MSNBC discusses a growing trend of stockings for men which many call "mantyhose," as well as other "feminine" clothing that are renamed and altered in quality to dodge the stigma of being deemed feminine. On the one hand, they're making the hosiery as masculine as possible. On the other, the way the companies and their consumers humorously embrace its femininity is interesting.
Most companies name their stockings, girdles for men and the like almost indistinguishable from the "feminine version" of the product by completely omitting the use of words like "hosiery" or "stockings." For example, a product that's claimed to be "spanx for men" is called a Core Precision Undershirt. There's also a pantyhose for men called Comfilon's Activeskin Legwear for Men.
And while men's pantyhose is used for the same reasons anyone would wear hosiery, including support, comfort, and warmth and yes, aesthetics, the author makes sure to appease the reader:
European men have been sporting hose for several years, but the trend has been slow to catch on in the U.S. (It is important to note that the trend has no connection to men who wear hose to cross-dress, since they prefer to wear pairs that are more feminine.) The "mantyhose" is also part of a larger trend of untraditional men's underwear designed to lift, sculpt and suck in that beer belly... (Emphasis mine)
It's of the utmost importance you know that these are manly stockings! No cross-dressers here!
But while their makers and users try so very hard to distinguish themselves from women's stockings, girdles, what-have-you, they still manage to make a joke out of the fact that - whatever name you give it and whatever manly material you make it into - it's still women's clothing. The word "mantyhose" itself could make one chuckle. In fact, simply adding an "m" in front of many of these clothes masculinize but also mock them, like "mantyhose" or the "mirdle" (man girdle). Even the companies use humor in their marketing techniques; the tagline for Comfilon is, "This is NOT your mother's pantyhose."
This seems indicative of the general male hetero response to anything they do or wear that's "feminine" - if you mock it while you're doing it, you can get away with it. Same thing with male hetero friends who pretend to make out when they're hugging each other, or skip around the room in their face cream - it's more or less a way of defying gender norms without having to catch shit for it. And that makes me sort of sad.
At the same time, the article seems to imply that men aren't embarrassed, but their wives (of course they have wives!) are the skittish ones. Thoughts?
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what i want to know is WHY men, who have been lucky enough to escape the perils of form-shapers for SOOOOOOO many generations, are all of a sudden putting themselves through the indignity of them! are they going to start shaving their legs to keep the hairs from getting caught in the hose and/or poking out?
i personally can't stand pantyhose, no matter what you want to call them and refuse to wear them. but that's beside the point. this reminds me of how we've been fighting to get women's clothing sizing to be more fair/true, like men's but, rather than converting women's to measurement based, they've started converting men's to meaningless number based. it's just frustrating from both a feminist and a just plain practical p.o.v.
And have you noticed all the lotions and bodywashes that are being marketed to men now? My theory is that it's a marketing phenomenon. The market for these items for women is already pretty maxed out, since most women have been thoroughly convinced that they need to use at least 25 different hygiene/cosmetic items each morning before leaving the house. So the marketers need to branch out into a new demographic. Maybe this also accounts for the man-girdle, man-hose phenomenon.
yah, i saw a commercial for a gillette shower gel that has "hydrators" in it. because, as we all know, real men don't use lotion. all these guys are finally catching up with my first long-term boyfriend who was totally a metrosexual loooong before that term existed.
Put it in a dark blue or grey bottle, remove or replace the scent and you have a product "specially formulated for men." An easy way to sell a lot more lotions and body washes.
I think you hit the nail on the head,Rachel - the marketers have reached the outer edge of the female market, so now they have to convince guys to buy unnecessary (and in some cases potentially harmful) products!
As for the male pantyhose - they don't seem very practical - how do you go to the bathroom wearing those things? Do you have to pull your pants all the way down?
"Are they going to start shaving their legs to keep the hairs from getting caught in the hose and/or poking out?"
Hmmm, I hope so, I like a shaved guy!They look better.
This is slightly weird for me for a different reason. Most of the men I grew up around had a least a few pairs of pantyhose in their trunk and would be thrilled that there is mantyhose available.
If you surf or dive you need pantyhose to get and out of your wetsuit quickly and easily (so you can go to work!).
