Sagging Pants: Fashion or an act of defiance?

He passed by in front of our house again and stood at the corner then lit a cigarette.

There he goes again. He is my neighbor living in the next block.

What about him? Why is he my subject for today’s post?

Well by merely looking at the title, I know for sure you already have a clue.

Previously, I have made a series of posts about technology so I guess I have to make a way to write about other things.

I was reading some of my email notifications from Quora and found it interesting to read about the question, “What are some signs that someone is a keeper?”

You know if you are new to writing and find it hard on what to write about, just think of a question and start from there.

In terms of questions, Quora is one of the best places to find interesting topics on the internet.

After I have read the answers to that question, I scroll down and this next question gives me an idea of what to write about for today.

 What disgust you?

The question was posted by Hannah Baty and then followed by the answer, “Men who intentionally wear their pants down to expose their backsides and underwear.” Then photos of two guys with sagging pants were shown.

Going back to my neighbor who is in his mid-30s, who has lots of tattoos and is a member of a famous fraternity group, he used to go out with sagging pants. I have nothing against him, in fact we always have a conversation every time he catches me outside. He was an OFW too that is why we can relate things. It just disgusts me seeing him in sagging pants. What's worse is that he is used to going out for a smoke wearing only boxer shorts.

How did sagging pants exist and where did they originate?

For sure there are also youngsters in your place who used to imitate this type of “fashion” as they knew it, which looks like idiots walking around like having stains on their pants.

Sagging Pants

According to some facts, sagging pants originated in prison. It was said that if an inmate is lowering his pants showing his underwear, it is a signal that he is available for sex. They are ready for sexual relationship with whomever inside the prison. In short it is a signal for sexual availability.

However according to snopes.com who posted the origin of sagging pants, it really was originated in U.S. prison but with no sexual connotation.

The screenshot above is quoted from the post. It appears that prisoners were given clothing that doesn’t fit them, mostly oversize and then the lack of belts. So, most inmates have their pants falling off their asses. Belt is no longer needed to avoid inmates from hanging themselves for a possible suicide.

Later on the practice of sagging was adopted by rap artists like Ice-T and Too Short until it became a fashion trend.

The US has great influence in PH and one particular trend is the wearing of clothes. So Filipinos would always want to imitate US celebrities and artists when they see them wear new trending clothing. No wonder that most people in PH would always want to wear T-shirts, jeans and sneakers.

No one would prohibit us from wearing what we want or imitate the new trends in fashion but make sure that it fits us.

Sagging pants were once famous fashion for men in the 90s and I am still seeing a few of them which includes my neighbor.

I mean there is nothing wrong with that. But did he know the story behind sagging pants?

The oversized clothing provided to the incarcerated ones makes sense. However knowing that most convicts are dangerous I tend to believe that there is sexual connotation with sagging pants.

If you are a female reading this do you think it is appropriate to look at you little brother or teenage neighbor walking around showing their asses on?

Anyway what can you say about this post? Do you still see males in your area walking by with sagging pants? Share your thoughts in the comments.

 Resources:

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/20/us/sagging-pants-era-over/index.html

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sagging-pants/

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/fashion/30baggy.html

Lead image source