Also, as David Fleming explains in his excellent ESPN The Magazine feature “Nothing to See Here,” sports showers represent an intensely “vulnerable state” for men who are defined by masculinity: “t conjures, for some, a range of emotions: their most awkward memories (middle school gym class), deepest insecurities (size), purest symbolism (baptism) and most ignorant defense mechanisms (homophobia).” Anyone who has spent time under the nozzle can attest that these anxieties are often exorcized through horseplay and joking, certain forms of which depend on a mild form of gay panic for their humor: If everyone is on some level afraid of homoerotic contact, a performative slap on the ass is a quick means of defusing the tension. Later that night when I took a shower I did the same thing. Lopez DOI: 10.4324/9781003133506-2 The hot beads of water hit my body as I relish the steamy shower, feeling every bit of warmth, seeking some. They’ve historically been a troubled spot for integration-Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player, was reportedly hesitant to shower with the Dodgers until another outsider teammate convinced him to join in. We shared a room and one day he got out of the shower and walked around the room totally naked and didnt seem to think it was awkward.
Even absent openly gay co-bathers, communal showers have always been fraught places for straight men.