That and few of the women I grew up with wore them for any other reason really either. I mean...pantyhose in Hawaii...can you even imagine the discomfort?
I personally prefer to use the whole word "man" as a prefix. Man-girdle sounds great, for example. My partner loves glycerin soap, and he'll just grab several bars out of the bin at Bath & Body works without looking at the scents, so he always ends up with really "girlie" scents, which doesn't bother him (or me) at all. But we always joke about his "man-soap." We also call his backpack his "man-purse," since he uses it like one. I, on the other hand, don't carry a purse. We're so gender-confused!
My ten-year-old brother has diabetes. He carries all of his supplies with him in a bag that we call his man-purse. My mother and I, both feminists, always feel a little tickled when someone asks if he is carrying "Mom's" purse for her and he politely but confidently replies, "Nope. It's mine."
I don't really like pantyhose, period. I wear it, but that's because I like to wear skirts year-round and without hose/tights I'll freeze on my walk to work. But it's a serious pain - uncomfortable, frequently develops runs, expensive - so I'm not sure why guys would wear it for fashionable purposes.
That said, I'll admit it presents a definite sense of gender discomfort - seeing guys legs defined in pantyhose in the way that women's legs have been for years seems vaguely obscene and inappropriate. I get that this is me being unable to cope with gender-fucking, but it's still weird - and I can understand, then, why guys need to hold it at a distance and downplay it's feminine qualities.
Gender discomfort is a good thing. But it doesn't last for long - people get used to seeing something pretty quickly, and then they don't even notice it anymore. That's actually kind of amazing given the fact that so many people firmly believe that gendered characteristics are natural and immutable.
How then do you explain the very American backlash towards the "Metrosexual" by creating the more-manly no nonsense "ubersexual" or "retrosexual". Could it be reasonable to assume that there are some women out there who are just not comfortable with having their boyfriends spend more time getting ready than them and and now voice their opinions for a more rugged "man-ly" man who would not hog the mirror with them.
I'm sure the women on Feministing are very open about people exploring their gender-roles and such. But not everyoune out there is as accepting.
I'm sure there are many, many people out there who are firmly socialized in heaps of gender-normative bullshit. Of course. But if you look at how much gender expectations have already changed in our culture it's pretty hard to maintain that it's set by nature or that it's never going to change. Unless you have your head firmly buried in the sand.
Shatner wore girdles, therefore girdles are masculine.
On a slightly more serious note: Many years ago, before such an item existed for a "male market", I was advised by a drill sergeant that to combat the blisters I was getting it would be a good idea to purchase and wear some "stockings" under my regular GI issue socks.
Over the years I've encountered a lot of other fellas who have been given the same advice.
Mantyhose is for a man, and pantyhose is for a pan. I see no problems here!
ha ha ha ha ha.....does that mean fishnet stockings are for....fish?
Wait, wait, wait...they make mens pantyhose?
where are the genius marketers of the bro/manziere when you need them?
i guess this gets filed with
girls play with dolls
boys play with "action figures"
Maybe I missed the boat or I don't wear pantyhose often because they are horribly uncomfortable, but why would you need to wear pantyhose (mantyhose) unless you are trying to cover up stubble/blemishes on your legs while you are wearing a skirt? Am I missing the man-skirt?
I cannot imagine why some women would be skittish around cross-dressers. My boyfriend has a collection of tights, skirts, dresses and the like and, being roughly the same size as me, I can borrow things from him if I need something to wear on a night out. Also, half his outfits are better than mine. Seriously, guys, transvestites rock.
My girlfriend and I have been trying to figure out the same thing for a long, long time. FYI, I'm a crossdresser, and she encourages me in it, as well as doing a wonderful job on my make-up. :D
But if you try to find anything online about people who date crossdressers, it seems like there's always some sort of stigma, even jealousy involved with it. It's really bizarre, and depressing.
i'm not sure if jelousy is the word i would use. i have a really different perspective being involved in the bdsm/fetish community but what i keep hearing is cross dressers are fine but sissys are the anoying ones. mind you, i think we could have a whole other discussion on this.
I love Eddie Izzard! That's a guy that makes wearing make-up look hot.
