Pull Up Your Pants
Most fashion trends fade as quickly as they appear. The 1960s produced Nehru jackets and bell-bottom pants. Multi-colored toe socks and leisure suits permeated the ’70s. Members Only jackets and parachute pants marked the Reagan era and black rain coats and unlaced boots ruled the ’90s.
Fortunately, these trendy fashions came and went in relative short order. That is the rule for fads; they flame out like cheap jet engines. However, one fad has refused to follow the axiom. It’s one that never should’ve begun and, sadly, shows no sign of decline. When will the youthful obsession with the saggy pants end?
Several municipalities have enacted ordinances to halt the downward migration of trousers. In 2008 the Chicago suburb of Lynwood imposed a $25 fine for exposing three inches or more of underwear. Lynwood isn’t alone. Cities of diverse population and culture have enacted bans on saggy pants, with penalties ranging from fines to jail time.
Outlawing the practice, especially with incarceration, seems a bit exaggerated. Saggy pants are decidedly tasteless, but reveal no flesh. Laws already exist to deal with indecent exposure and no law can eliminate stupidity. Furthermore, if the wearer is too dense to comprehend the ridiculousness of their condition they’re likely too dense to understand explanations of that fact.
Unlike politicians who pretend all societal ills are remedied with a fresh set of laws, I understand that such laws only fuel the rebellious attitude that placed saggy pants in vogue. I also understand that the opinion of a middle-aged man won’t convince the saggy pants wearer that they look foolish. Therefore I enlisted the aid of some genuine experts.
Young guys have long adopted actions that older men know is ridiculous. But another constant are young men’s desires to attract young women. So I asked a few such women for their opinions on saggy pants. These ladies are 18, 19, and 20-years-old, respectively. All are friendly, humorous and thoroughly attractive. They are everything a young man would like to take to a Saturday night movie. Get this, guys, your underwear doesn’t impress them.
Amanda is a senior at East Lincoln High School (Denver). She finds nothing cool about your saggy pants or the “bad boy” image they convey; you only appear trashy and disrespectful. If you show up at her house with your pants slung low you’ll be leaving alone. “The look isn’t attractive at all,” she says with a look of near disgust.
Michelle, a senior at East Gaston High School (Mt. Holly) echoes Amanda’s sentiments, only more pointedly. She just doesn’t want to see your underwear regardless of the name on the waste band. “Saggy pants show that you have no future and don’t care about your appearance,” says Michelle. The failure to wear pants where they belong also causes her to question the wearer’s personal hygiene.
“It’s improper and rude,” adds Haley, a recent college graduate. Haley thinks saggy pants makes a guy look thuggish, immature and lazy, especially since the pants are purposefully worn that way. Low-slung trousers win no compliments from her, making even the cutest guy “completely unattractive.”
Low-riding pants differ from previous youthful fashions only in appearance. The intent is the same, to prove independence and individuality by contradicting established cultural norms. But that is flawed thinking. How does someone express their individuality by mimicking what the group does? How does one prove independence by following the crowd?
If clothing’s only purpose were to conceal nakedness we would all wear sackcloth. Clothing does convey the wearer’s attitudes. Guys, wearing your pants below your buttocks informs these three ladies that you’re trashy, unkempt, unmotivated and disrespectful. Do yourself a favor and pull up your pants. If not for the sake of decency and decorum, for the young ladies you try to attract.
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Anthony Hager writes on TheRightSlant.com and is a frequent contributor to American Thinker.
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