SaunaScape

There is a lot of debate on the internet about what attire is appropriate to wear in a sauna in your gym’s locker room. Many of the blogosphere’s self-appointed etiquette experts say that there is no greater horror than nudity in the locker room sauna. We respectfully disagree.

Of course, we are biased.

What do you think? If there is a sauna or steam room next to the showers in your gym, what would you wear inside? Take our poll and let us know.

There is a lot of debate on the internet about what attire is appropriate to wear in a sauna in your gym's locker room. Many of the blogosphere's self-appointed etiquette experts say that there is no greater horror than nudity in the locker room sauna. We respectfully disagree. Of course, we are biased. What do you think? If there is a sauna or steam room next to the showers in your gym, what would you wear inside? Take our poll and let us know. What would you wear in a locker room sauna? Public OpinionView Results  

Nokia‘s new CEO, Stephen Elop, an American, is challenging the long-standing corporate tradition of holding business meetings in the sauna, according to the BBC.

The lowering of boundaries by shedding outer layers of clothing and experiencing a communal sweat has been cited by some as an ideal place to get things out in the open and come to a quick decision. Others feel that these same factors result in an exclusionary culture, that keeps the modest away from important business decisions.

How do you feel? Let us know in our poll.

Nokia's new CEO, Stephen Elop, an American, is challenging the long-standing corporate tradition of holding business meetings in the sauna, according to the BBC. The lowering of boundaries by shedding outer layers of clothing and experiencing a communal sweat has been cited by some as an ideal place to get things out in the open and come to a quick decision. Others feel that these same factors result in an exclusionary culture, that keeps the modest away from important business decisions. How do you feel? Let us know in our poll. QuestionsView Results

From Indexed (with a slight modification)

We saw this cartoon last week on the excellent web comic Indexed, and it got us thinking, about how many people are missing out on the joys of sauna because of poor body image.

We started a poll here in March 2010 asking you what you would do if you encountered a sauna full of naked people. As of today, 87% of you said you would strip down and head in, including 89% of the Americans who responded.

We know our survey is biased, so we looked for some more mass-market validation. American newspaper USA Today has a poll running on its website asking if they would bare it all at the beach. 44% of the 16,000 respondents so far have said yes, and only 41% said no.

That 41% is about the same amount who said that they were unhappy with their bodies in a Glamour magazine survey of 16,000 of their readers from early 2009.

Most detailed and most telling was a survey by French pollsters IFOP. In April of 2009 they surveyed 1000 French women representative of the whole French population to gauge their attitudes about nudity and themselves. One expects the French to be liberal, but the poll results don’t seem to support this.

48% of French women said they are bothered by the sight of another woman’s naked body at a nude beach. 40% were bothered by another woman in a locker room.

When asked what situations they had personally been naked in public before, only 1/3 had ever been naked in a locker room, and only 13% had ever bared it all on a public beach.

The survey also asked the women whether or not they liked their bodies. 52% of French women do not.  Women who liked their bodies a lot were three times as likely to bare it all in a locker room as those who didn’t like their bodies a lot, and were more than twice as likely to have visited a nude beach.

Going back to our webcomic at the top of this post, this French survey refutes her graph. Women over 65 were least likely to go naked in the locker room. Women between 35 and 49 were the most likely (30 vs 36%). However, more than half of all women under age 25 were bothered by the sight of another woman naked in the locker room.

If you know of any more resources on this, let us know in the comments.

[caption id="attachment_575" align="alignright" width="380" caption="From Indexed (with a slight modification)"][/caption] We saw this cartoon last week on the excellent web comic Indexed, and it got us thinking, about how many people are missing out on the joys of sauna because of poor body image. We started a poll here in March 2010 asking you what you would do if you encountered a sauna full of naked people. As of today, 87% of you said you would strip down and head in, including 89% of the Americans who responded. We know our survey is biased, so we looked for some more mass-market validation. American newspaper USA Today has a poll running on its website asking if they would bare it all at the beach. 44% of the 16,000 respondents so far have said yes, and only 41% said no. That 41% is about the same amount who said that they were unhappy with their bodies in a Glamour magazine survey of 16,000 of their readers from early 2009. Most detailed and most telling was a survey by French pollsters IFOP. In April of 2009 they surveyed 1000 French women representative of the whole French population to gauge their attitudes about nudity and themselves. One expects the French to be liberal, but the poll results don't seem to support this. 48% of French women said they are bothered by the sight of another woman's naked body at a nude beach. 40% were bothered by another woman in a locker room. When asked what situations they had personally been naked in public before, only 1/3 had ever been naked in a locker room, and only 13% had ever bared it all on a public beach. The survey also asked the women whether or not they liked their bodies. 52% of French women do not.  Women who liked their bodies a lot were three times as likely to bare it all in a locker room as those who didn't like their bodies a lot, and were more than twice as likely to have visited a nude beach. Going back to our webcomic at the top of this post, this French survey refutes her graph. Women over 65 were least likely to go naked in the locker room. Women between 35 and 49 were the most likely (30 vs 36%). However, more than half of all women under age 25 were bothered by the sight of another woman naked in the locker room. If you know of any more resources on this, let us know in the comments.

How hot do you like your sauna? http://t.co/xm9KnO9 via @sodahead #sauna

How hot do you like your sauna? http://t.co/xm9KnO9 via @sodahead #sauna

Welcome to all of you arriving from SodaHead! We’re so grateful to the SodaHead team for giving us a SODASTAR today for what we thought was just a humble little poll.

Thanks for taking the time to click through. If you like what you see, why don’t you subscribe to our Feed or by Email? If you’re looking for a place to see if you can take the heat, why not search for a sauna near you? Better yet, if you know of one we don’t have listed, tell us about it.

For anyone wondering what SodaHead is, it’s the service that hosts our polls, like the one sitting in the left sidebar there. (If you haven’t already, take a minute to vote and share your opinion on this pressing issue.) Every day, they pick a poll for each of their categories and feature it as the daily “SODASTAR.” From the looks of it, we beat out Phone-Sex Working Moms, Fat Burning Underwear, and The Mom Who Had Her 5-Year Old Arrested. Tough competition indeed!

Welcome to all of you arriving from SodaHead! We're so grateful to the SodaHead team for giving us a SODASTAR today for what we thought was just a humble little poll. Thanks for taking the time to click through. If you like what you see, why don't you subscribe to our Feed or by Email? If you're looking for a place to see if you can take the heat, why not search for a sauna near you? Better yet, if you know of one we don't have listed, tell us about it. For anyone wondering what SodaHead is, it's the service that hosts our polls, like the one sitting in the left sidebar there. (If you haven't already, take a minute to vote and share your opinion on this pressing issue.) Every day, they pick a poll for each of their categories and feature it as the daily "SODASTAR." From the looks of it, we beat out Phone-Sex Working Moms, Fat Burning Underwear, and The Mom Who Had Her 5-Year Old Arrested. Tough competition indeed!

I just got back from a trip to Germany, where I visited the sauna in my hotel. The reactions seen by some of the unsuspecting guests inspired our latest poll:

Poll Answers

I just got back from a trip to Germany, where I visited the sauna in my hotel. The reactions seen by some of the unsuspecting guests inspired our latest poll: Poll Answers

A short poll to gauge your opinion. Assume it’s your personal sauna.

Poll Answers

Click Here to view this poll at SodaHead.

A short poll to gauge your opinion. Assume it's your personal sauna. Poll Answers Click Here to view this poll at SodaHead.