I do, too. My girlfriend and him are the top two people that helped me really be comfortable with myself. :3
Transvestites rock indeed!!!!
Sorry, big fan here.(blush)
That said, sadly some women ARE very skittish around the notion of cross-dressing or anything that remotely smacks of it, even something as mild as an emo kid in eyeliner. To each her own, I suppose, but this company is probably missing a whole market for themselves by bending over backwards to dissociate from cross-dressing and those who enjoy it.
That picture is hottttt!
Hehe.
...gives me a lady-boner. =D
That's true...
I have a promo t-shirt I was given at some now-defunct comic company where I worked, it said "I Dig Men In Tights." It was a reference to superhero costumes, I suppose, but little did they know what I had in mind when I wore it!"
Agreed! He has fantastic thighs.
Although this pic is a bit of a lie . . . he is certainly not one of target audience. No need for beer gut-slimming mantyhose on that one ;)
Oh I'm totally convinced (in response to the last question) that women are equally guilty in perpetuating gender stereotypes as men. Why is a much more complex matter, of course, since most of them are to their disfavour.
Changing the name for gender is stupid. Eyeliner, not guyliner. Purse, not manpurse. I'm sick of compainies making products and coming up with lame names to go with it. I don't care if anyone of any gender, etc... chooses to wear whatever, as long as that's what that person wanted.
Even if you are going to target men for a certain product just call it a freaking skirt or pantyhose or eyeliner, instead of manskirt.
i really think companies only make a big deal about "men's" and "women's" items to charge less/more.
when i was looking for swim goggles, the "men's" goggles were 3 dollars cheaper and i couldnt not see any noticeable difference between the two.
and a gentle reminder, using "lame" as a derogatory word is able-ist.
But calling it a man-purse, man-panties, man-girdle etc. is a way of sort of teasing at the gender assumptions to begin with and unraveling all the gender bullshit. It's sort of ironic in some ways. Also, it makes me giggle (along with lady-brain, lady-boner, etc.).
Does this mean that I should feel tease my female friends for having "man-nish" hands/chest/shoulders/feet, or how I adore the look of their "girly beard" on their faces? I mean afterall, one could see that by me doing so, all I wanted to do was to unravel gender assumptions and all that bull-shit.
The reason why I wouldn't want to do that is because I understand that women are subjected to more pressure in terms of physical appearances. Even the most staunch feminist may at times feel a bit uncomfortable if someone calls them ugly or fat.
The line of thinking of thinking is similar with these products aimed at men. Men now have many more choices than 10 years before. Make-up, bags, accessories, etc. These grants them more freedom to express themselves in terms of their appearance compared to their fathers' or grandfathers' time.
Now, I'm sure that there are guys out there who are extremely comfortable with their masculinity and disregard what people say and just do and wear what they want without worrying about what society(men and women) thinks of them stepping out of the gender box (which for men is a smaller box than for women). Just as I'm very sure that there are women out there who are extremely comfortable with their feminist identity that they dont get uncomfortable at all when someone calls them fat, ugly, a slut, etc.
But it would be reasonable to assume that not every woman can be so comfortable like that. And from that, it would not be unreasonable to assume that not every man might be so confident with his masculinity .
Since men are often derided from trying to step out of the gender box (in terms of behaviour, mannerisms, actions, likes and dislikes, clothing, etc), it would also be reasonable to assume that some men might want to try out things that have been seen as the domain of women without having to endure strange looks and insults from other members of society.
For example, in many parts of Asia, there used to be only beauty parlours for women, where women go to have facials, manicures, pedicures, spas. Some men used to go to them as well, and sometimes they tell me it makes them uncomfortable, going into such an environment because back then there was a very much "men don't get facials, and if you do, you're either very vain or very gay". In less than 5 years time, they have beauty parlours that specially cater for men, and many of them say that it does make the men feel more comfortable and not being judged by others.
