I work in New York City and, walking around the streets in Midtown, it is very clear that many women are wearing pants without, um, any underwear (and don’t claim thongs - guys can tell when a woman is wearing a thong vs. going commando). While this can definitely tickle the libido, that’s not the point of this post: Guys go commando, sure, but usually in a situation that is non-business-oriented (e.g., at college with no laundry, camping, any number of other non-business situations). The question - aren’t you gals worried? Guys dribble, guys well, have any number of things that would make this approach a risky prospect at best. Girls seem even more at risk for staining (how was that for an attempt to skirt the issue of writing the word “menstruation”?)…
My wife doesn’t apply this dressing strategy so could only give a WAG.
So? Jarbabyj? Anthracite? Any number of you of the female persuasion who are comfortable leaping in on delicate topics? Is this just a risky strategy that gals are willing to put up with to avoid VPLs? or are there secrets…
Nope, there’s no secrets. Some people just don’t like wearing drawers.
And yes, we are prone to “dribbling” as you put it, and various other possibilities. But that’s the case whether we wear underwear or not. And a thong’s not going to stop much of that either, by the way.
I imagine it’s just personal preference or a desire to avoid VPL’s. Or sometimes maybe it’s just to feel naughty. YMMV.
I hate underpants, especially in the summer. And since a lot of low slung styles are in (hipster jeans, low slung skirts), panties or thongs look silly. What’s the harm in going commando? I keep things trimmed neatly and all cleaned up, so I don’t think I need them.
I haven’t worn bra or panties for years. They just feel so binding and uncomfortable to me (for the record, I am skinny and flat as a wall). Sure, things come leaking out now and then, but they just hang out on my thigh or on my clothing until they dry. Well worth the freedom.
The other thing to consider is that it’s far healthier for the vagina to get fresh air. Helps prevent infections. If I were a woman, I would wear long skirts always and panties never.
FTR, I’ve been commando nonstop for over 22 years now, and this includes when I was working in a hi-powered law firm in downtown Washington DC (under my suit & tie). So much for “business situations.”
Granted, I recognize that I made a big-time generalization, but oftentimes, when a woman is walking with a thong, and is wearing a tight enough outfit that first inspired this post to begin with, I can see the VPL of the little triangle of fabric; very easily, in fact. And I know I am not alone, since my male colleagues point it out regularly, too…not that, hm, we spend our entire lunch hour making these scientific observations…
I’d rather have a little dribble now and then than fabric trying to crawl up my posterior. Even if I get aroused, it never seems to be a problem. I mean how much protection does a strip of cotton panty really offer? Plus, I hate visible panty lines. I do wear undies when I wear a skirt though, in case of sudden gusts of wind. Going commando is just comfortable.
Maybe all these women aren’t really going commando. Maybe they’re wearing pantyhose with no undies…a lot of women do it for the “control top” aspect of it.
Panties are pretty worthless, I think. The only real benefit, as Tequila mentioned, is protection from sudden embarrassment caused by wind when you’re wearing a skirt. Otherwise, wearing underwear simply tells the world, “I’m wearing underwear. What a good girl am I!”
Women’s underwear bites. The big cotton briefs are hopelessly unfashionable and can’t be worn with most clothing- it may be okay for guys to show a peek of their underwear’s waistband in the back, but this looks stupid on women. Bikini panties are uncomfortable until you get used to them; then they produce visible panty lines. Thongs are very uncomfortable until you get used to them, but I think they’re the best of the worst. Then again, as Tequila also said, that little strip of cloth really doesn’t do much.
Men’s underwear, expecially the boxer-briefs, are fabulously comfortable. Not fair. Unlike men, women don’t have any appendages in there to keep in line, and we don’t have a problem with those last few drops unless the restroom is out of TP. Underwear won’t delay an untimely menstrual embarrassment by more than a few seconds, and most of us prefer the sort of feminine protection that doesn’t need panties for installation, if you know what I mean.
I think it’s interesting that women never wore underwear at all until later in the 1900’s; “drawers” were considered to be “fast”. Fewer petticoats and shorter skirts led to the wearing of drawers. Underwear shrunk along with the fashions. Now it’s considered “fast” to not wear our drawers.
WordMan, those women you see going commando are probably doing it for the sake of their own comfort, not to give you a cheap thrill. Sorry to disappoint you.
Holly - believe me, I never considered that gals were doing it for my/a man’s benefit (for the most part - there’s always an exception or two) - that’s why I posted this thread in the first place, to understand the tradeoffs gals made for their own reasons, because, to my knowledge, guys were less likely to end up making the same choice (esteemed doper Jomo Mojo excepted)
Don’t know the origin of it, have know about the use of the phrase for years, saw it referred to in a “Friends” episode - assume it has to do with commandos not have the time to bother with trivial things, such as underwear…
A quick google search yields:
Backgrounder:
I read several reports that claimed today’s phrase came from Britain’s Royal Marine Commandos who, one assumes, often go boxerless beneath their fatigues. I can’t confirm that, but I do know that going commando hit the mainstream when it was used in a 1996 episode of the sitcom Friends. I managed to find a couple of dozen citations since 1996, but I found only one before that:
“Furthermore, colored briefs are ‘sleazy’ and going without underwear (‘going commando,’ as they say on campus) is simply gross.”
—Jim Spencer, “Marking the Golden Anniversary of a Brief Success,” Chicago Tribune, January 22, 1985
“Going commando” I think derives exactly from what it sounds like. Commandos (or anyone going out on a long patrol behind enemy lines) would forgo underware because they had no extra pairs. As a consequence, the pair they had on would get wet, and become super-duper nasty. Govenor Jesse Ventura says he rarely wears underware because he got in the habit from his Navy SEAL days.
I know that when I was a Marine, I never wore them and in fact, still do not. Going to the field for a few days without opportunity to change skivvies while doing a lot of sweating leaves you with nasty slimey drawers. Now you have a nasty rash and itch, at best. Boxers don’t work because no matter what you tried, as soon as you put on some harnesses and a pack, they would ride up to nipple level giving you a harsh wedgie, and then getting as nasty as grippies.
Anything involving an amphibious assault, meant going through very silty water, then rolling around on a beach giving what we called “The Sugar Cookie” effect. Then when you started running around again, we referred to skivvies as “Sandpaper Rabbi’s” for obvious reasons. It was much more comfortable and hygenic to freeball, and out of comfort as well as habit, I rarely wear them now. If I do, it’s cuz I’m wearing a suit.