So, was there a good reason to make teenage boys swim naked while their female counterparts got to wear suits? Specifically, Michael asked: Why did Chicago boys swim naked in high school? How did that start and why did it stop? And was it unique to Chicago? Michael and several other listeners have sent questions to Curious City asking for more information about the school policy.
“We just could not really believe that that was something they did,” he says. But for more than 50 years (even until 1980, by some accounts), this was standard policy at public high schools in Chicago and across the country.Ĭurious City listener Michael San Filippo grew up hearing stories about what it was like from his dad. It’s hard to imagine that any high school would require boys to swim naked today. Yes, those same classmates you sit next to in math. Then, your gym teacher tells you to strip naked and walk onto the pool deck with your nude male classmates. You’re self conscious and worried about fitting in. You’ve just started your freshman year at a brand new high school.
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