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Skinny leg jeans have dominated the denim fashion scene for a few years now. Stoic and strong, they have remained a ‘must have’ garment in many people’s wardrobes. Upon their inception into the fashion scene, they were primarily worn by females. Why? Well the jeans hug their figures and show off their lines. They are a stylish piece, and can be dressed up or down and look great with boots. Celebrities wear them, I wear them, and my friends wear them. I even own some in a few different colours. I’m just a part of the crowd.
But then their popularity overflowed into men’s fashion. The market expanded and now it is not uncommon to see men who will eagerly squeeze themselves into skinny jean confinement. For these men, I believe this to be a colossal mistake.
You can call me sexist if you like, but I think there are some outfits suited only to women and some outfits suited only to men. Skinny leg jeans are a garment for the ladies. We have a history of adopting uncomfortable things to wear, and yet still manage to make them look fantastic- high heels immediately come to mind. With this experience, we can handle the skinny jeans. But men on the other hand, make them look ridiculous.
Countless internet discussion forums on the topic support my view. If you disagree, please let me know! An opinion that shines through the most is that skinny jeans are simply too tight on men, and for that reason they look stupid and are dysfunctional. According to istillhatescreennames (2010) “Men in skinny jeans look like they're wearing women's clothes...they are the by product of heroin, chic and Goth”. Shockolate (2010) asserts “I prefer pants where I can actually use the god damned pockets”, and Hateren47 (2010) says “I think they are for girls... When I see a guy in pants so skinny his ass is hanging out, I want to ... sneak up on him, grab him by the belt and lift him off his feet and shake him into them”. I too am annoyed by this careless display of arse by men. The University of Wollongong is rife with young guys wearing skinny legs so tight that they can’t seem to pull them up over their buttocks. A penguin would have a hard time out waddling them.
But looking silly is in no way as bad as the documented health effects that have been caused by this below the waist prison. Ammokid (2010) plainly states that “they crush my balls”. Could it be that skinny jean wearers will all one day suffer from infertility? Free thinker (2010) admits “I’m afraid to even try wearing a pair for the fear I can put them on, but not take them off. Then my legs will lose circulation, I'll have to get my legs amputated, and then I'll spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair”. This is not as paranoid as it sounds. A recent story by MSNBC (2009) showed how a woman named Parmeeta Ghoman became afflicted with a nerve condition called meralgia paresthetica, also known as ‘tingling thigh syndrome’. The condition can happen when constant pressure — in Ghoman’s case, from the skin-tight denim — cuts off the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, causing a numb, tingling or burning sensation along the thigh. According to Dahl (2009), “over the last several years, experts say they’ve been seeing more people of a healthy weight complain of symptoms. The culprit: too-tight jeans”.
So why do we do it to ourselves? Many women have always taken a ‘beauty knows no pain’ attitude to fashion, and that’s fine as long as what they wear looks fantastic. But men and skinny jeans? Not a great look and clearly not a comfortable one. My only guess on why they choose this behaviour is because they are copying everyone else. Everyone else is copying the popular ‘Emo’ celebrities, and these pop stars only wear them to make them look more ‘Emo’ and gaunt, and hence more credibly hardcore. And so the cycle of bad fashion is born. Or perhaps men choose them because they accentuate a certain area in the pants. But if this means that you can’t pull your pants up, then sorry guys, you’re only drawing attention to the fact you have trouble dressing yourself.
What do others think?
Ammokid, Free Thinker and Shockolate (2010), ‘Poll: The Skinny Jean Fad’, The Escapist Forum website, 25th August 2010, http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.227896-Poll-the-skinny-jean-fad?page=2
Istillhatescreennames (2010), Answeology website, February 13, 2010, http://www.answerology.com/index.aspx/question/2789894_Whats-up-with-skinny-jeans.html
Dahl, M. (2009), ‘skinny jeans give thigh a painful pinch’, MSNBC website, 22nd May 2009, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30870617/
Image 1: Shine website, (2008), 'Is This Ugly? Skinny Jeans on Men', http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/is-this-ugly-skinny-jeans-on-men-152526/
I don't find men wearing skinny leg jeans attractive at all. It makes them look like sticks - is there a possibility most anorexic men are that way because they want to fit into skinny skinny pants?
ReplyDeleteI don't like men looking like sticks because where is the manliness of it? I want men with thick thighs and a package that's not deformed due to tight pants, I mean do their sperm swim in circles because of these pants???
Skinny jeans rule - for both men and women - if you can't fit in them, then don't try. It just looks nasty. Seriously, no one wants to see your underwear or your butt. gross.