# What is the purpose of undergarments? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716 "2019-03-07T18:50:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/21 "2019-03-08T00:02:53Z")
As a person who wears blue jeans, I’d be reluctant to do so without underwear. (That zipper is disturbingly close…) However protecting the jeans from crotch funk and such would be a close second. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/22 "2019-03-08T00:10:26Z")
Around here, much of the year, temperatures are low enough to justify multiple layers. If you’re wearing multiple layers, one of them logically must be the underlayer. In the summer, I don’t bother with undershirts. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/23 "2019-03-08T00:42:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > …I also say the poll should have been multiple choice - I wear unders both to protect my bits from chafing and less-than-comfortable-on-bits fabric, and to protect the outwear from, well, what Qadgop mentions. This. I also like the support of a bra. Sometime, in the summer, when I’m home alone I wear nothing but a bra. Recently, I’ve been buying from [https://www.figleaves.com/uk/lingerie/bras/](https://www.figleaves.com/uk/lingerie/bras/) They aren’t cheap, but they have supportive bras without nasty underwires and they have decent search capabilities for me to find those bras. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/24 "2019-03-08T01:25:40Z")
I wear my jeans for a week and shirts for 2 or 3 days. Underwear is what allows that. My wife’s bras fit and are comfortable because she gets them the right size. Her mother’s never did because she believed that only a loose woman could possibly need a size larger than B, so she bought that size, let it out somehow and was never comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/25 "2019-03-08T01:36:04Z")
My mom always told me it was to keep my weiner from getting caught in my zipper. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/26 "2019-03-08T01:55:13Z")
> [@HelenGawn](#): > > [Bolding added] After decades of frustration, seething anger and going braless, I found [these.](https://www.underworks.com/womens-ultra-light-cotton-spandex-compression-tank) Wonderful - I even wear them sometimes when I would ditch a bra. One word of caution: The first one I bought was too tight, so I went up a size. After a few months, they’ve stretched out, despite my following laundering instructions. I’d recommend living with a snug fit for a couple of months or hand washing, which I would never do. ooh. I like those. Thanks a bunch. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/27 "2019-03-08T08:06:11Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I mean apart from having clean underwear in case you get in an accident… Actually, even that’s not a good reason, no one in emergency services cares about your underwear. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/28 "2019-03-08T09:16:38Z")
And if you need emergency services after an accident your underwear stands a good chance of being no longer clean anyway. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/29 "2019-03-08T10:06:36Z")
> [@as\_u\_wish](#): > > Warmth, support, friction, cleanliness of clothing, absorption of sweat and other “fluids,” shape. And custom. Perfect answer. Also sexiness, but that’s less a purpose than a side effect. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/30 "2019-03-08T14:13:47Z")
My word. The only clothing I wear more than once before washing it are pants, which I only wear twice. I think undergarments protect your outer garments. ---
**Author:** ![SuperAbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@SuperAbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperAbe)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/31 "2019-03-08T14:38:38Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Protects outerwear to some extent from skidmarks, leaks, monthlies, spontaneous emissions, and worse things. > > And yes, as a doctor I have discovered there are worse things. > [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. I am torn between wanting to subscribe to **QtM’s** newsletter and wanting to pay him to not tell me any of his “worse things”… ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/32 "2019-03-08T16:27:49Z")
I can’t put a sanitary pad directly onto the inside of my pants, so underpants are necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/33 "2019-03-08T22:04:05Z")
1. underwear protects your outer clothes from… smears and stains 2. underwear or bras (depending on your specific configuration) keeps stuff from flopping around 3. the extra layer of fabric helps cover up the underlying shape, so random people can’t see your nipples and camel toe/moose knuckle ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/34 "2019-03-08T22:51:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > And if you need emergency services after an accident your underwear stands a good chance of being no longer clean anyway. I seem to recall a stand-up comic talking about this: _“First you say it, then you do it!”_ :eek::eek:😃 ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/35 "2019-03-10T14:19:17Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > FCM, you kill me.🙂 what a question. I voted on the “why would you ask such a question?” > There must be a back story here. Spill. > Personally I think women’s underwear was invented by a mean hateful man. I hate it all. But bras send me into fits. I’ve never owned one that is comfortable. Or that fit right. I only wear them if I have to. I dont know how women endured corsets and girdles. There should be a special place in hell for who ever invented those. I went with that selection too. I like the term underwear, the P word bugs me! I go without bras in the house but it does tend to get sweaty under there so I wear one part of the day. I wear the sports bra types. So much more comfortable and no binding and none of the pretty crap of a regular ones! ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/36 "2019-03-10T14:49:53Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > Well, historically, of course, they were used to protect your clothes. Outer wear wasn’t washed that often. Both because laundry was a pain and because clothing was very expensive. So wear something cheaper and easily-laundrable underneath to catch all the sweat. Actually a combination of #2 and #3. Clothing back then was often homespun and/or wool. Take it from someone who had run around in reproduction 18th century clothing; it takes a toll on the body in some weather conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/37 "2019-03-12T03:30:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > FCM, you kill me.🙂 what a question. I voted on the “why would you ask such a question?” > There must be a back story here. Spill. > Personally I think women’s underwear was invented by a mean hateful man. I hate it all. But bras send me into fits. I’ve never owned one that is comfortable. Or that fit right. I only wear them if I have to. I dont know how women endured corsets and girdles. There should be a special place in hell for who ever invented those. I’d choose the two protect options (me from clothes, clothes from me) if I could. BTW, if you’ve never found a comfortable bra: 1. Get fitted by a professional fitter. 2. Go for Decent Exposures (insanely comfy though they do not make the girls perky). ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/38 "2019-03-12T12:39:14Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I seem to recall a stand-up comic talking about this: _“First you say it, then you do it!”_ > > :eek::eek:😃 That was the great Bill Cosby! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/39 "2019-03-12T13:56:00Z")
Back when The Cos was still great. ☹ Pretty much the only reason I wear underwear is to avoid being judged by anyone who might notice I haven’t bothered with it. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716/40 "2019-03-12T14:20:22Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It protects my outer clothes from being contaminated by the smelly parts, so I can wear the outer clothes longer without washing. ISTM that people vary A LOT in how much they sweat in general, and also in how … um … grotty and funky their nether regions get. The OP is very interesting. She may take for granted that – while her experience may be different – for a lot of people, the purpose of wearing underwear is most obvious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-undergarments/830716.md?page=3)