YMCA-rections

[meowmeow]

I remember when I was 13 I had raging unwanted boners. Because puberty. Interesting though, when I would go to the YMCA and my mom and sister would disappear into the woman's locker room and me the men's by myself, I would strip and shower naked. I could've worn my swimsuit but no, all the MEN did it naked and I WAS a MAN DAMMIT... or so I told myself because my modest sized penis had pubes which I wore like a badge of honor, ha. And the raging unwanted boner made its appearance as it does.... but.... interestingly it didn't bother me like it would at PE where I would be embarrassed AF. And indeed I would just take my time. Looking back this was an interesting dynamic and I find myself wondering why? I wonder if it had to do with being amongst strangers vs being with peers? Even now as as an adult, it's far more comfortable showering with strangers. After all, they won't see me again. Unless our Y schedules happen to sync up again, but who cares......... anyone else have/had similar attitudes showering with peers vs strangers? Unwanted erections or otherwise. 😂

Edited September 13, 2025 by meowmeow
Typos

[One2five]

This reminded me of when I was a kid and we would go to this small health club in our city. It wasn't a YMCA, but similar style place. It was mostly a gym with workout equipment, racquetball courts, running track, etc. The locker rooms were split male and female with no age restrictions, like so many have today. I was probably 10-12 at this time and would go with just my mom so I'd naturally go the male only locker room alone.

It was very much an eye opening experience for me. This locker room had its own pool, a hot tub, sauna, and lounge area and was always filled with naked men of all ages, mostly old or at least older than me at the time. Hard to say age ranges since as a child anyone older looking than me was old . But this locker room allowed me an outlet for nudity that I didn't have anywhere else. Basically once you were in that area it was all nude. So I spent most of my time there .

I would play racquetball or walk the track some but mostly just wanted to be in the locker room doing things naked. I'd get in the hot tub or go in the sauna with random men and pretend like I was "one of the guys" I guess. I absolutely got some strange looks but nobody ever stopped me and would welcome me hanging out with them. All this to say, I absolutely had a raging boner the entire time. I didn't understand erections at that point and would get hard so my penis looked bigger . I knew enough to know mine was really small when soft so why not just make it bigger so it looked more like the other guys, haha. That definitely explained some of the strange looks I was getting but nobody said anything or did anything inappropriate to me; probably just laughed about the weird kid with the boner walking around.

Semi embarrassing thinking about it now, but fun memories too. 
 

[Wookieboy]

On 9/13/2025 at 5:22 PM, meowmeow said:

 Even now as as an adult, it's far more comfortable showering with strangers. After all, they won't see me again. Unless our Y schedules happen to sync up again, but who cares.........  😂

There’s a strange kind of relief in anonymity in a shower room. At the gym, when I walk into the locker room, I feel that familiar tightening in my chest — the instinct to shrink, to disappear. The noise of showers running, lockers slamming, towels snapping — it’s the kind of chaos that used to send me spiraling.

Growing up, showering around other guys was the worst. In school, it wasn’t just about being seen; it was about being compared. Boys notice everything, and the smallest difference becomes a punchline. Also those were the days when some asshole suddenlly decided to take your clothes ot twist your arms behind your back. I tried to learn to turn my back, to move fast, to be invisible. For a while, that meant skipping showers altogether, pretending to forget my clothes, anything to avoid the vulnerability that came with exposure.

But something changed as I got older. Maybe it was time, maybe exhaustion — I just stopped caring quite as much. Showering around strangers made it easier. They don’t know my story, my name, my history. I’m just another guy rinsing off after a workout. No expectations, no gossip waiting to follow me into the hallways.

Still, there’s a quiet tension every time — a reflex that never quite goes away. I keep my eyes forward, move with purpose, and remind myself that nobody is watching as closely as I think. Most people are too busy with their own insecurities.

Over time, I started to reclaim that space. The first few times, I’d keep a towel wrapped around me until the last second. Then one day, I didn’t. And the world didn’t collapse. No one laughed, no one stared — the moment just passed.

That’s when I realized how much energy I’d spent hiding from shadows that lived mostly in my head.

Now, showering around strangers feels almost liberating. I don’t have to perform or pretend. I’m just me — ihaiiry, mperfect, ordinary, human. And in that ordinariness, there’s a quiet kind of peace.

 

[meowmeow]

@Wookieboy way to rise above and reclaim that space! What you are describing can be considered a form of PTSD and completely valid. 

Edited October 22, 2025 by meowmeow

[NuderThanNude]

No offense to anyone but I think what is so much worse than the size of anyones penis in the open showers is the rolls of fat on guys.