The Ugly American: Speedo Bathing Suits in France

As we began packing for our trip to France, my wife urged me to buy a Speedo bathing suit for the trip.  The key feature is the skimpy, minimalist style, not the brand per se. And the explanation is not that my wife thinks I lood good in such attire; few 49 year olds should even say the word "Speedo."

The reason instead is that during our stay in Toulouse in 1997 we discovered that public swimming pools require men to wear Speedos rather than the "shorts" style more common in the U.S.  The official explanation from the pool was that Speedos are more sanitary.  The unofficial explanation from friends was that this policy discouraged "youth from the banlieues (suburbs)" from visiting the pool.

It turns out, as I should have predicted, that the hotel pools we are visiting on this trip have no policy about Speedos.  I forgot to pack a non-Speedo suit, however, so my family had a good laugh at my expense. My daughter's best friend had a similar experience a few years ago, when her father was forced to "go Speedo."  The exact quote was, "The sight of my Dad in a Speedo is something one does not easily forget."

Comments

[Greg]

How about a picture?

[Anonymous]

What? So you look like an upside down pear with a rubber band.

[Josh]

Minimal government = good
Minimal junk coverage = bad

[Alan Brown]

So what is the libertarian view on speedos? Is it a communist plot or what?

[Clifford]

always found it interesting how we expect females to wear something miminal, but that we can't or looked down on when we do.

[KL]

Sigh....another example of the immaturity Americans seems to have slipped into after the 1980s. All this fuss over a type of swim apparel and the male body.
Believe me, nobody really cares about a man in a speedo, those who are making comments are hiding some insecurity or feigning disinterest!

[John]

I'm a 48 year old male, and always wear speedos as bathing suits. When I go to the USA, they find that it looks gay. They perfer to wear swimming suits down to their ankles, while the females can look sexy in their bikinis. Why is it that guys can't wear speedos in the States? I think that most Amercicans are over weight and would look stupid in a speedo, so they wear very long and wide bathing suits to hide their blubber. An athletic slim man looks good in a speedo, and floats around in those over sized American swimming suits.

[Damien]

Came across your post by chance. I'm European and really don't get American hang-ups about Speedos. We don't even think twice about wearing Speedos. I bought boardshorts and simply don't find them comfortable for swimming in.

As for the 'ugly American' in your title, we love Americans...just don't send us the ones who feel it's OK to shout and be loud everywhere! Or the war-mongering type either.

[Joe]

American guys learned as boys that if you don't pretend to find the male body as ugly everyone will think you're gay - which was the worst thing a boy could deal with. A lot of American men cna handle ohter guys in speedos but are afraid to say so. I think that women who find speedos shocking tend to have problems with masculinity in general and probably think the men's movement is immature, which is an immature thought in itself. I admire the courage of man in the USA who wear them!