In the same case, there might be some men out there who do indeed want to give make-up or try on more androgyneous forms of clothing, but they are afraid to do so because they might get ribbed or bagged by their mates (male and female). After all, by calling something a guy-liner, it implies that the original eyeliner is meant to be used for women, not men. Same with man-bag, man-purse, etc. It goes along the lines of saying a man is a man-whore...it implies that the original whore is meant to be a woman, not a man.
therefore, along those lines, I am in total agreement with Strutter. EStablished brands do not call their bags "man-bags". They just call them men's messenger bags. Established brand of male make-up don't call their products man-cealers or man-liner or man-foundation. They just call them concealers, eyeliner or Foundation. I don't see a problem of this being marketed towards men by having different colours or a different style of ads. And even if there was a problem, men should be the ones who complain about the things they don't like about the advertisement. Just like how women complain about marketing things all in pink for women, if men wanted to complain about the marketing of cosmetic products for men or clothing for men, I'm sure they would step up to the plate to voice their complains.
I will however disagree with misogynistic ads like Axe body spray or whatever. However, that is from a product on the low-end of the market. If you go to higher-end products and brands, they focus more on how good the men looks and how it enhances his appearance as whole, rather than how many women he gets to shag and con to get into bed with him.
Jesus Christ. I haven't the energy to respond. I'll simply maintain that I believe our current gender categories and norms are restrictive and random, and any way we can break them down and question them is a good thing. And humor is also nice. Gender, like race, has always been used as a tool of oppression that is constructed by the dominant group in a way that will benefit them and justify their mistreatment of those who are marginalized. Thus, in my view, gender should be mocked and questioned and ripped apart piece by piece. I'm not advocating mocking people, but gender roles and constructs themselves. Sorry if that's offensive.
No one is saying that gender roles shouldn't be demolished. However, while you believe that this way of doing it, of calling things "man-purse" and "guyliner" or "mantyhose", is a good way to do it, I disagreed and merely pointed out my opinions on why this might not be a good idea to demolish gender roles. We agree on the outcome (getting rid of gender roles) but perhaps not on the approach to do it. Which is fine, people disagree on things sometimes, that's life.
There was no need to add the line "Sorry if that's offensive" in your reply. It comes across as Passive Agressive. How could anyone find breaking gender roles offensive, especially on this website?
However, if it was sincere, then yes, I am not offended at all. I am merely pointing out how some men might feel towards your approach of mocking stuff made for men that were once the domain of women only. So no worries.
Sorry - my comments here have been attracting a lot of troll (which I know you're not) attention lately, so I often do end up defending the position...
Totally agree. This only perpetautes the idea that anything publicly assumed to be connected to being a female as weak. It also openly endorses the public display of men going along with that 'female associations is bad' mind-set This then corresponds with telling women what is 'theres' by default of what a man chooses not to have as his.
I always call my boyfriend's underpants "panties" and his messenger bag a "purse" and he doesn't seem to give two shits about it, which illustrates why I date feminists. You really couldn't get away with that with most dudes.
I don't know if I should or not, but I felt that it'd be relevant to add that Triumph markets panties and brassieres to men (and cross-dressers) in Japan.
To be completely honest, I was actually a bit disheartened when I discovered that I absolutely could not find them elsewhere.
I think that's one of the very few things Japan has going for it in terms of sexuality, to be honest, is the culture's seeming embrace of all things androgynous. I wish that would be the case elsewhere.
The funny thing about this whole thing is that, like the name "Ashley", hose was originally in the realm of the purely male up until at least the seventeenth century!
I wear boxers when I want. Boys can wear girdles (I surely don't want to!). Everyone can wear what they want. I find gendered clothing to be quite hilarious.
The funny thing about this whole thing is that hose was originally in the realm of the purely male up until at least the seventeenth century!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hose_(clothing)
I wear boxers when I want. Boys can wear girdles (I surely don't want to!). Everyone can wear what they want. I find gendered clothing to be quite hilarious.
Oh dear. Thought I didn't post, polished, posted again. Sorry about the double post, guys. :*(
It is not only the fact that companies are trying to expand and break into new market segments that has driven this trend forward, but also that there is a demand for it. It may not be an obviously perceptible demand, though in some circles it quite is, but it is there. Marketers cannot create a target market out of thin air, there has to be a group of people ready to be receptive. All the companies have to do is dig around until they find a possibility.
