Sauna Culture

MadsL

Just got back from a ski trip in Austria. Had the chance to observe an interesting culture-clash. I love to take a sauna after skiing and the resort I was in had an amazing sauna complex as part of a huge leisure and medical complex - http://www.alpentherme.com/en/therme/sauna-world.php

I was booking a massage at the attendants desk when a group of English girls wearing swimsuits came up to the desk to ask if it was compulsory to be nude in the saunas. (the whole sauna area is a designated nudist zone) The pool attendant explained the procedure for going into the sauna - take a towel and put this under you where you sit - he seemed to miss the point that they were asking, so I said to the girls "if you are not comfortable, there's also a Ladies world which is women only" One of them said "that's nude too". Then one of them started giving out to the pool attendant about it being weird to be naked in the sauna. I explained that it is really only in the UK and Ireland that it is usual NOT to be naked, and that most of western europe, central europe, russia that it was normal to be naked in the sauna. She continued to give out and I and the pool atttendant did our best to explain that this was in fact normal. I forget to say that really all they had to do was wrap a towel around them which would have been fine - just would have appeared weird to the 'locals'.

The girls were British Asian, and I guessed that there were Hindu (moslem women would probably not have a problem being naked with only other women given the hammam culture of the middle-east, but I might be wrong)

Do you consider it normal to be naked in the sauna and should Irish saunas do it 'properly' and allow you to be naked?
Also should our (far) Western European sensibilities mean that we should have the right to cover up regardless of the local norm?

daiixi

I consider it to be normal to be naked in the sauna however that doesn't mean that I'd necessarily be comfortable being naked around certain others. I've been to hammans where it's been compulsory to wear bottoms but not tops and found that I was more comfortable with that than I would have been to be completely naked although that probably had a lot to do with the group of people I was with.
Tbh if I felt more comfortable wearing my bathers even though the sauna was designated a nudist zone then I'd wear my bathers until someone called me on it. I don't see much of a difference between wrapping a towel around myself and being in bathers.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Ruu_Old

Thread on the issue not so long ago for some more reference as to saunas elsewhere in Europe.

MadsL

Ok, let me change the question. Should I have called these girls up on their 'cultural imperialism' calling the Austrians weird? Anyone think they were right to complain?

Wertz

Naked in an Irish sauna? What would the priests say!? We'd all be excommunicated!

OT: nah those girls were typical "brits abroad" (regardless or race/skintone)...when in Rome and all that...

looksee

I attended a school in England in the 60's where we had communal (segregated!) showers - open changing area, one walk-through shower. At the same time I used to go to a Lutheran retreat house - very proper and respectable! - with a youth group and we had saunas in a traditional Swedish (I think) sauna, in the nude, admittedly segregated. I don't remember anyone refusing to shower or have a sauna because of the nudity.

dSTAR

The Scientist wrote:

1 ticket to Austria please.

Better get some sun on that milky white Irish skin boy!

Its not fair that people have to wear shades in the sauna!

Black Swan

Wertz wrote:

Naked in an Irish sauna? What would the priests say!?

Be fruitful and multiply?

randylonghorn

ROFL! Interesting image!

Seriously, when will the Irish get over their hang-ups (no pun intended) about being naked? ... in appropriate contexts, I mean, I'm not suggesting we wander the streets in the nip.

A lot of it seems to stem from Victorian social culture and Catholic norms meeting and unexpectedly mating, and the resulting aberration becoming so deeply buried in our psyche that we have yet to rid ourselves of it. But there's quite a bit of it still in the British and Americans too ...

InFront

I don't understand, is it not okay to wear a bathing suit in there or something? If not, why not?

Terry

InFront wrote:

I don't understand, is it not okay to wear a bathing suit in there or something? If not, why not?

I've never been in a sauna (not my thing. don't like the heat factor), but i would imagine it is more comfortable to be naked.

Sleepy

Cool, I didn't know that being naked for a sauna was the norm in Austria. Going over there in a fortnight for skiing and have always loved being able to take a proper sauna instead of the backwards Irish notion of having to wear swimming shorts in one.

MadsL

I don't understand, is it not okay to wear a bathing suit in there or something? If not, why not?

Do you enjoy the smell of hot chlorine?

Dyr

MadsL wrote:

be naked in the sauna. I explained that it is really only in the UK and Ireland that it is usual NOT to be naked, and that most of western europe, central europe, russia that it was normal to be naked in the sauna.

I've used saunas in central europe where swimwear was expected to be worn so its not just an irish/UK thing.

ChRoMe

MadsL wrote:

Ok, let me change the question. Should I have called these girls up on their 'cultural imperialism' calling the Austrians weird? Anyone think they were right to complain?

Yes you should have called them on it. It seems to be a extremely common british trait that their way is the right way and everyone else is wierd if they do it differently. There is a large amount of british people living here in Spain and their attitudes amaze me on a daily basis. Hearing complaints that things are "too spanish" etc.

