What’s the hang up on men’s underwear?
Will we ever get over the hang up that men wear boxers or boxer briefs? It even seems the brief is not that widely accepted anymore until later on in life. They get referred to as the dad undies. I mean come on what year is it now? For how the offering of bikinis and thongs have grown for men, it seems there is still a lot of hate for them.
Maybe the haters are the only ones voicing their opinion. Fashion magazines still seem to avoid talking about them or at least the articles I’ve come across online do. One only included boxers, briefs, and boxer briefs in a small survey, but at least the form fitting boxer briefs won out over boxers. I mean the survey has comments from women on men’s butts and thighs and having them being shown off. Why do they opt for the more coverage for guys? Can’t they think outside the box?
If they do think outside the box it is only if the guy is fit. Come on now let’s be realistic. Not everyone has time to spend hours in the gym. I mean can only fit women wear bikinis and thongs? I think not. Of course some people look better than others, but I’ve seen people of all shapes and sizes that look good in a bikini or thong. Let’s wear what we want and feel comfortable in.
Let’s get back to the butt and thighs. If that is what women want defined with underwear then why not bikinis and thongs. I mean thighs are fully exposed in both of them, so you can see them better. What better way to define a butt than with a thong. Bikinis show off the butt nicely too. No, neither one leaves the package for the imagination, which for some reason some women like to just imagine about. Though only boxers really leave the package to the imagination and depending on the boxer briefs or brief they may just give the package a sloppy look.
It’s time for society to wake up and stop demeaning bikinis and thongs for men (swim brief too). They are no joke. Grow up and give them respect and respect the men that truly enjoy wearing them. Bikinis and thongs are fashionable for men too.
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You make some great points. It seems that men get more comfortable as they age and will wear what they want. Women prefer their men to be covered up (most of them do) whereas men prefer their female/male partner to be in scantily clad undergarments. Hopefully, society will lose this hang-up at some point. Until then we trail blazers will need to pave the way!
I guess some of us are born with the “naughty gene”. That is, we dare to try sexy underwear (bikinis and thongs) as our daily apparel. Most of the population just sticks to what’s “normal”, spelled B-O-R-I-N-G. I fell in love with thongs decades ago when viewing women at gentlemen’s clubs (a.k.a. strippers). I’m in my 60’s, and have been wearing thongs for many years. I just want to say Thank You to all the ladies through the years that, by watching you, gave me the strength to try thongs. Thongs are my daily wear now, and I love how they feel.
I think this is more a North American issue. Have lived and travelled all over the world, and I have to say that most men (that I have seen) in Europe and Asia wear briefs and bikinis. Am actually quite surprised how tiny their bikinis often are, even when in very public spots. Clearly none of the insecurity issues that seem to be a part of the North American male mentality.
I agree that the majority of men are too timid (‘pussy whipped?) to wear anything except boxers for underwear or down to the knee swim shorts while they want women in bikinis or at least two piece suits. A lot may have to do with the cutthroat/bitchy opinions that women have for each other that spills over to their men. It is hard to brake away from the pack and do something different but those of us who have done so at least when it comes to thongs/bikinis have learned to enjoy ourselves both sexually and for comfort in a harmless way. Thank God I never had to endure the boxer crap that grandpa wore my mother being more enlightened than that and I did see my dad in bikini underwear so maybe something was passed on to me. I too am in my 60’s and have enjoyed and continue to do so for many years now wearing thongs and bikinis (for me a three inch side is as modest I will do for the prudes!)
I think the media plays a big part in promoting negative attitudes towards men’s skimpy underwear and swimwear, which in turn filters down to the general public. Most male celebrities tend to wear board shorts when they’re on public beaches probably because they are aware that the paps’ cameras are snapping their every move and some fashion writer is poised to criticize them in print if they dare go against the norm. A few notable exceptions recently have been the actor Luke Evans and the singer Steve Grand. Both of these men have had their speedo clad bodies featured online and in print and not all of the coverage has been positive even though they are both in great shape. Therefore is it any wonder that your “average” guy in the street is loathe to follow their example and bare a little more than usual? Have to agree with RJ’s comment about certain parts of the world having more of an issue with this i.e America and the UK, compared to most of Europe and Asia. One of the delights of holidaying in Southern Europe is the sheer normality of seeing guys of ALL ages and sizes wearing speedos on the beach,in the streets and even in shops,and no-one bats an eye!
I think it’s funny how as society goes more and more ‘liberal’…mens swimwear and underwear seems to go more conservative. I think also that speedos (and bikini briefs) have been hijacked as the media makes people think it’s weird etc to wear them. I have noticed from travelling that countries that hold onto traditional norms (family values etc) seem to be more speedo and other friendly…seems like all the experimenting with family values in north America isn’t turning out so successful for us guys that like anything other than boxers or boardshorts..
Look at what happened with Tony Abbott, former Prime Minister here (AUS), when he swam in a red Speedo. The man is no slob either, so it was hardly a complaint about his body shape that the media reported.
Two thoughts – one is that as we have got larger in body size over the generations that so many are now so large that they do not feel physically or emotionally comfortable in smaller styles. There are still plenty of slim men though (I’m one), so this cannot explain why so many slimmer men also wear boxers/trunks.
Another is that they just do not care. Anything mediocre is good enough, and the plainer styles are so easy to purchase in chain stores.
The sexual revolution that we had seems to be largely at an end in many societies.
I don’t call them old dad undies, I call them man-e-panties, because they are the male equivalent of huge, baggy granny panties… seriously, what man would wear such things and what self-respecting women would dare allow her man to wear them. I can understand that little boys wear them because that’s what mommy buys them to wear now that they have graduated out of Pampers and Huggies diapers! But what grown man would consciously walk into any department store and seek out what mommy has been buying them their entire childhood?! I have been buying my own underwear since I was 15 and never went back to wearing man-e-panties.
Now that this whole “fat acceptance thing is all the rage, Mainline underwear makers are starting to use plus-size women to model thongs and g-strings, and not just a few extra pounds, but a few hundred extra. And if you say ahything critical about them, you’re instantly attacked and accused of “fat-shaming”
But in the same circumstance, if an overweight man dares to post pictures of himself wearing a very skimpy bikini brief or a thong, those same voices defending plus-sized women rush in for the attack with laughter, scorn and insults about how he’s too fat to be wearing bikinis or thongs. and, of course, the tired, old rhetoric about homosexuality and wearing panties is thrown around too. Such hypocrisy and double standards! What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If large women can wear sexy underwear and swimwear, then why shouldn’t big men get to enjoy life too?! One of these days I would like to try an experiment where I go to the beach accompanied by a woman of equal size and we both wear the skimpiest bikinis or thongs that we can find and see how many people try to fat-shame me while simultaneously complement her on how beautiful, stunning and brave she is for accepting who she is and owning it!
I would very much like to do that!