It would be a little hypocritical to say that women are the innocent victims of marketers and cultural perception when it comes to the habits that clothing and cosmetic companies are capitalizing on. Yes the bombardment is unnecessary and feeds on the insecurities that we as a society have created and perpetuated, but it is partly the passive acceptance of women that allows this to continue.
So it's not that men are now to be the new prey, because they, and the women in their lives, wanted these things for them. Just like men want women to look pretty, women are beginning to demand the same thing, and it's about time. I see how it might be possible for some women to be uncertain about this trend, and even more so for men to have a need to make fun of it. This is the product of centuries, nay, millennia of strict differentiation between the sexes, and to allow lines to be blurred needs a transition period. You can't expect acceptance of sudden change without some apologetic behavior (i.e. the humor used to market these products). There is resistance against the most noble of causes, so this phenomenon will also induce doubt.
The subculture that welcomes the trend exists, has for probably longer that most people were aware, or at least wanted to admit they were. It is just now that mainstream retail is catching up. Let's not judge too harshly, or laugh too loudly, because it seems to me that that would be taking things too seriously. Overall, I think it's rather nice that we're seeing this product 'seeping' happen. At least that means that men will be able to be just as uncomfortable and obsessive as the women who use these products. It's only fair.
(I am a writer beginning to experiment with using the internet to get thoughts 'out there.' I'm new to the world of blogging, and I have a MySpace page under this screenname where I write thoughts and responses to books and news and articles related to women's issues. There is a link there to my Facebook page as well, where I keep the same writings. If you happen to be in the area, give me a glance and drop a note to tell me what you think.)
Marketers cannot create a target market out of thin air
Um, are you familiar with the pharmaceutical industry? They do this all the time.
Is it just me, or is it that the guy in the above photo got hotter once he put the hose on? I also like guys in make-up. I hope eventually they'll be able to offer that to guys as well. Guys are so boring without some sort of diversity. The majority don't have diversity with character so they might as well have it visually. They all seem to look the same.
Yes, because the majority of men all share similar personal characteristics (and these would be what? 24 hours horny, sleazy, aggressive, macho-bullshit, etc...you know the MALE characteristics...)_ while women are far more diverse in terms of character.
Gosh. This reminds me of the time people say All Asians look alike and that we all like to eat rice, are not emotive, are diligent and studious, know kung-fu and drive souped-up cars. You know...'cos the majority of Asians are like that...yo.
No Timothy. Most guys feel the need to inhibit themselves in order to fit into outdated, irrational and offensive modes of masculinity and human representation. This makes them hideously boring and also immature and short serving.
Youre one of those guys that comes on feminist sites and professes to be the victim arent you?Dont take my posts out of line. Think like a feminist and you might've actually gotten what I was talking about. But youre so busy saying 'ohhhh, poor menzzzz...' that you can't read my posts correctly, huh?
I may be inclined to agree with your first part, but was it really necessary to be so rude to Timothy? I mean, seriously. I really, really don't want to start an argument over this, but it seems ridiculously hypocritical to call oneself a Feminist, and then completely look down to whatever adversity someone else has faced because they are male.
It's true. Sexism hurts men just as much as it hurts women, and it really bothers me when I see people who just think that my or any other male's thoughts and experiences are somehow "less valid" because we're not of the same gender.
If you want to call yourself a feminist, or a humanist like I did before I really even knew what feminism was all about (basically, everything I already believed to begin with, just kind of muddled and without direction), you absolutely must be aware that generalizations of any kind are not only rude, but rather detrimental to society as a whole.
Of course, self-analysis and being honest with oneself is often a difficult and exhausting process to go through, I'm afraid.
"It's true. Sexism hurts men just as much as it hurts women"
Bullshit. Do you also think racism hurts white people as much as those of other races?
And no, the rest of your post will not be listened to because its full of bullshit as well. Knock off the 'what about the menzzz' bullshit - k- Youre doing it like Timothy.
And for fucks sake, his thoughts are less valid because THEYRE STUPID! The dude completely misinterpreted everything I wrote because he's doing his typical 'what about the menzzz,' bullshit. Unclog your brain and we wouldn've had to spend time clarifying it so the little boy could have his irrational sniffle's wiped.
But this is all you hear.....-------------.
