# Is the fad for men's boxers showing ever going away? (airplane seatmate story) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716 "2007-07-22T01:47:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/21 "2007-07-23T14:49:10Z")
I was just remarking on this to my wife last week. It’s time for this trend to end. What is amazing to me is that “sagging” originated in prisons, in order to signal their “availability” to other prisoners, and yet suburban doofuses have been doing it for 12 years. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/22 "2007-07-23T15:03:33Z")
[QUOTE=August West] I was just remarking on this to my wife last week. It’s time for this trend to end. What is amazing to me is that “sagging” originated in prisons, in order to signal their “availability” to other prisoners, and yet suburban doofuses have been doing it for 12 years. [/QUOTE] [come on](http://www.snopes.com/risque/homosex/sagging.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/23 "2007-07-23T15:16:50Z")
[QUOTE=IntelSoldier] When it comes to clothing style, being racist is totally applicable (I mean, race influences culture which influences clothing style). Are these people black, by chance? Are you white? No wonder you don’t get it. [/QUOTE] Good Lord. Hey, Mike Tirico called Padraig Harrington “Paddy” yesterday, on national television. Is he racist? ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/24 "2007-07-23T15:19:39Z")
The trend seems to be lower and lower, but in a way that’s kind of a good thing. I figure when Godzilla or the pissed-off T. rex from Jurassic Park lands in town, the homeboys won’t be able to run as fast as I will 'cuz their pants will be down around their knees, so they’ll get eaten and I won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/25 "2007-07-23T15:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Seriously? You honestly think that disliking a clothing style is a sign of racism? I don’t know about the other posters, but I live in one of the whitest states in the US. It’s not black kids looking goofy around here… [/QUOTE] I’m trying to decide whether to respond w/ “No, that’s not what I meant.” or “Yeah, but it’s ok though.” I simply mean that it’s a fashion statement from black culture, or whites emulating it. Whether that’s racism is up to you, but IMHO, if you call it racism, it’s an acceptabe form. After all, just because it’s from another culture doesn’t mean I can’t hate it. ---
**Author:** ![Potato\_Pancakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Potato\_Pancakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Potato_Pancakes)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/26 "2007-07-23T16:30:38Z")
You should have punched him in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/27 "2007-07-23T16:34:58Z")
I like the fad. It instantly labels the wearer as an idiot. Used to be, idiots could blend in just by dressing like normal people. Now they have this huge sign over their head that says “I’m An Idiot”. (Yeah, I know, there are still normal looking idiots. It is still nice of the baggy idiots to advertise.) ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/28 "2007-07-23T16:41:48Z")
People refer to wearing the pants on the hips as sagging? I’ve done that my whole life! I have wide, child-birthing hips, and so it always seemed normal to wear the pants between the belly-button and the tallywhacker. FTR, I wear a belt and my ass is covered. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/29 "2007-07-23T16:58:03Z")
[QUOTE=chaoticbear] my ass is covered. [/QUOTE] More’s the pity… ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/30 "2007-07-23T17:09:58Z")
Huh, how about that. I was told that by an 18 year employee at a state prison and just figured he knew what he was talking about, never thought of checking Snopes. Thank goodness for the internet, now I can tell him he is a liar. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/31 "2007-07-23T19:44:20Z")
I seriously doubt it, because there are two powerful but somewhat oppositional factors that support it. First, unlike earlier fads that started with teens, like jeans, or bell-bottoms (back in the day), and so on which made the jump to mainstream adult fashion, that’s not going to happen with sagging pants. Therefore, the style will never lose its offense factor with respect to adults, which makes it pure gold. Second, like the OPs fellow passenger, there are always adults who want to look like teens. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/32 "2007-07-23T21:08:44Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] More’s the pity… [/QUOTE] If it makes you feel any better, I usually lounge around the house naked. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716/33 "2007-07-23T21:21:02Z")
If it helps, the “newness” I was referring to in my original post was about the fact that that the guy I saw was wearing fitted, straight legged jeans that, along with the 3 inches about his knees and the cinched belt, hobbled him. This was instead of the recently tradition of way oversized and falling-down-more-naturally baggy jeans. He did continue with the funny looking splayed-legged walk though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-fad-for-mens-boxers-showing-ever-going-away-airplane-seatmate-story/412716.md?page=1)