Skinny dipping

Skinny dipping, or skinny-dipping is swimming naked. The term is derived by a somewhat archaic use of the word skinny, meaning "having to do with skin".

Related Topics:
Swimming - Naked

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The term is commonly used to describe swimming in unheated water, but is also used when referring to going naked in hot tubs and hot springs, or to mischievous swimming excursions (often under cover of darkness) in pools or at beaches where one would be expected to wear swimsuits. In this last sense, skinny-dipping in mixed company (i.e. both males and females) has an element of sexual rebelliousness to it, though sexual activity does not necessarily take place.

Related Topics:
Hot tub - Hot spring - Swimsuit

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Skinny dipping was once very common, especially for rural boys swimming in a secluded pond, swimming hole, or section of a river. Swimsuits were originally uncommon in these settings, as they were made out of materials such as wool that required extra care to deal with, and were of limited practical benefit. Although modern swimwear is more practical, skinny dipping remains a fairly common activity in rural areas.

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Before the YMCA began to admit females in the early 1960s, swimming trunks were not allowed in the pools, and high school swimming classes for boys sometimes had similar policies, citing the impracticality of providing and maintaining sanitary swimming gear. These practices were common because of the perception that there was nothing wrong or sexual about seeing members of the same gender in the nude.

Related Topics:
YMCA - 1960s

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