# How has the sagging pants - exposed underpants look survived decades? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 30, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812 "2012-07-30T02:51:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/21 "2012-07-30T06:57:58Z")
I have many ‘urban’ students at my school (not only black, but they make up a majority of our population) and I can assure you that this style is still going strong among the Rascally Youth segment. These kids wear their pants so low that when they sit down in their chairs, the waistline is nearly all the way down to their knees (they often wear very long shirts to partially cover this). Thank god we’re going to uniforms come fall! Student: “Hey Mr. Bravo. We going to uniforms next year?” Me: “Sure are! It’s going to be great!” Student: “Man, \_\_\_\_\_ that. Y’all can’t make me wear a uniform.” Me: “You’re right. I’ll miss you when you unenroll from our program.” Student: _incoherent mumbling_ ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/22 "2012-07-30T14:22:09Z")
They still do it in my neighborhood, too. I’m surprised girls even talk to them, let alone lay down for this style. It’s as high a dealbreaker as spitting is for me. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/23 "2012-07-30T14:23:14Z")
I saw a 20 something the other day with the serious baggy pants thing going. While he was at work. And he had to keep one hand on them to keep them from falling. But it gets better. His job was running down the street grabbing bagged up lawn debris and throwing it the back of the garbage truck while also leaping on and off the back the truck and holding on for dear life as it rushed down to the next spot. I suspect he might be just a smidgen safer and more productive if he had both hands free and wasn’t wearing pants that are in constant danger of tripping him even if they don’t fall. Good grief. I hope he never becomes a firefighter. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/24 "2012-07-30T14:25:04Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I saw a 20 something the other day with the serious baggy pants thing going. While he was at work. And he had to keep one hand on them to keep them from falling. But it gets better. His job was running down the street grabbing bagged up lawn debris and throwing it the back of the garbage truck while also leaping on and off the back the truck and holding on for dear life as it rushed down to the next spot. I suspect he might be just a smidgen safer and more productive if he had both hands free and wasn’t wearing pants that are in constant danger of tripping him even if they don’t fall. Good grief. My boyfriend had a suitemate in college who had this look. Now he really was the nicest guy in the world and a total gentleman, which is why I will not put his name here. However, when he was late to class, it was very hard to not fall over laughing as you watched him hitch his pants up with one hand and half lope, half stumble off to class, all the while holding his pants up. Oh, god, I’ve never forgotten it, even almost twenty years later. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/25 "2012-07-30T14:47:35Z")
When did this become a racial thing? The linked Wiki suggests the fad started in prisons, which is BS. I was hating this fashion when it was the rage for east coast surfers in the late 1960s. Two things we know for sure: 1) Young people like to tweak the noses of old people and 2) old people (myself included these days) can’t stand seeing young people wear their clothes “wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/26 "2012-07-30T14:54:04Z")
I see guys dressed like this every day in New York City, and yes, they are almost always black. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/27 "2012-07-30T15:00:31Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > When did this become a racial thing? The linked Wiki suggests the fad started in prisons, which is BS. I was hating this fashion when it was the rage for east coast surfers in the late 1960s. Mostly black people do it, though the man I mentioned above was Filipino. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/28 "2012-07-30T17:48:26Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Not so sure about that. The most militant anti-sag contingent appears to be black adults. [Indeed.](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2008/11/obama-to-mtv-br/) From the link: “Here is my attitude,” said Obama. “I think people passing a law against people wearing sagging pants is a waste of time. We should be focused on creating jobs, improving our schools, health care, dealing with the war in Iraq, and anybody, any public official, that is worrying about sagging pants probably needs to spend some time focusing on real problems out there.” “Having said that,” he added, “brothers should pull up their pants. You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing. What’s wrong with that? Come on. There are some issues that we face, that you don’t have to pass a law, but that doesn’t mean folks can’t have some sense and some respect for other people and, you know, some people might not want to see your underwear — I’m one of them.” ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/29 "2012-07-30T17:56:53Z")
There was an adult sagging in my apartment complex yesterday. My immediate reaction was ‘ugh’. He was sagging his sweatpants and his undershorts outlined his crack. Plenty of kids have sagging dads…so I’m guessing it’ll be awhile before someone realizes how fucking retarded it looks. ESPECIALLY when a kid has to put his hand over his crotch to hold his pants up. Have you noticed the ‘sag walk’? Where someone is bouncing up and down with his legs out? Bleh. [Sag fail](http://www.funnyphotos.net.au/images/pants-sagging-too-far1.JPG). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/30 "2012-07-30T18:02:13Z")
