nobody talked or said a word. We were in shock.
Wesnesday arrived. We entered the locker room. Still no talking. We got towels and the tiny bar of soap. We showered and entered the pool area. Just as we were told. All of us were very naked. There was a strange sense of fear--fear about getting an erection, fear of seeing someone else's naked body. The guys did not look at each other at all.
We just stood there until the coach entered, naked, of course. He shouted, "Get in line for roll call." We just wanted to get in the pool. Not stand there. It wasn't cold at all. But, we wanted to get in the pool so that we did not have to wonder about our naked bodies. I know he was delaying that event because roll call lasted for ever. We then got the reward of going into the warm water. By the time gym was over, I was ready to run out of there like a bat out of hell.
That Friday, I repeated the same ritual, but now everyone was talking. We were still all quite naked. Both coaches were, too. They taught swimming techniques and diving. Although we were still scared, the edge had worn off. We all seemed friends.
I did survive my Freshman year. I actually enjoyed gym class. We became very accustomed to nude swimming and to our bodies. We joked and laughed about it. I developed a much better concept of my own nudity and my place in society. I still go skinny dipping with my boys and their friends. I love the feeling of closeness to people and nature.
I graduated in 1972, entered medical school, and am now a practicing family physician in rural Pennsylvania. Today, when I tell my friends the story, they don't believe me. I don't know if the University of Maryland still has nude swimming classes. I can only say that I learned a lot more than swimming. I learned about myself and my relationship with mankind. That experience has changed my life for the positive.
> I graduated in 1972, entered medical school, and am now a practicing > family physician in rural Pennsylvania. Today, when I tell my friends > the story, they don't believe me. I don't know if the University of > Maryland still has nude swimming classes. I can only say that I > learned a lot more than swimming. I learned about myself and my > relationship with mankind. That experience has changed my life for the > positive.
Good post. Do you visit any clothing-optional beaches or resorts today as a result of your indoctrination to social nudity? Do you keep in touch with any people from that gym class? It would be interesting to here some of their opinions.
> The purpose of the towel is >to dry yourself off. If I see someone wrap the towel around themselves >to hide private parts, you will be thrown out of the class
Somehow, I doubt that the instructor woujld have said "private parts" while setting out to convince that genitals aren't private.
The guy is recalling a story from 31 years ago. Do we have to try to discredit the story because he can't get the quote perfect?
1) There 100 students at an East Coast state university gathered in an enclosed space. 2) A nude instructor walks in. 3) A nude assistant instructor walks in. 4) The locker room is DOWNSTAIRS. 5) The locker room is below the water level of the pool. 6) The assistant instructor LOCKS THE DOOR, against fire and safety regulations. 7) The instructor threatens to flunk students who wrap a towel around their loins, and he has no fear of being sued by angry parents, of being fired by angry administrators, of losing his teaching credentials for indecent exposure before minors. 8) The showers are in the corridor leading to the pool (locker room downstairs, remember). 9) Diving is taught nude. 10) The author developed a much better concept of his own nudity and
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