If your in someone elses country I think you should play by their rules so to speak.

Plus whats the big problem with going in nude?? With that amount of heat wearing clothes seems a bit odd to me personally.

randylonghorn

ChRoMe wrote:

There is a large amount of british people living here in Spain and their attitudes amaze me on a daily basis. Hearing complaints that things are "too spanish" etc.

The one that always cracks me up is "Why don't they speak English?"

Admittedly, I'm no great shakes at languages, never found them easy, but I'll make the effort, and I don't expect everyone in the world to learn perfect English just to oblige me!

Attol

The chlorine in your swimsuit isn't particularly healthy to inhale so you take off your clothes and wash fully so you're not in a gas chamber. It's more comfy too. When you're bikini is wet and you go into a ridiculously hot room it gets pretty damn hot and sticks to you.

Also British tourists aren't the most flexible. I had a woman freak at me because I wouldn't accept sterling from her in a shop. She called Ireland backwards and asked why don't the Irish take sterling like everyone else does. The ignorance was unbelievable.

Stark

It's commonplace for other countries to accept sterling?

ChRoMe

Stark wrote:

It's commonplace for other countries to accept sterling?

Not at all its just inconviceable for english people to understand that they are not the centre of the universe.

Also I take great pleasure in only speaking to them in Spanish when its pretty clear that I'm Irish

randylonghorn

Stark wrote:

It's commonplace for other countries to accept sterling?

In fairness, it used to be more common, especially before the Euro, for "touristy" shops / restaurants abroad and here to accept sterling / dollars ... usually at an exchange rate that made it worth their while! Practice is dying out, but you will still see some places, even in Ireland, with signs up to draw in the tourists.

Anway, let's get back to discussing hot naked bodies ...

MadsL

I've used saunas in central europe where swimwear was expected to be worn so its not just an irish/UK thing.

Where?

Also define central europe - to me that is what most of the rest of you call eastern europe, and I would be suprised if swimwear was required. Was this in a hotel complex?

seamus

Stark wrote:

It's commonplace for other countries to accept sterling?

A lot of big shops will accept sterling and dollars, but at horrible exchange rates. Superquinn for example have for a long long time accepted Sterling, but at a 1:1 exchange rate.

Ching ching.

Dyr

MadsL wrote:

Where?

Also define central europe - to me that is what most of the rest of you call eastern europe, and I would be suprised if swimwear was required. Was this in a hotel complex?

unless the "rest of you" call hungary eastern europe, then you're wrong

MadsL

Well swimwear was not my experience at the Király Bath in Budapest, the oldest Turkish Baths. But it was single sex with a small piece of cloth provided 'for modesty'. About as effective as a chocolate teapot.

But I think we are drifting into 'Turkish Bath culture' rather than Sauna culture...

randylonghorn

MadsL wrote:

But it was single sex with a small piece of cloth provided 'for modesty'. About as effective as a chocolate teapot.

Oh, come on, now, you're just boasting!

MadsL

boasting

would that that were true!

Imagine being in a swimming pool with a very very small cotton apron tied round your waist..about the size of a handkerchief. Usually ends up somewhere on your hip, most people dont bother with them.

karel51

so it is still undecided if saunas in Ireland should be nude/nude optional or just swimwear only...

stovelid

I wouldn't mind being naked in a sauna or changing room but I dislike the idea that people are in some way repressed or uptight because they don't want to be naked in a public situation. If people want to wear a swimsuit in the situation outlined, they should be allowed to.

fonecrusher1

Never been into the whole sauna thing. Its very boring.

JupiterKid

Nudity in saunas on the European continent is the norm. Swimsuits are actually unhygenic at the high temperatures in the sauna/steam rooms and the towel is for you to sit on - not cover yourself with.

Continentals rightly use the sauna to allow the entire body and skin to breathe - swimsuits don't allow that.

Ireland has really immature, pathetic attitudes to nudity that the rest of Europe (excepting the UK) laugh at. It's Victorian puritanism crossed with religious prudery and is still deeply ingrained our psyche.

In Germany, Holland, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and the Nordic Countries nude swimming is very common and popular. They just don't equate nudity with sex.

Dudess

I don't think self conscious necessarily equates to immature - some people are happy to be naked in front of strangers, some people aren't. Neither are wrong, in my opinion.

dubtom

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Never been into the whole sauna thing. Its very boring.

Not if there's 4 nubile ladies sitting across from you,naked, I'd need a towel tbh.

JupiterKid

Dudess wrote: »

I don't think self conscious necessarily equates to immature - some people are happy to be naked in front of strangers, some people aren't. Neither are wrong, in my opinion.

All well and good, but how do you account for people from here and thre UK having problems with being nude in a sauna on the Continent? That self-consciousness of one's own body comes from somewhere - usually through cultural diffusion via society, religion and mass media.