> [@Farmer\_Jane](#): > > [Sag fail](http://www.funnyphotos.net.au/images/pants-sagging-too-far1.JPG). 🙂 And it looks like he also has the ‘not cutting off the tags on your clothes’ look, if that’s what that white thing is. That’s so tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/31 "2012-07-30T21:22:19Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Heck, I’ve been expecting the girlfriends to kill this trend years ago. > “No way am I dating you. You’re to busy holding your pants up to hold hands/hug/snuggle…” I’ve wondering about this, too. I’m obviously not the target audience for young dudes sporting this look, but I find it very hard to believe that the young ladies love it (I mean, I suppose they do - I just find it very hard to believe, because the guys look so stupid). > [@Farmer\_Jane](#): > > \ > Plenty of kids have sagging dads…so I’m guessing it’ll be awhile before someone realizes how fucking retarded it looks.\ Heh - the hats on sideways look always makes me laugh - I grew up in a farming community, and the old farmers always wear their hats sideways. Yes, young man, you too can look like an old farmer! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/32 "2012-07-30T21:46:34Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > And it looks like he also has the ‘not cutting off the tags on your clothes’ look, if that’s what that white thing is. That’s so tacky. I’m pretty sure that’s a signboard propped up on the sidewalk a bit ahead of him. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/33 "2012-07-30T21:57:33Z")
> [@oreally](#): > > Again: you appear to be looking for logic and/or sanity when it comes to “urban” fashion (and the whole “race thing”). Good luck w/that. Why would you look for logic and/or sanity to explain anything about _any_ fashion trend? Why is being tanned still fashionable, when it has been since the 1920s, almost a century now, and we know it’s bad for you and causes premature skin aging? Why is it still fashionable for women to shave their armpits, even though almost no one can give you a good reason why they do it? ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/34 "2012-07-30T21:59:30Z")
There are logistical problems with sagging. Again - have you noticed how these boys walk? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/35 "2012-07-30T22:05:30Z")
> [@Farmer\_Jane](#): > > There are logistical problems with sagging. Again - have you noticed how these boys walk? There were also logistical problems with female foot binding in China. That didn’t stop it from being fashionable, or stop that fashion from lasting for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/36 "2012-07-30T22:08:03Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > What one poster suggested and I find more and more appealing as time goes by is that youth fashions die when their parents start following them and no one over the age of 30 would be caught dead with sagging pants. > **[เว็บ ตรง แท้ 100 จาก สิงคโปร์ แตกง่าย แจกเยอะ ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ](https://uselesshumor.com)** > > เว็บ ตรง แท้ 100 จาก สิงคโปร์ เว็บตรง ไม่ผ่านเอเย่นต์ เว็บพนันออนไลน์ อันดับ1 ที่มีความมั่นคง ปลอดภัย ได้มาตราฐานที่สุดในปี 2025 ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/37 "2012-07-30T22:31:26Z")
Stolen chains, cans of colt 45, and glocks stuffed in those huge pockets weigh their pants down. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/38 "2012-07-30T22:38:49Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > When did this become a racial thing? The linked Wiki suggests the fad started in prisons, which is BS. I was hating this fashion when it was the rage for east coast surfers in the late 1960s. Wow, I’ve never heard of this. Can anyone confirm there’s a connection between the two fashion phenomena? ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/39 "2012-07-30T22:46:17Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > There were also logistical problems with female foot binding in China. That didn’t stop it from being fashionable, or stop that fashion from lasting for a long time. Even high heels are about as big of a logistical problem as saggy pants. Bigger in a way because they can actually damage your feet. > [@belladonna](#): > > I’m pretty sure that’s a signboard propped up on the sidewalk a bit ahead of him. Oh, you’re right. Well, keeping tags on is still a real thing that people do, in case some people don’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812/40 "2012-07-30T22:51:53Z")
Just my own personal experience: Growing up in predominantly white/hispanic southern oregon, sagging was in fashion while I was in high school from 00-04’, and since we only had white and hispanic/latino kids, it was them doing it. When I became a teacher for a houston suburb, I discovered the the sagging pants were strictly a black student phenomenon. However! There are a faction of black students who wear ULTRA-TIGHT pants as well. On average, I’d say black students at the school I taught wore normal jeans. That’s the danger of averages, of course. And teachers would often discuss how odd it is that the phenomenon has survived for so long as well. We had strict rules against it, supposedly, but administrators rarely ever supported it. I sent many kids out of my classroom with sagging pants, only to have it ignored by admins. Also, the students at my school almost universally started wearing basketball shorts underneath their pants, to get around the “no underwear” showing rule. This looked doubly ridiculous of course, but I was impressed with the ingenuity. Officially, of course, the administration said that wearing shorts underneath sagging pants was still unacceptable, even though wearing shorts by themselves were just fine. So it became obvious to everyone that it was just “the man” trying to oppress the students. I mean, the students knew it was completely illogical, “Why are we allowed to wear basketball shorts, but not sagging pants on top of them? My underwear aren’t showing!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-has-the-sagging-pants-exposed-underpants-look-survived-decades/629812.md?page=3)