Tonight while changing I could hear a group of maybe 16-year-old high school guys chatting out of sight in the row of lockers next to me. Was quite amused at listening to how they very politely and pointedly warned each other before they "released the anaconda" or "let the banana slug out" when they were changing from swim suits back to normal clothing. I was never particularly comfortable with having to change in locker rooms when I was a kid (and truthfully still don't find it delightful as an adult) and was a part of teenage guy culture so I totally get why they're doing that. However, as an adult with a little perspective I find it terribly amusing. For one, the odds that they're unleashing "anacondas" or "banana slugs" are vanishingly small which is perfectly okay, but amusingly boastful to hear them say it that way. Second, why the urge to be so polite about it? You are expected to get naked while you change into your other clothes in a locker room. It's like they're making sure no one thinks they're making a sexual advance or perhaps warning their friends that their penis is so magnetic it can turn the straightest man gay just from the mere sight of it.
Of course, it's basically just a function of being young and a little insecure, and feeling compelled by masculine expectations to remind everyone all the time that you really do like women, honest. It just takes boys a while (in some cases a LONG while) to realize they don't really need to worry about what their peer group thinks about their perceived sexual orientation as long as they themselves are comfortable with it.
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