# Why do men need to wear Jock Straps? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715 "2006-04-14T22:01:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/1 "2006-04-14T22:01:18Z")
Why do men need to wear Jock Straps? Is it just a modesty thing or does it prevent hernias (as I was told as a youth)? Or some other reason. When I work out at home, I never wear one. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/2 "2006-04-14T22:40:24Z")
Huh? Its to protect your junk while playing sports. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/3 "2006-04-14T22:44:04Z")
because getting hit in the knackers _really_ hurts. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/4 "2006-04-14T22:46:47Z")
Would you rather get a hockey stick in the crotch while wearing a jock strap, or while not wearing one? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/5 "2006-04-14T22:47:59Z")
It is for support and tucking things in so they aren’t so vulnerable. Protective cups that go with jockstraps are used in some contact sports for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/6 "2006-04-14T22:57:59Z")
For some sports, it’s important to keep the junk _in place_. For running, especially, you don’t want to be bouncing all over the damn place. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/7 "2006-04-14T23:03:13Z")
To support the jockstrap military-industrial complex, of course. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/8 "2006-04-14T23:05:23Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Would you rather get a hockey stick in the crotch while wearing a jock strap, or while not wearing one? I don’t think it’d make much difference. A cup, sure, yeah, I’ll take that, but a jockstrap on its own is just a bit of cloth. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/9 "2006-04-14T23:37:24Z")
A jock is really important if you’re wearing something like a wrestling suit or short shorts so you don’t pop out. and as the walrus said, if you’re running or doing similar, it can be uncomfortable for things to be bouncing around. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/10 "2006-04-14T23:39:01Z")
Not being a sports person, or actually having seen a jock strap, I had no idea there was a reason why one would wear one without a cup. Particularly in hockey. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/11 "2006-04-15T00:03:38Z")
Count me as another dude who could never understand the need for a jockstrap without a cup. And I hate wearing a cup. But check out the Alio ad below. Sort of like closet Eldridge Cleaver pants (For you older gentlemen who remember those. The former Black Panther came out with a line of trousers with an external sleeve for one’s johnson. Didn’t catch on.) Different strokes I guess, some guys like to have their dick in a bra, some don’t. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/12 "2006-04-15T00:19:23Z")
What **walrus** said. I ride recumbent bicycles, and if I don’t wear a tight-fitting garment of some type, things dangle around too much and get uncomfortable. Pretty much the same reason women wear sports bras. I don’t wear a true jock strap though. Usually sport briefs or lycra bicycling pants. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/13 "2006-04-15T00:46:50Z")
> [@garius](#): > > because getting hit in the knackers _really_ hurts. Wel, yeah and that little bit of material never changed that at all… It isn’t a cup. > [@fishbicycle](#): > > ``` > Would you rather get a hockey stick in the crotch while wearing a jock strap, or while not wearing one? > > ``` See above. I don’t run and I don’t wear short shorts. I do use a stair master, but I have never noticed any discomfort while doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/14 "2006-04-15T01:29:12Z")
Try running with loose shorts and no undies or jockstrap. Just let your balls bounce around and see how far you can make it. The reason one nut is lower than the other is so they dont rub or bump into each other when you walk. But when you run or jump around or are very active (like in sports) they tend to knock into each other and into your legs. And that fucking hurts. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/15 "2006-04-15T03:41:38Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > … they tend to knock into each other and into your legs. And that fucking hurts. That’s pretty damn funny. Reminded me about the executive’s Sharper Image gift from the 80s. I got hung up searching until I resorted to “silver knocking desk balls,” bingo, [Newton’s Cradle](http://www.msu.edu/user/brechtjo/physics/newtonBalls/newtonBalls.html). I dealt with a jock strap(s) issue once. We had this CO who thought we ought to wear “silks” (unlined olive-drab polyester running shorts) for PT; the downside is when you’re running and doing sit-ups and straddling big-ass untreated lumber you probably shouldn’t let your meat go free-range. Hence the strap. In theory, the best part is they’re backless so there’s mitigated fecal risk. See, we had to share them and it was pretty much dealer’s choice when it came to picking up a fresh one. One time this asshole was on laundry and he left out the bleach just to screw with us. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/16 "2006-04-15T03:49:32Z")
(leans back and enjoys the fact that this discussion about high-maintenance genitals does _not_ apply to _her_) ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/17 "2006-04-15T03:55:03Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > The reason one nut is lower than the other is so they dont rub or bump into each other when you walk. Whoa, hold the phone, are you telling me this is _normal_? One of mine is a bit lower than the other and I always thought I was a genetic mutant. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/18 "2006-04-15T04:05:02Z")
Jeez, men asking “why do we need jock straps” is like flat chested women asking “why do we need sports bras?” Dude, you ever done sports? Are your balls anything larger than peanut-sized? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/19 "2006-04-15T19:43:57Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Whoa, hold the phone, are you telling me this is _normal_? One of mine is a bit lower than the other and I always thought I was a genetic mutant. Completely normal and _necessary_. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715/20 "2006-04-16T00:03:37Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Completely normal and _necessary_. unless you are a porn star of course [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-men-need-to-wear-jock-straps/352715.md?page=2)