People are starting to find this place (thanks, Google!) and it’s been interesting to see some of the search terms used… In a shameless attempt to encourage those search terms I’ve decided to treat them as a series of questions 
First one up: “Do straight guys ever see each other naked?”
The answer is “of course we do”. Mostly in the locker room, or in the dorms, or as roommates. I guess at nude beaches. I assume that there’s not a lot of interest in straight guys having to strip down for the doctor, who’s also straight and male. The other side of that “10% of adults are gay” notion (and wasn’t that more or less proven to be a wild overestimate?) is that “90% are not”, so it’s statistically certain that straight guys do see each other naked. Different guys have different “comfort levels” for being naked around other straight guys, which is one reason middle school gym class was kind of awkward for me.
We see… but we don’t really look. Seeing a naked guy, but looking at naked guys (as in, your head follows them, you’re paying attention to what you see, etc.) is a different story entirely. There’s kind of a “filter” effect for most of us, which is actually pretty interesting.
Consider a couple of guys (grownups in their 20s, since that’s been most of my experience, and since it seems to be different for different generations) in the locker room after they’ve been swimming at the gym. First they rinse off, still with their trunks on. That’s “dressed”, so the conversation that began by the pool still continues. When the trunks come off (if they do), then the talking stops. With towels on, it picks up again. It’s as though we filter each other out – if (this person == male && has pants), then talk; if (no pants) then ignore. (It’s definitely pants that matter.)
Obviously we still see each other – if two guys who happen to be naked are walking towards each other (let’s keep it in the showers), they’ll move to avoid running into each other. But otherwise the gaze just kind of slides past.
There’s one exception, of course – at least when growing up. Guys see, but don’t look, except to compare. “Compare what?” Well, everything. We’re competitive by nature, and that doesn’t stop in the showers. “He’s got more hair than me,” etc. That still happens now, just not with the same kind of emphasis – just checking out the rest of the local competition for the ladies, or something. Everyone likes to know how he measures up, right?
Guys, what do you think? Anyone figure out how the whole “I see you naked but I’m not looking” thing works? Ladies, is it the same in the womens’ locker room? Not that I’m asking what happens in there, although if you want to satisfy some curiosity… ahem.
In the 7th grade, I was the only kid the locker room who took everything off for a shower. All the other kids were wearing something. They acted as though they were in for something, like I was offering them a little shock value. Now picture yourself as a girl in the locker room. We’d all be changing our bras. It’s a crazy atmosphere if you ask me.
In the eighth grade, my school went on a trip to DC and we got to pick our room mates and here were 4 people per room and we all slept naked at home so we just did everything naked. but we slept two to a bed because there were only 2 beds so it was kind of uncomfortable but we managed. the most awkward moment was when the two gym coaches were told to wake everyone up and they ripped our covers of not knowing we were naked and they were only like 24-29 and their like OHHHHHHHHHHAHA and yeh. but some other guys got mad from the other rooms and the coaches were only wearing pjs and the other guys pantsed them. and they fell and the two guys thet pantsed them ran away with their pjs. so their manhoods were just hanging out there.
I can’t believe that I’ve actually found another site that actually addresses male friendship issues.
I’ve just published a post on the theme of “naked men” together.
This is exciting for me.
Take a look, if you get a chance, at the post, since there seem to be so few blogs or websites that don’t infuse women into every context of a male’s being.
Title of blog: “Male Speak: Bonding, Friendship and Affection Between Males.
Posting June 14. 09
Post Title: Nakedness and Men:That Certain Swagger
This is gonna be my favorite sight. Anyone who knows of others like this please email me or leave a comment on my blog
Thanks
Hiya, Chuck, thanks for stopping by – glad to know there’s another site that understands the differences between strong open male friendships and sexual desire.
[...] problem is that, like touching, nudity is too easily seen as sexual. Being naked in the locker room is normal enough, but some guys still [...]
When I was growing up, I lived with my dad and 2 brothers. One of my brothers was actually a cousin, but he lived with us most of the times. We were naked a home often and thought nothing of it. On weekends dad took us to his cabin in the country. It was very private and had a small pond and stream. We played naked there for most of the day and slept naked most of the time too. Sometimes other dads and sons would join us and the boys always enjoyed being naked with us. No one had any problem with it. In high school and college I often brought my buddies there for weekends and we all enjoyed being naked together and every one of them liked it and wanted to come again. If you ask me guys being naked together makes everyone equal, and makes forming friendships a lot easier. I am now 38 and I still enjoy being with my guy friends.
When I was in the seventh grade we went on a field trip to the mountains. Well, thinking it would be cold we didn’t pack our bathing suits. As it turns out, it was warm. So we had to swim in the river naked. One day while we were out there a couple of us had to go use the bathroom. We were far away from the cabin, so we had to use it in the woods. Not thinking we would lean against a tree to prop up. Later on that day we all felt something craw around on us. When we got back to the room we all saw that we had tick all over our dicks, ball, and crack. It took us an hour to pull all of them off. We had to help each other with the ones on our backsides so we all were comfortable being around each other while naked.
Yeah nude sometime i like it but if incase of emergency you might been surprise you can go anyware without anything or cloth.
Im really curious about something, when u (straight) guys see each other naked, don’t u get an erection or something? For me if i saw anyone in boxers and i can see the outline of their dicks, i get erected immediately.
Editor reply: No, straight guys generally don’t get erections just for seeing each other naked. Maybe sometimes, but “straight” basically means “sexually attracted to women, NOT men”, it’d be a little odd for (genuinely) straight guys to consistently get erect when seeing each other. Obviously there’s a lot of guys out there who aren’t necessarily as straight-only as they claim to their friends and themselves.