My 7th-grade son came home today and related the following:
Today at school, a group of 8th-graders were threatening a 7th-grader at lunchtime. In order to look really scary and “gangsta-fresh,” the bully unzipped his OWN FLY and pulled his pants down so far, you could see the BOTTOM of his boxers. Then he flipped his shirt over his head, with the arms still in, so his preteen nipples showed.
Then Mr. Scary and his pals waddled up to the smaller kid and said (punching one fist into the other hand) “What-cha lookin’ at, SEVVY?” :dubious:
Whereupon the 7th-grader being menaced fell over laughing. The entire courtyard broke up entirely. The bully and his underdressed pals waddled to the bathroom and came out dressed.
Is this something new? Is pantsing YOURSELF supposed to be scary and threatening? Is the message, “I’m so tough, I don’t even CARE if I can’t run away!!” Or, conversely, “Look at my nice underpants, loser!”
Kids these days…
I’ve seen people do it, and not just kids either. I’ve actually seen teenagers trying to play basketball with their pants sagging below their ass. They dribble with one hand and hang on to the wasteband with the other.
Ewww. They should really clean their shorts more often.
For as long as I live I will never understand the attraction to wearing pants large and baggy enough to smuggle entire Mexican families in. I know a few years back in seemed to be chic to let the jeans hang down low enough at the back to proudly display your BVDs, looking like nothing so much as a loaded denim diaper. Evidently this gave way to just letting the entire waistline ride low which, to my thirtysomething eyes, just makes them look like they accidentally bought a 40 pant for their 30 waist and were absolutely determined to make it work, belts be damned.
Now, removing a T-shirt entirely preparatory to a scrap is common, but pulling the front over your head, then unzipping and pulling your own pants down? Is this supposed to be some kind of menacing posture? Because what brings to my mind is Eddie Murphy just prior to saying, “Norton, I’m gonna bend ovah…”
I think the idea was to look like you had taken off your shirt, but have it handy to pull back down in case a teacher showed up. That way you wouldn’t get “dress-coded.”
Yes, “dress code” has been verbed since I’ve been in jr. high.
I’ve actually seen a display in Target, of all middle-class places, that showed a male model with his boxer waistband showing above his jeans. Every time I passed it, I muttered, “nice underpants, handsome.”
And I have been informed by my kid that nobody, but NOBODY, wears whitey-tightys above their jeans. Boxers only, if you want to be “in.”