How am I supposed to get my genitals clean if I don't have access to them? This is utterly ridiculous, and I do NOT support the ban.

I will say, however, that when men reach a certain age, they should lose the speedos.

Ridiculous....prudish Brits have taken it to new level of insanity

First I think the ban on speedos should be repealed. I think those shorts that most wear today look stupid.

As for showering nude, the school should change their policy and require the boys to shower nude. With all the chemicals in public pools one wants to make sure they get all that washed off.

As the mother said, we come into this world naked. Modesty is a learned thing. We are not modest at birth.

If we are not careful the next thing they will be demanding is that kids be born wearing clothing:)

Wow! This is pretty bizarre. I thought that Americans were the most uptight people in the world when it came to the human body and nudity!

I say HOORAY~ give the kids some privacy. What's the big deal...why not leave your swimsuit on to rinse off. Seriously, take your real shower at home...the pool showers are there for convenience to RINSE off the chlorinated water so you can continue on with your day NOT smelling like a pool.
If you are that dirty and need to get in there and wash...YUCK...you should've showered prior to coming to the pool.

What you Americans do not understand is that the public swimming pools in Britain have the showers close to the pools so that everyone has top rinse off before they go into the pool. At least the one I went to did. They have womens and mens changing rooms but the showers are in front of everyone so until you know the facts keep your nasty comments to yourselves. BESIDES IT WOULD NOT BE GOOD FOR SMALL KIDS TO SEE ALL THOSE ADULT NAKED BODIES YUCK

Yup! Privacy, health and safety all gone mad. But "don't get your knickers in a twist" before you have checked out your local public schools pools and YMCA. There is a lot more of this same silliness "right here in River City" than you may think.

I live in Finland, where swimming is perhaps the most popular sport. At public pools, all bathers are required to shower, without bathing suits and using the soap provided before entering the pool or sauna. No Finn (or anyone from any of the Nordic countries) would dream of doing otherwise. The same should be adopted in the UK. It not only makes it more hygienic (chlorine or other treatment levels are much lower than in the UK), but fosters a healthy body image. This is what one looks like, and nobody feels embarrassed, whether one is fat, thin or Mr Universe. The sight of British children and teenagers wimping about with a chastity towel just in case anyone should get a glimpse of their bare bum is utterly pathetic.

I am a Brit and I live in the USA,I do not think the Americans' or the Brits' are prudish.people are what they are, they can be prudish and come from any country!P.S the ban is stupid!

Wow! After reading this article I'm thinking, hang on - this is a bit crazy. I'm from the U.K. and I'm a 38 year old singly guy. I've showered naked with other boys at my state secondary school and sometimes I take a shower at my sports club after playing badminton. Despite my really skinny body I'm comfortable showering naked in front of other males and yes - at my sports club there are often other boys probably aged anywhere between 7 - 14 who use the showers at the same time. I would say around 50% of those boys shower in either swim-shorts or underpants and the rest shower naked.

Now there have never been any instances of lewd or suggestive behaviour and the kids just get on with showering. Okay, sometimes there might be some mild horseplay when the kids joke around and be a little lively but there is absolutely nothing to suggest that the kids are uncomfortable seeing naked men showering there too.

I can only assume that this pool in Devon had one rogue complaint and rather than use common sense have decided to act too far and implement a nudity ban on showering. The thing is, I can't imagine showering in swimming trunks as it wouldn't feel natural and how would you get properly clean?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for child protection and anti-predatory measures to be taken on the internet but his ban simply goes too far.

David

I agree with Steven. This policy is what happens in Canada as well. There is no hastle with showering nude before/after a swim and the necessity to use the soap provided to clean yourself of chlorine. I was in England in 2000 and it is true that they are rather too strict in terms of certain rules and policies. I wanted to use my animal head swim ring in the pool as I normally do in Canada, and later with no problem in Spain in 2002, and elsewhere, but they did not give me the courtesy to use it for my confort and relaxation in any of their pools in England, although I was allowed to use it at their beaches along the east coast.
Please let me enjoy my swim the way I want, and it doesn't hirt anyone else. I have epilepsy and a lady friend swimmer even agreed with my use of it to swim with for my comfort. And I can swim with my swim ring if it did happen to break. Can't I have that choice?