Media warns of incoming “speedo summer” as more & more straight men appropriate gay swimwear culture.
Are American men finally getting over their “Speedophobia?”
Long a staple among gays and guys with thicc thighs from around the world, the polarizing swimwear may finally be enjoying its moment in the U.S. Indeed, amid a rash of hot male celebs rocking teeny-weeny swim briefs–namely White Lotus standouts Walton Goggins and Theo James—GQ recently asked if “straight guys are ready for speedo summer?“
On Wednesday, the venerated New York Times followed up with a trend piece of its own: “Skimpy men’s swimsuits are making a splash.”
The consensus is apparent. Speedos are in, just like short shorts! (The gays are always ahead of the trends, even if it takes several decades for everybody else to catch up.)
The Times piece outlines the evolution of well-known menswear designer Todd Snyder, whose stores are now stocked with swim briefs due to burgeoning demand. “It’s been doing [great],” he says.
Speedos made a splashy debut in 1956, when Australian swimmer Murray Rose donned swim trunks during the Melbourne Olympics, and won three gold medals. But what really exploded the skimpy garment’s popularity was the intoxicating whiff of scandal. In a notorious episode, Australian police arrested a group men wearing speedos on Sydney’s Bondi Beach for indecent exposure.
From there, sales skyrocketed. At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, 27 of 29 gold medalists in men’s swimming and diving wore speedos, also known as “budgy smugglers.”
But the momentum could not hold through the 20th century. By the 1990s, speedos were discarded in favor of baggy board shorts. That is, except for gay men. The gay community continued to embrace the little piece of material, which became a symbol of cultural rebellion.
“In a way, it has this built-in sense of rebellion and ‘I don’t care what you think,’” a Speedo exec tells GQ.