(sarcasm) Gosh, thanks for being on this site! We sure dont have enough crybaby men posting here that barely escape being deleted as trolls but live to trash any legit discussion stared on this blog between women about feminism.
Wow, I don't even know where to begin with that. I think that is one of the single most offensive things I've ever had said to me, whether it be in real life or over the internet.
I never said that it impacts men the same exact way as it does women, and I won't say that racism doesn't affect white people as much as other races. What I said is that it impacts them.
I say this because I have experienced both sexism and racism from others, and yes, I am not afraid to admit that I am a white male who in their 20s.
It makes me sad that you feel the need to lash out on someone who's only trying to give you their perspective on an issue, but what makes me the saddest is that I totally saw this coming, too. But I still walked into it, anyhow.
Go figure, it must be because I'm male. *rolls eyes*
"It's true. Sexism hurts men JUST AS MUCH as it hurts women"
What the fuck does that say? That's YOUR own words. You DID say that sexism HURTS men just as much as women.Read the caps. I don't need to hear you telling me not to 'lash out' at timothy. If timothy gave me the respect of actually reading my post I wouldn't have to. You seem to think it's okay for timothy to be an insulting reactionary, but I can't be. Do you think men should get some sort of extra hand holding? I think that if youre a man blogging on this site, it's up to YOU to ensure that you're up to date, and its not my responsibility. You seem like a neophyte on this blog as timothy has often gotten derided for many of his comments he makes. This is a feminist blog and I dont need my views and perspectives twisted around by some privileged man's reactionary distortions. Timothy is often an ignorant reactionary that doesnt even identify himself as a feminist. He commonly makes errors because he is not one. Why the fuck is he even on this blog? It seems to me he thinks himself some sort of rooster checking up on the hens or some misogynistic shit like that. Also, take my advice: you are seriously suffering from a case of 'what about the menz.' Cure it before posting again k. I couldve had a very stimulating debate among feminists in an area not commonly addressed, but instead, it was squalched by 'whiny ass timothy.' I've seen plenty of men contribute on this forum and have seen some very enlightened attitudes demonstrated to me. However, you, nor timothy is one of them.
When Henry the 8th was king, men wore hose all the time. And I think they just called them hose.
As for me, I loathe hosiery. They feel terrible on my body. The men are welcome to them! XP
i find pantyhose extremely uncomfortable (tights are somewhat better, since they're usually softer and thicker and less constricting, and also come in fun colors) and will pretty much do anything to avoid wearing them for more than about 20 minutes.
what i don't get is why men would want to wear them--i mean, men who aren't crossdressing. i'm not aware of any woman who wears pantyhose underneath trousers--why would men want to do this? i'm confused.
I wear pantyhose or thigh highs under pants sometimes because they're warm and then I can wear some of my shoes that would look weird with the socks I own. Usually pantyhose aren't durable enough though.
In the article, the two reasons given by men for wearing this product are to keep warm and for health reasons like circulatory problems.
I have always felt really limited in style as a male,one cut one shape blah colors, now that's funny when i think of the seventies that was a time of apparel and diversity. I have grown to make my choice of dress and do it well.i present me as i feel and clothes have always been a part of that world . i dress a woman and enjoy the look and feel of the putting on makeup, choosing my look, matching pantyhose, stockings-garter,heels. the funny times are the occasional time, i hear someone mumble to another, because they are not sure themselves that's a man dressed as a woman, OK quick! take a look around how come i'm the only one dressed like this and they tell me i'm dressed as a women . honey i just walked through this whole store and didn't see anybody that took time to get dressed . i love making myself look good. and going out to be seen!!. I don't beleive in gender clothing. gender is from within. we wish to express who we are in dress and makeup . all through history there has been both used to impress upon others our identity. wo and men it all crosses over!!
These garments have been around forever in the form of a medically necessary compression stockings. Although I am female, I often have to explain why I have to wear stockings with pants or jeans. The compression stockings help keep my pain manageable and I hope that their new publicity would help men who use them for the same reason.
interesting post. as a gay man who spent several years working in nyc's underground nightlife scene as a more or less genderless creature, i think i have some rather unique insights about the way hetero guys think about gender.
principally, i think the main reason that these products are being marketed with such a ridiculously over-the-top highlighting of their "masculinity" is that hetero men are coniditioned to fear being feminized because it results in a loss of power.
