We had this at my school too!… However they never actually gave us time to truly change or shower, so we just changed shirts and moved on to our next class smelling like shit

We didn't have time to shower. Our under garments always stayed on. Not a single person ever showered.

Edit: Anecdotal, but my mom grew up in the same decade as you, but she's the most body negative person I know. She even harps on people just for not wearing a bra.

I used to have a skin tag on my nipple, it looked like a third nipple. I tried to get out of changing in front of others, but they made me. Merciless bullying ensued, it was already pretty bad because of neurodivergence differences. My home life was abusive so I never got a break. If this were still a thing, I would do everything I could to prevent it from happening to my kids. People got bullied about birthmarks, baby fat, you know how kids are, any excuse. That is not an environment to throw vulnerable children into.

why are you changing your underwear for PE?

Same age and similar experience. We basically grew up without body shame. So yes I will walk around naked and drop my towel to put on underwear.

Holy hell, those shower poles were real?

I think nudism is great, but it shouldn't be forced on people

I'm fairly comfortable being nude now, it's more society that stops me than internal pressures, but if I'd been forced to be naked in my school years it would have made me very dysphoric, and there are still things I'd be dysphoric about in certain contexts these days, so the people involved would make a big difference.

Showers never worked. People just changed out of gym clothes and back into normal. Lots of body spray.

wow. so different than mine. showers were seperated and there were benches between the lockers. Everyone sorta change quickly and often did not shower. No one wanted to be naked that much in front of the other kids. Had to go through the shower area to get to the pool and the teachers required a shower coming into the pool area but that just meant you had to be wet. Many showered in their swimsuit. Teachers had a whole talk on good shower hygenie but it did not move most of the students.

Early 90's I had to change for gym class. I've also been to clothing optional campgrounds, to me nudity isn't harmful at all. If anything social nudity would be beneficial.

Early 2000s for high school. We had showers but unless you were in the semester where you used the pool, no one used the showers. You had no time at all. Not that I'd have wanted to. Undiagnosed autistic, having to wear clothes over a slightly wet body world have been a nightmare. It was during swimming semester.

When I was just entering in high school in mid 90s there was a tight knit group that would play ping pong in there. The club was called the NPPA, the naked ping pong association, they had shirts made up with the Discobolus sculpture but a paddle replaced the discus in hand.

Also, my conspiratorial mind makes me think this is intentional. That those who ultimately control what is taught in U.S. public schools want people to be more anxious and less confident. Don't help kids face their fears, let those fears fester and even foster them.

We had mandatory shower days when we got sweaty or muddy. The PE instructor actually made sure of it in the locker room. He later came out as gay. I don’t think he ever touched anyone but we were all eye molested by a pedo.

Showers at school are fine but privacy is good too.

No one wants to answer whether it's harmful or beneficial. I expected that.

I say it's beneficial. Body shame is not healthy. No one should be ashamed or shy about how they look nude. It's a byproduct of how we're raised in western society, and this ritual of forcing kids to face and overcome the mild shame is important to self-esteem. Proof-positive that we're all alike under our clothes, and learning that clothes are used as a divider. When the richest kid in school stands next to the poorest in the shower, they're equals. Can't tell them apart, and they see that too.

I feel sorry for you "youngsters" who didn't have this experience. Unnecessary additional anxiety. "What happens if someone sees my pee-pee?!" The answer is nothing happens. Yes, I'm mocking you, it's a childish fear, and it should be left in childhood.