is the banter in men<u+2019>s locker rooms really as salacious as the 2016 presidential campaign would have you believe? out of respect for this honored and pain-filled sanctum, a place of small goals and even smaller gains, i tweeted the following saturday morning: actual men<u+2019>s locker-room talk: <u+201c><u+2026>ibuprofen..<u+201d> <u+201c>who<u+2019>s your orthopedist?..<u+201d> <u+201c>..finally up to 3 miles<u+2026><u+201d> <u+201c>..taking the kids to lion king<u+2026><u+201d> lurid sex talk? who has the time? i<u+00a0>meant my tweet as a small reality check, acknowledgment that for most men the gym is, well, just the gym. <u+201c>thanks for this. i was starting to think it was only my locker room that was boring,<u+201d> came a tweeted response. my corner of twitter is a small one. i didn<u+2019>t expect much more than this. then another: <u+201c>that<u+2019>s more like my experience.<u+201d> then: <u+201c>ha. no kidding.<u+201d> <u+201c>so true!<u+201d> <u+201c>yep!<u+201d> <u+201c>that<u+2019>s my experience.<u+201d> <u+201c>exactly right.<u+201d> <u+201c>that<u+2019>s me. life for real people.<u+201d> <u+201c>true that.<u+201d> <u+201c>i can vouch for this.<u+201d> <u+201c>what real men talk about<u+2026><u+201d> <u+201c>the bitter truth.<u+201d> as the day wore on, a different populist uprising got traction<u+2014>torches and pitchforks out defending men<u+2019>s locker rooms. first a dozen retweets, then 100, and at last count 6,226. more than 11,600 twitter <u+201c>likes<u+201d> and 33,000 <u+201c>engagements.<u+201d> bankers in hong kong, artists in ireland, teachers in chicago, young and old, buff and saggy <u+2013> they ripped the mask off the true banality of men<u+2019>s locker-room talk: <u+201c>actual conversation i had in the locker room at equinox nyc: <u+2018>are those burberry pants?<u+2019> <u+2018>yes.<u+2019><u+201d> wrote elman. <u+201c>golf, prostate, interest rates, ex-wife,<u+201d> said roman. and other topics: <u+201c>aspirin.<u+201d> <u+201c>new stock for my 410 home-defense gun.<u+201d> (ari in texas) <u+201c>did state win? any swim lanes open?<u+201d> <u+201c>new running shoes.<u+201d> <u+201c>i work out at our student rec center. the 20-year-olds complain about homework and minor injuries.<u+201d> <u+201c>the barnett funding formula.<u+201d> <u+201c><u+2026>titanium plate with seven screws, right here.<u+201d> <u+201c>dude, people were talking about how to determine if peanut butter is organic.<u+201d> in fact more than a few said they<u+2019>d rather not talk at all. @bridie_od tweeted this: <u+201c>predawn gym demographic: 73% people who don<u+2019>t talk 27% people who talk too much<u+201d> no bacchanal, that. of course, not everyone agreed with this characterization. <u+201c>those saying locker-room talk is all tame are talking bs,<u+201d> tweeted chad. <u+201c>you don<u+2019>t know what you<u+2019>re talking about,<u+201d> said robert in calgary. and others: <u+201c>i hear a lot of raunchy stuff.<u+201d> <u+201c>the 99% don<u+2019>t talk like that.<u+201d> <u+201c>are you kidding me? what locker room is that?<u+201d> <u+201c> heard much, much worse in all my local london gyms .<u+201d> and then the undeniable truth: <u+201c>as with anything else, it depends on the locker room.<u+201d> and the greater truth still: <u+201c>you and your friends need more strength training, less cardio.<u+201d> there was one other reaction to the bigger conclusion that men<u+2019>s locker rooms are generally boring. it was from women, who watched the tweeted conversation unfold and found relief from the sad revelations of the political campaign. <u+201c>this is reassuring, i have to say,<u+201d> tweeted katy. and others: <u+201c>fantastic.<u+201d> <u+201c>so. much. this.<u+201d> <u+201c>this is so sweetly true, it almost brought a tear. well done good men, with your aches and your kids.<u+201d> <u+201c>yes. thank you.<u+201d> <u+201c>didn<u+2019>t realize how important it was someone said this. real men don<u+2019>t need to violate women.<u+201d> teamarie sent clapping hands emoticons. linda sent three hearts, and this note : <u+201c>i love these men.<u+201d> and therein, for the beleaguered men<u+2019>s locker room, the promise of redemption. write to john bussey at john.bussey@wsj.com
talking about real life locker-room talk  - wsj
john bussey