International Jock

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Summer Swimwear Series Part 1

I have received numerous emails and read numerous posts on Yahoo! Answers regarding boardshorts. So I decided that this would be a good opportunity to answer many of the common questions that I receive and read.



What to wear under boardshorts and when to wear them.
In recent years boardshorts have gained popularity as the swimsuit of choice among the young. But the problem is, these garments are debateably not even swimwear. Most swimwear has some sort of lining to help give you that extra support and protection. But boardshorts are one layer with no mesh lining inside. The upside to this is that one can wear whatever one wishes underneath them, but the question is 'what should you wear?' Well, it depends on what you will be doing in these boardshorts. Boardshorts are oftentimes worn just as normal shorts in the summer. If you are just going to wear them around town and you are not going to be going in the water, I'd recommend that you wear whatever underwear you normally wear underneath your shorts. But if you are planning on taking the shorts in the water (or even out on the water in a boat) then I'd recommend that you wear something else. Here's why. Most underwear is made of cotton or some other fabric that does not dry quickly, therefore if the boardshorts (and then your underwear) get at all wet it will take forever for the underwear to dry and you will just be wet and miserable for a few hours. I do not recommend that you just wear boardshorts by themselves because they have no supportive liner and they have a tendency to fall off when coming out of the water. Therefore, I recommend that you wear supportive swimwear underneath the boardshorts, like a swim brief (commonly referred to as a Speedo) or a swim trunk. It will look like you are just wearing some sort of underwear, but you will not have to worry about being wet and miserable. Also, as an added bonus, you could take off the boardshorts and just go swimming in the suit underneath if you have a change of heart. Now this brings us to when one should wear boardshorts. Boardshorts are rather big and bulky so they are not ideal for actual swimming or competitive swimming. They are fine for just hanging around in the pool though. Also, if you just want to lounge around on the beach or the boat or go surfing, then boardshorts are perfect. In future posts I will be talking about what swimwear to wear for different swimming situations, but for now that's the lowdown on boardshorts. Keep in mind, this is all just my opinion so feel free to not follow my advice. I am very eager to hear your opinions on boardshorts in the comments section of this entry.
[Note: The boardshort shown can be found here from aussieBum]

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have seen many people wear boxers under boardshorts while swimming. You just cannot escape the fact that boxers are the garment of choice for young men, display them intentionally and care not if they get wet. Out on the water, just you and some people you arent trying to get to notice you, might be ok to wear something else, or just wear them plain. But, I do not think anyone under age 24 or so would be too interested in wearing tight brief style swimwear under boardies in busy areas. Too much would be revealed when the boardies started to fall.

UMan said...

Thank you for your comment and insight BDogg. I have to say that I do not necessarily agree with you on boxers being the underwear of choice for young men. To me it seems that there is an increasing trend towards other styles. And I definitely believe that people younger than 24 would be interested in wearing swimwear under boardies. But thank you very much for you insights, they are always appreciated and though provoking.

Anonymous said...

I wear speedos under my boardshorts, i'm 17... its normal.

Anonymous said...

I also wear speedos under my boardshorts, dude i don't find it comfortable to be flopping around in my wet sagging boxers, if you are gonna do that why don't you just loose the boxers or the boardies, but please keep one or the other on. Thanks...

BDogg I've noticed that you feel all real men wear boxers, I think if i took a survey of my friends I would find most all of them wear boxer-briefs, it seems that unless you are a sagger (and I'm gonna assume you are) that boxers are slowly falling behind boxerbriefs, briefs and other (i feel more comfy) underwear...but I'll quit going on, now...

Anonymous said...

I wear speedo's under my board shorts. As previously talked about, I like to wear the board shorts to and from the water, and take them off when swimming. It's kinda nice to feel the freedom of the brief when swimming. My wife loves my speedo's and enjoys the thought of the high cut waist and leg openings. She picked out the ones that have a contoured pouch so that my genitals have room to hang down. I don't like to be held too tightly and it's nice to keep the natural hang of the penis. Then when I go home, I slip off the briefs and put on the board shorts. This also lets me sit in the car comfortably without the wet feeling.

UMan said...

Anonymous, great idea to use board shorts as a cover-up.

Anonymous said...

You can wear a jock under them.
They dry fast and feel great.

Anonymous said...

I prefer no underwear as I freeball all the time.

Anonymous said...

i feel boxers are being pushed by big business. they are cheap to make,insidiously digusting to wear,difficult swim in,totally digusting to look at. i will say if a bit overweight,they serve a purpouse, looking well and making the guy comfortable.A compliment,we can't all wear the same thing.