Ireland has an immature attitude to nudity. I stick firmly to that opinion. It's not "wrong" per se, but it IS regrettable.

NoHornJan

MadsL wrote: »

Ok, let me change the question. Should I have called these girls up on their 'cultural imperialism' calling the Austrians weird? Anyone think they were right to complain?

Ah that would be an Ecumenical question now!

df1985

"Those women were in the nip!!"

SpatialPlanning

Have a look at a South Korean "jimjilbang". Now THAT'S a sauna!! Some of them are luxurious beyond belief! The stares are unsettling but they tend not to look twice at ginger pubes...

Cheeky monkey

I was in Berlin last January and did one or two days in a spa area where it was frowned if you weren't nude and have to say going nude is definitely more comfortable.

I don't really see where the shyness comes from because in my experience no one looks and in the case of the Irish I don't think anyone would want to look

randylonghorn

dubtom wrote: »

Not if there's 4 nubile ladies sitting across from you,naked, I'd need a towel tbh.

It takes 4 to get you interested? 0_o

Jeez, dude, high maintenance or wha' ... :pac:


I agree with this ...

JupiterKid wrote: »

It's Victorian puritanism crossed with religious prudery and is still deeply ingrained our psyche.

... but not necessarily with this:

JupiterKid wrote: »

Ireland has really immature, pathetic attitudes to nudity that the rest of Europe (excepting the UK) laugh at.

Cultures take time to change. Personally, I'd love if it did change ... I tend to go :rolleyes: quite often at some of the attitudes I encounter ... but I wouldn't go as far as to use words like immature or pathetic.

SpatialPlanning wrote: »

... but they tend not to look twice at ginger pubes...

Understandable, tbh! >_>

:pac:

chicken fingers

I consider it weird that you got yourself involved and argued alongside the staff there.
I mean, who are you!

Skuxx

I was in a sauna in the radisson in Helsinki, when I went in there was nobody else there and I just went in in my shorts as I thought that was the norm! About 5 minutes later 3 lads all bollock naked join me so I said fcuk it and whipped off the shorts! It's a way nicer experience and should definetly be how it's done over here!!

FlutterinBantam

alan1990 wrote: »

I was in a sauna in the radisson in Helsinki, when I went in there was nobody else there and I just went in in my shorts as I thought that was the norm! About 5 minutes later 3 lads all bollock naked join me so I said fcuk it and whipped off the shorts! It's a way nicer experience and should definetly be how it's done over here!!

:eek: You daring bollox!!! Legend.:rolleyes:

newmember2

Are these same sex saunas?

The only ones in Ireland that I've ever worn shorts were the mixed ones.

starbelgrade

Three men are sitting naked in the sauna. Suddenly there is a beeping sound. The first man presses his forearm and the beeping stops. The others look at him curiously.

"That's my pager," he says. "I have a microchip under the skin of my arm."


A few minutes later a phone rings. The second man lifts his palm to his ear. When he finishes he explains, "That's my mobile phone. I have a microchip in my hand."


The third man, feeling decidedly low-tech, steps out of the sauna.

In a few minutes he returns with a piece of toilet paper sticking out of his arse. The others raise their eyebrows.

"I'm getting a fax," he explains.

Lumen

I've had this experience before with a work conference/jolly at a ski resort in Austria.

Regardless of being naked in the company of strangers, it is a little weird being naked with people you work with.

jester77

Lumen wrote: »

I've had this experience before with a work conference/jolly at a ski resort in Austria.

Regardless of being naked in the company of strangers, it is a little weird being naked with people you work with.

Over here it's the norm. I remember the first time I went, little unnerving sitting naked in a sauna with your girlfriends mother. But no body cares and no body stares, even the changing rooms in most of the places are mixed.

BizzyC

I dont see the big deal, if you want to be naked be naked, if you dont then wear a swimsuit.

The only saunas I've ever been in require you to shower and clean off pool water before entering the sauna.

sbsquarepants

I wouldn't have a problem with it i don't think. I always feel that blokes who won't leave the shower in the gym or whatever untill they've wrapped up in a towel are a bit suspicious!
My missus on the other hand thinks it's gay for men or women to walk around naked in a changing room, go figure!
Don't know how i'd handle a unisex one though, i don't think i'd have the mental strength to stop my eyes wandering. Sure even on the beach i get the occasional surprise semi when some topless hottie wanders by, sometimes i think i'm too hetero for my own good:D

LizT

Even if it is the culture, some people will just never feel comfortable being naked in front of complete strangers. Most of us wouldn't actually.

Having said that, I find it hard to believe that if they wore their swimsuit, someone would have asked them to remove them. At most they probably would have gotten a few dirty looks!

Lumen

lizt wrote: »

Having said that, I find it hard to believe that if they wore their swimsuit, someone would have asked them to remove them.

I would. I think it's a hygiene thing, like burkinis in swimming pools.

orourkeda

they should have just got their fannies out