An extremely interesting experience i wish everyone could witness is the first time a "macho" straight guy finds himself in a cruisy gay bar. In my experience, it's usually the first time that these guys have ever in their whole lives had the feeling that women and (lots of) gay men have every day-- they're being treated as an object. They frequently get angry or at least, very uncomfortable. one of the joys of being a drag queen is torturing str8 men in precisely this situation ; >
By styling themselves in a "masculine" way, hetero men provide themselves with the illusion that they are in control of the world. They will make the decision-- they are the hunter and not the prey. When personal style veers from the purposefully haphazard and more towards "trying to be attractive", the illusion of being in command starts to weaken. It's harder to fool oneself into thinking that you control your sexual destiny if you're purposefully making yourself "pretty" to attract a mate.
Personally, I view the so-called feminizing of our national male archetype as a very positive thing. I think it is the result of moving closer to gender equity, as, more and more frequently, men are on an equal footing with women and have to compete for power. I think we will continue to see a likening between male and female style and grooming habits as long as our society continues to move (slowly but surely) in the direction of equal rights and acceptance for all.
p.s. i think this also plays out in the increasing popularity of women anally penetrating their male partners. we're moving beyond conditioned gender roles and closer to objective ideas of "attractive," "pleasurable," "fun," "sexy." i hope my generation (the millenials) can get our society to the promised land of total equality!
Exactly! I appreciate your experience with the issue. Your experiences reveal alot about our society and how we still have alot of issues that haven't even been addressed in the mainstream community.
Shoutout To Timothy: This is what I was talking about. Men constrain themselves because they are uptight about 'falling' into anything that even resembles what might be hypersensitively associated with femanine so they act in artificial and demoting ways in their interactions with women. This makes them vapid, immature and BORING!
Jeeezus!
Wow. Generalization alert.
Hi there Gopher. Ok then, in your opinion, men are a monolith. And yeah, we're all like that. Thank you for your honest and sincere opinion in the matter.
Cheers!
(sarcasm) I just love it when privileged little boys come on this blog to spout their bullshit and misinterpret every fucking little thing. Timothy, youre one of those bloggers that many of the readers consider a bit of a troll. Seriously, we could do without another little boy spouting his "wha wha, what about the menzz" crap.
For fucks sake Mr. Hysterics, you didnt even explain yourself. You have a fucking wall right up where your cognitive skills should be. You know what the name of that wall is? Its misogynistic privilege. Your knee-jerk reaction is a product of anything that says the truth about guys. You live in a misogynistic society and you get the privilege in it. You cater to small, narrow constucts of gender identity and this makes you FUCKING boring. Swallow it Timothy and dont make a face.
Tim,
Youre not even an feminist. Why the fuck do you even post here anyways?
You'd rather have your lies complacized than listen to the truth. This makes you a censor of the realities women face and therefore a inhibitor to the constructive dialogue concerning feminism. All you are is a troll.
I too, hate stockings and rarely every wear them- opting stead for those little hosiery-shorts that keep your thighs from chaffing but let the rest of your leg BREATHE. But on the picture of those masculine, disembodied legs (p.s.-ew), they do look kind of hot.
But I think it's funny the way "man" or men-type pretend words get added onto names that are not feminine. Does "panty" literally mean woman the same way "manty" is derived from man? It's stupid. And who cares if it is "cross dressing"? Maybe that can be an "in" thing now. But as someone else mentioned, hose used to be common for men. As was frills, lace, robes, gowns, slippers (as in "feminine" dress shoes) and other non-pants that somehow only belong to women. If anything, men's clothes became more restrictive in relation to options as women's gained more choices. Ever since bloomers, women can wear nearly everything while still retaining "femininity" (of course, you still have to have long hair and/or make-up or it doesn't count. I have learned this first hand.) But the more "free" women's clothes got, the more repressed men's clothes became with the intention of distinguishing from women. Sad sad sad.
Speaking as a guy ... I like to wear full-leg HOSIERY. (Socks are hosiery too?) In the winter, I mostly wear tights ... for the reasons mentioned: they feel better than sheer pantyhose and they provide an additional layer of warmth. For me, I like the feel of pantyhose and tights.
