For most mixed-gender public saunas in Finland though, bathing clothes are mandatory and nudity is prohibited. Also, nobody cares that much what you are wearing and you can wear your swimsuit to a single gender sauna, too, if it makes you feel comfortable.
This is quite opposite to Germany, where regular sauna goers might very well tell you that clothes are prohibited and that they “pose a hygiene problem”. I even heard people saying stuff like “This is a Finnish sauna, you don’t wear clothes here!” in a German mixed gender sauna. Well, the opposite is true for a mixed gender sauna in Finland 🤷🏼.
Edit: My experience is limited, so I guess I was wrong about wearing bathsuits to single-gender saunas. Thanks for pointing that out @[email protected] !
Jaa mitähän ihmettä? I’ve been to many public saunas in Finland and almost all of them, if not all, prohibit the use of swimsuit/-pants. At least the ones that are in public pools/swimming halls. And the reasoning being as you said, hygiene.
Edit: whoops my bad, you were talking about mixed gender Saunas. You might be correct after all
Can confirm re: Germany. It’s often explicitly framed as a hygiene issue. That said, there are saunas where you may wear stuff, it’s usually designated. Plus you have “women only days” in a good number of public saunas.
In Russia it’s also common to eat dried fish and drink beer/sometimes vodka in the room next to the sauna.
In Germany it’s often framed as a hygiene issue, because that’s easier to sell to randos. The real issue it that it’s uncomfortable to be nude when there are clothed people all around you. And the sauna itself is more comfortable when nude.
It’s kina like a prisoners delemma, where the pareto solution is when everyone else is nude, and the nash-equlibrium is when everyone is clothed. Because of this, some people will want to defect (i.e. wear clothes), so we need to apply outside pressure to enforce the pareto-efficient solution (i.e. by asking people to remove their clothes).
Hmmm, in my experience the discomfort goes away quickly and you stop caring about your own or other people’s genitalia, or lack thereof, in plain view. But I appreciate the game theory approach 😺 Given the nonrationality of many social things, I’d wager that it’s just a convention whose true meaning matters less than the fact that “it is the way it is”.
A swimsuit is quite common in Norway. Basically you ask yourself the question “am I going to make anyone uncomfortable”. If it’s single gender and people are not extremely shy, you generally go with only a towel, but nobody is really going to care. If you’re a gender mixed group of friends that don’t know each other that well, you might prefer putting on a swimsuit in order to make sure people feel comfortable and included.
From my experience the Swedes are the same.
This is based on private saunas with friends. In public mixed gender saunas I don’t think I’ve seen anyone go naked, but I’m sure certain Finnish tourists would and nobody would mind.
For most mixed-gender public saunas in Finland though, bathing clothes are mandatory and nudity is prohibited. Also, nobody cares that much what you are wearing
and you can wear your swimsuit to a single gender sauna, too, if it makes you feel comfortable.This is quite opposite to Germany, where regular sauna goers might very well tell you that clothes are prohibited and that they “pose a hygiene problem”. I even heard people saying stuff like “This is a Finnish sauna, you don’t wear clothes here!” in a German mixed gender sauna. Well, the opposite is true for a mixed gender sauna in Finland 🤷🏼.
Edit: My experience is limited, so I guess I was wrong about wearing bathsuits to single-gender saunas. Thanks for pointing that out @[email protected] !
Jaa mitähän ihmettä? I’ve been to many public saunas in Finland and almost all of them, if not all, prohibit the use of swimsuit/-pants. At least the ones that are in public pools/swimming halls. And the reasoning being as you said, hygiene.
Edit: whoops my bad, you were talking about mixed gender Saunas. You might be correct after all
Hygiene and chlorine
Can confirm re: Germany. It’s often explicitly framed as a hygiene issue. That said, there are saunas where you may wear stuff, it’s usually designated. Plus you have “women only days” in a good number of public saunas.
In Russia it’s also common to eat dried fish and drink beer/sometimes vodka in the room next to the sauna.
In Germany it’s often framed as a hygiene issue, because that’s easier to sell to randos. The real issue it that it’s uncomfortable to be nude when there are clothed people all around you. And the sauna itself is more comfortable when nude.
It’s kina like a prisoners delemma, where the pareto solution is when everyone else is nude, and the nash-equlibrium is when everyone is clothed. Because of this, some people will want to defect (i.e. wear clothes), so we need to apply outside pressure to enforce the pareto-efficient solution (i.e. by asking people to remove their clothes).
Hmmm, in my experience the discomfort goes away quickly and you stop caring about your own or other people’s genitalia, or lack thereof, in plain view. But I appreciate the game theory approach 😺 Given the nonrationality of many social things, I’d wager that it’s just a convention whose true meaning matters less than the fact that “it is the way it is”.
Sometimes there are also men-only days. Tho they kinda suck.
Woman only day:
Man only day:
I wish man only days where also a bit more “care” focused instead :(
A swimsuit is quite common in Norway. Basically you ask yourself the question “am I going to make anyone uncomfortable”. If it’s single gender and people are not extremely shy, you generally go with only a towel, but nobody is really going to care. If you’re a gender mixed group of friends that don’t know each other that well, you might prefer putting on a swimsuit in order to make sure people feel comfortable and included.
From my experience the Swedes are the same.
This is based on private saunas with friends. In public mixed gender saunas I don’t think I’ve seen anyone go naked, but I’m sure certain Finnish tourists would and nobody would mind.