I wear speedos*. In all aquatic activities, casual (which is rare) or athletic (even rarer), with family or friends, it's speedo time. I don't even own swim trunks. And because being a man who wears speedos is still rare (in straight spaces; I'm nothing in gay spaces — nothing), I have developed something of a "Speedo-Sense" — meaning, I have a running vibe check of where America stands on speedo acceptance. And somehow — impossibly, improbably considering how America is just ass-sliding towards conservatism — summer 2025 has been deemed the summer of the speedo.
* I use "speedo," lower-case, to mean any swim brief; Speedo is the brand. This is the problem with genericized trademarks — but sorry Speedo, but they're all speedos.
The New York Times declared "Skimpy Men's Swimsuits Are Making a Splash"! GQ asked "Are Straight Guys Ready for Speedo Summer?" Back in February, comedian Jay Jurden implored men to wear speedos on Subway Takes (1.8M views). Even the website for The Today Show, your mom's favorite website for recipes and normalizing low-key dangerous takes that you'll have to push back against the next time you call her, published an interview with a man on a "quest to normalize speedos for dads." People are saying this surge in popularity is because of Walton Goggins' photoshoot for Cultured wherein he sported an electric yellow brief. Sure, if anyone's gonna get men to question the prison of toxic masculinity, let it be the extremely flamboyant, strangely virile Uncle Baby Billy. But I think we could — and maybe should — look towards another totem of masculinity, the original briefs-in-public advocate.
I'm talking about Superman.
A lot is being said about Superman right now, a lot of it by fans both old and new, and a lot of it by certified idiots who think Superman should be ... an asshole? Or something? I've already weighed in on that. Now I'm here to state that if summer 2025 is Speedo Summer (and it seems like that is a settled fact), then let Superman be the hero of Speedo Summer. Why? Because while there is only one beach scene in Superman (and it's not exactly a party), the Man of Steel's return to pop culture prominence features the return of his red briefs.
Superman's speedo hasn't been seen on any screen, in live-action, since 2006's Superman Returns. Almost 20 years — and we've had two very prominent Clarks Kent since then!
Neither Henry Cavill's movie Superman nor Tyler Hoechlin's TV Superman wore the short shorts. They were just two big boys in a blue onesie with no pop of color in their midsection. This was also the case in the comics, from the DC relaunch with 2011's New 52 initiative through to 2018, when Superman returned to his classic suit for Action Comics #1000. It's just ... not ... a good look. It's boring! Boo! Boo!
That's why seeing David Corenswet's big blue put on those little red shorts is such a moment. They're a moment, but the most important thing about the return of Superman's speedo is how it's not a statement at all. It goes completely unremarked upon in Superman. No one makes the "underwear over his pants" joke that's been pounded into the ground over the past 20+ years, like Superman after fighting a kaiju. And the movie doesn't bend over backwards to explain them. There's no, "Actually it's a nod to the circus strongmen of 100 years ago" (which they are) and no one tries to explain away the shorts as Kryptonian tradition or whatever. They're just a part of his costume again, for the first time in decades.
And how does he look? Super.
The cut, proportion, style — they're perfect.
Oh — the elevator pitch for speedos, because maybe you're here and need convincing: They dry almost instantly, don't have the vaccuum-seal-crotch-effect that shorts have, lack the yards of weighty fabric that trunks have, and yes, they are comfortable! They're so comfortable that you forget you're wearing one because you're not constantly pulling soaking wet fabric from your thighs for the rest of the day. And like the briefs Superman has worn over the years, they are available in so many styles, cuts, and lengths.
Christopher Reeves is wearing a classic, fuller style, like the briefs at Kaftko, or the One briefs at Speedo; Dean Cain sports a high cut style, like the Speedo Solar Brief or the highrise style at Aussiebum; Brandon Routh has a fuller low-rise brief, like those at Sluggers or Smithers; and David Corenswet has a more retro style, kinda like those at Chubbies or, again, Speedo. Sidenote: I get a little bit of pleasure knowing that Dean Cain's brief is by far the gayest.
Let me tell you, reader who is speedo-agnostic or perhaps speedo-curious: you too will feel super in a speedo. Seriously. Just like Superman, standing there proudly sporting something he wants to wear despite haters making tired jokes, wearing a speedo because it makes you feel good despite what haters might think — that's some Superman confidence.
It should also go without saying, but — you do not have to have a Superman physique to wear a speedo. All you need is a body and confidence — or the ability to approximate confidence until you really feel it. Seriously, that's enough to make it work — kinda like how the difference between how the public sees Clark Kent and Superman isn't just the glasses; it's the glasses and his confidence.
It feels good to do something for yourself that requires you to feel good about yourself in order to carry it off, even if you have to fake it 'til you make it. That's where Superman's tagline is actually good advice for Speedo Summer: "Look up." If you're wearing a speedo and feeling self-conscious, look up. Stand straight. Fold your arms or put your hands proudly on your hips. Feel good about yourself, because you look like Superman.
