[Ben]

I am writing my thesis on body image issues in adolescent males and am basing my study on the fact that it seems the vast majority of people who wear a shirt while swimming are chubby young boys. This is one of the last groups you would expect to have body image issues. Could anyone who wore a shirt when they swam when they were young explain why they did so?

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Name : Ben, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 23, City : Berkeley, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : students, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Greg21569]

I had gynecomastia (male breasts), and they looked just like a young girl's: Very puffy behind the nipples. I was embarrassed, so I wore a shirt. I had a fat friend who was also teased, because his fat breasts stuck straight out, particularly in cold water. So he wore a shirt, too.

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Name : Greg21569, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Chinese/Australian Aboriginal, Religion : Catholic, Age : 34, City : Adelaide, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Penny]

Even though I am not a male, you must understand that it is not only young adolescent males who have this problem. When I was in primary school and even through my high school years, I used to do the same thing. I guess for females it is more of a body image issue, though I believe it is the same for males. Can you imagine what it is like for a young boy who is ridiculed about how 'fat' he is what it would be like to show his body in public? By concealing his negative body image, he may begin to think that all the ridiculing will stop.

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Name : Penny, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Orthodox Christian, Age : 20, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Occupation : university student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dan27147]

During a certain time period of my teenage years, I had a bit of a weight problem. I would wear a t-shirt swimming because 1) I didn't want my flab flopping around for all to see, and 2) I was already trying my darnedest to hide it the entire rest of my life at the time. Even the most obviously chubby kid will try to at least conceal the amount of chubbiness they possess, and to say that they don't have body issues is preposterous. Quite the opposite, in fact. Even today I have trouble with this. I'm covered with solid muscle and can probably outlift most any jock, but I've still got the remnants of a tummy and lovehandles, so I'm not exactly anxious to take my shirt off when it's warm or when I'm in the water.

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Name : Dan27147, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 22, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Mark Bentley]

I was kind of opposite - I was a skinny kid, and I sunburned easily. I kept a shirt on a lot so I could stay out longer, and because I was self-conscious about not being as built as the other boys.

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Name : Mark Bentley, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : UFMCC - Cathedral of Hope, Age : 39, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Financial analyst, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Sue]

Although I am not a chubby young boy, when I was a child and teen, I always wore a tee-shirt when I went swimming. Even though having been raised in a neighborhood where everybody had private pools in their yard and never having had to swim in a public area, I had such a poor image of myself that the thought of anyone seeing me in a bathing suit horrified me. Looking back, I realize I was just slightly overweight, but at the time I thought of myself as a beached whale. As well, I had no breasts, which as any female will tell you is the kiss of death when you are in your teens. I tried to hide what I saw as a horrid figure under the shirt.

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Name : Sue, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, Ontario, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : unemployeed, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[David25918]

I sometimes had to wear a shirt when I was swimming outside because I have very fair skin and would get a sunburn very easily. If I didn't wear one and just wore sunscreen and kept applying it, I would usually look like a lobster if I stayed out for any length of time. I had to wear one. I don't know about other people's cases, but I am thin and never tried to 'hide' my body with a shirt. Of course, when I went swimming indoors, I never wore a shirt.

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Name : David25918, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Ann Arbor, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Beth23208]

I wasn't a young boy, but I grew up in South Florida, and I'm a redhead. I wore t-shirts all the time, especially on the beach. In fact, I was one of the few lifeguards who never tanned. I would suspect that those kids have smart mothers who want to stop skin cancer.

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Name : Beth23208, Gender : F, City : Wamego, State : KS Country : United States, 

[dman]

I had this problem when I entered adolescence. About that time I started to pack on some extra pounds. With normal clothes I could hide the chubbiness, and I didn't have any trouble with that. But at a pool or beach, people would take their clothes off and show their 'real' bodies, and I still didn't want to show off anything. I didn't want to show anything that wasn't nice to the viewers.

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Name : dman, Gender : M, Race : Mexican, Age : 20, City : Laredo, State : TX Country : United States, 

[Josh]

I was never fat, and only after I stopped riding a bicycle everywhere and discovered beer was I even overweight. Nevertheless, I wore t-shirts when swimming because I felt that I had to look like the men on TV. It didn't take too long for me to realise how harmful it was, and stopped to rebel. Mostly, I felt that though I was not fat, I was still not physically attractive.

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Name : Josh, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 25, City : Arcata, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Cook, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[L K]

I'm not a chubby teen boy, but I am large now and was large as a teen. My figure looked okay in swimsuits (after trying on 57 of them to find one that did!) but I wore a t-shirt swimming to hide the back-acne.

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Name : L K, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 22, City : Laurel, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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