What I find odd is that women complain of the feel and fit of pantyhose but proceed to cut off the legs -- figuratively speaking -- and call then spanx, i.e., "hosiery-shorts that keep your thighs from chaffing but let the rest of your leg BREATHE." Come on ladies, its the panty part that is uncomfortable!
Just my opinion.
Vanessa,
Good article here. I’ve been wearing pantyhose or tights for about 10 years or so—primarily for improved leg circulation, but along the way have found them to have other benefits as well. There've been dozens and dozens of articles on the rise of men's pantyhose over the past 8 or 9 years, but not too many of them scratch below the surface of the issue like you've done here. Haven’t yet read all the posts, so I hope I’m not duplicating with this one.
I've posted many blog entries or comments asking the question of why there's such a disparity between the way 'cross-dressing' is treated when it's a man versus a woman who's doing the crossing over. For instance, everyone thinks its ‘cute’ or sexy when a woman wears a man’s shirt or boxer briefs—or if she’s wearing a necktie or power suit, she’s not typically ridiculed for it. But, let a man wear something that’s in the least bit associated with ‘feminine’ and he’s laughed at, ridiculed, and treated with so much disdain and scorn as to make most any guy afraid to so much as pick up a piece of women’s underwear for any reason at all.
So, you’ve got to ask yourself, why the difference? It seems that maybe the idea of a woman wearing men’s wear is seen as ‘reaching up’ to take on the air of the ‘superior gender’—while a guy wearing something associated with women’s wear (in this case, pantyhose) the negative reaction makes it seem as though he is ‘lowering himself’ to the level of the inferior sex. Mind you, I don’t subscribe to that notion—just making the observation. And, like you asked at the end of your article, why is it that the wives and girlfriends of those men who aren’t afraid to wear hose more disturbed by it than the men? Is there a certain inferiority complex ingrained in the women that makes them do that? Or, is it just recognition that society makes that judgment on the relative merit of male vs female, and they don’t want their guy getting degraded?
While many guys will take a ‘live and let live’ attitude towards men’s pantyhose, it’s interesting to note that the guys who DO get really stoked about it (‘he oughta have is ass kicked…’) sound like the ones who are most likely to consider women to be an inferior species.
I do value the differences between the sexes, and believe that men should be men and women should be women—just as God intended us to be. However, I don’t agree that pantyhose (other than the name, maybe) should be considered to be an inherently female garment. I also don’t believe that anyone should consider male or female to be superior to the other. Different DOES NOT equate to better/worse. Each has their own gifts and burdens and those should be embraced. But, wearing pantyhose does not matter if you like wearing them.
I'll start by stating that I'm married to a Finnish woman. Finland is perhaps the most egalitarian society on Earth - a least in the Western Hemisphere. They have a female president and while there's still a slight salary gap between the sexes, women yield a lot of power there. It's somewhat of a feminists' nirvana... As the spouse of a Finnish woman, it's certainly been a learning curve for me, an American guy, to feel comfortable with so much power sharing under the roof. While sometimes it's like two rams butting heads, it works for us!
Anyway, I'm a guy who wears pantyhose, unabashed, proud of being a little different. I only wear men's clothes though. E.g. men's briefs/thongs, men's pantyhose (Comfilons). I'm in pretty good shape, cyclist all my life, so I've always shaved my legs and I like 'em that way. And I think my legs look great in a pair of hose. I buy moisturizers and love what they do for my skin, especially my legs and feet. If I don't, they get all dried out (esp my feet) and crack and ruin not only hose, but even socks.
I firmly believe guys should take better care of themselves. I don't wear make-up, even though there are some for men, but I enjoy spa treatments, even manicures & pedicures, just as much as my wife. I'm comfortable with who I am and thus confident about what I wear. The only time I've ever been complimented on my legs was when I was wearing a pair of sheer tan pantyhose and shorts.
I'm excited about all of the publicity men's pantyhose has gotten in the last year and I'm an example of the fashion freedom that's provided. My wife has also really come around to accepting it, especially now that all of my pantyhose has a fly built into it, so she's sure they're made for men.