Anonymous said...

I personally prefer Speedos under my boardshorts, as it has been said they provide support. i like a firm support as i cycle to the beach a lot and firm support keeps the junk from getting crushed between me and the bike seat.

up to last summer my sons both wore boardshorts with nothing under them, but the oldest now 10 kept complaining of his junk hurting when cycling i suggested he wore speedos, as you would expect having 2 sons the younger then 4 wanted to be the same so he had to have speedos. this has resulted in both booys swimming in just speedos and using the boardshorts to go to and from the beach to cover up speedos. most if not all of their friends do the same so looks like speedos are making a comeback?.

Alan said...

Juat had a holiday with my son. i am a single father my boy is just turned 6 he has been begging me for boardshorts since last years autumn break but i did not think he was ready for them, he had always worn speedos with his school PE shorts to swim at the beach. i always change him into dry clothes after a swim. anyway i got him boardshorts 2 pairs for this holiday and he loves them he thinks he is like me and the other older boys at the beach. i did mention to him that we dont wear anything under these shorts, he did look at me a little strange. he wore the boardshorts for the holiday and thought they were great, again changing him into the dry pair after each swim although he protested his friends were not changing... boys... at the end of the holiday we had to get up early for the plane home so he got dressed himself. he chose the boardshorts, not a problem until we got home and he was fast asleep i got him ready for bed and as i removed his boardshorts he had his old speedos on under them. asking him about this he said he did not like his bits flopping about so he put his speedos on after the first day. i was a bit put out as i was changing him so he was not in wet shorts for so long and he had wet speedos on all the time. he also admitted he slept in the speedos every night we were there. this cannot be healthy so i am looking for some advice on this for our next holiday. although in the three weeks we were there it has not done him any harm and other boys he made friends with did not change at the beach. it is just that i was always told to change out of wet swimwear every tims by my father so passed this on to my son.

Jeff said...

Alan.
firstly glad you had a good holiday with your son, always good father and son holidays.

personally i can see what he is saying about not liking his junk flopping about, i am the same myself and i too wear speedos under my boardshorts. the support is very good and comfy too..

cant see there is any problem with your son needing to get changed at the beach if he is happy to play in wet shorts as long as he is warm enough then no harm should come to him. i have not changed at the beach since i was your sons age maybe a little younger and i am perfectly healthy.

if you son has developed a liking for speedos humour him it may just be a phase or maybe he will keep liking them for life. but if the later is the case then it is good to make sure if he does want to wear the same pair for a whole holiday like that then get him to shower with them on to wash his junk and the speedos.. if he decides he likes them so much he wants to wear them as his chosen underwear like i do then, maybe buy him a couple of pairs so he only wears one pair for a couple of days at a time. sure the speedos are more expensive than some underwear, but remember they are multipurpose... he can swim in them, use them as underwear, and if he likes to ... sleep in them. so you could actually save money not buying sleepwear and not buying underwear. washing is easy and they dry a lot faster than cotton underwear.

lastly a benefit for your son... not sure if he does,,, but some boys of 6 still have the odd wetting accident. if this applys to your son then at least he will dry a lot faster than in cotton underwear. hope this helped

Anonymous said...

Alan nothing to worry about there. your son has shown a choice of swimwear, OK he has decided to wear a speedo under them but again i can see his reasoning. i say if he is happy enough to play at the beach in wet shorts and assuming he does not get too cold then dont worry he obviously prefers it that way. also if his friends do that then he will want to fit in...

Petet H said...

Alan.
i know where you are coming from wanting your son to change after every swim, but speaking from experience leaving wet shorts/speedos on after a swim is not going to harm him. i have just turned 20 and as a very young child we always spent a lot of time at the beach, most weekends and all of the school holidays. even at the age i was going to the beach in a pushchair i played all day in the shorts i had been in the sea in. if your son is active at the beach he will stay warm, but i find it is not the bottom half of my body that feels cold but the top. so you may want to get him to towel down to the waist if it is a cool windy day.

also if most of his friends are not bothering to get changed at the beach he wont want to either, being "one of the boys" is quite important. good friends are worth a lot and if he looses friends due to your imposing the must get changed rule. he will no doubt rebel against it later in life.

Anonymous said...

speedos under board shorts, nothing else works or is comfortable. Secondly, why all the hoopla about speedos anyway? girls dont mind seeing other girls in undies or less but if a guys shows up in a speedo its "ewww grose" ummm, thats kinda queer/gay of the girls!