Most people are comfortable changing in front of others in a locker room

Hoang NguyenData Journalist
January 04, 2018, 3:00 PM GMT+0

While a third say they don’t feel comfortable getting naked in this setting

Many people may have not-so-fond memories of changing in front of their classmates for gym class. The locker room, a place with a sole purpose of providing somewhere to change away from public eyes, makes nearly a third of Americans (31%) feel self-conscious about their bodies and say they don’t feel comfortable changing in front of people of the same gender.

According to new research from YouGov Omnibus, a little over a third (34%) say that they feel comfortable changing all of their clothes in front of others, while 27% say that they’re only comfortable changing down to their underwear.

Nearly half of men (47%) say that they’re comfortable changing all of their clothes, while less than a quarter of women (23%) say the same. At least a quarter of men (25%) and women (28%) say they’re comfortable down to their underwear. As for those who feel completely self-conscious in locker rooms, 41% of women (41%) say they’re not comfortable changing in front of others at all, compared with 20% of men.

A look at the data by income level also reveals that Americans who make over $40,000 a year are less conscious about being naked in locker rooms than those who make less than that amount. Those most comfortable with changing all their clothes in the locker room are those who make over $80,000 (44%). While half of Americans who make under $40,000 say they’re generally comfortable with changing all (30%) or down to their underwear (24%), they are also the most likely of all income brackets to say they don’t comfortable changing at all (35%).

Learn more about YouGov Omnibus research

Image: Getty