Male Fashion and Sexuality

Lauredhel writes on the enjoyable Hoyden Around Town a post comparing the sexualisation of Olympic sports uniforms between the genders. I am not convinced that this is a feminist issue, if anything the male Olympic uniforms are under-sexualised and almost puritanical in their hiding of what are fantastic physiques.

Men's fashion quite literally sucks. Men's fashion is dumpy, frumpy, curtain like in its use of fabric and to be honest punishes those who want to show off their glowing physiques and sexuality. The Olympic fashions display this disparity between the gender's in their socially acceptable ability to express their physiques and sexuality to their contentment.

One of the few positives of recent years in fashion has been the male 'allowance' to ride their pants low and show curve of the stomach to the pelvis. We can probably thank Brad Pitt for that one, though I don't doubt the Hollywood stars do a cycle of steroids before a film where they show off their bodies; however for folks such as myself in their late 30s who spend five to seven days a week in the gym it is a positive.

I am not dumping on those that aren't in shape. I have not always been a fit and trim figure, in the latter years of my marriage my body got away from me and that was a mix of many things of which stress and what was a failing marriage impacted me negatively (when in reality I should have gone the other way and worked harder to make myself more physically attractive) but in my twenties I was a pretty well muscled and trim figure.

I am a tall, skinny and lanky guy, so even when I am in good trim I remain pretty skinny which should be perfect for male fashion; except the only shorts I can buy these days - even small sizes - touch my knees. IMO shorts should never be more than half-way down beyond the thighs.

It is the same with tops, the singlets and t-shirts that pass as fashionable in the sports store are more like curtains or bed-sheets than shirts. They end up draping me down to the knees as well. As a result I end up buying cotton shirts from designbyhumans.com which shrink down to a more pleasant size and fit.

The place where I cannot fathom men's fashion is the gym. Men wear these clothes that are little more than velvet drapes more suitable for the living room than the gym, yet women get to wear sports bras and short shorts. I do not understand why I don't get to go bare chested. The United States has determined my nipples are no where near as offensive as Janet Jackson's metal pierced nipple; yet the gym allows sports bras but not bare male chests.

I am somewhat amenable to the sweat issue, but even so, women can wipe off their sweat with sports bras that expose most of the back, so why can't men?

It is the same in the pool. Most me - and by that I mean 99% - wear big baggy shorts in the pool. They may as well swim with a parachute for all the drag it produces. I can count on one hand those that wear speedos, of which I am one. Yet a woman wearing a bikini or a two piece in the pool would not be blinked at, nor would her sexuality be questioned as men in speedos often face.

I don't think women being over sexualised is the issue. Women are given greater scope to express their sexuality, physique and liberty of fashion than men are. Men's fashion is limited and at the moment is puritanically frumpy, conservative, boring and quite crap.

The male physique needs to be brought back into focus as an instrument of sexuality. Starting with the Olympics where the physiques are exceptional is a good start. Time to hike the shorts up and make the singlets tight again.

Permalink, Male Fashion and Sexuality, Aug 2008, cam
Mindy: I disagree that the sexualisation of Olympic sports uniforms isn't a feminist issue, but that's all on the other thread. I will say that what you see as freedom for women to wear what they want, many women see as 'freedom to be perved at'. Because women wearing short shorts and bra tops to the gym allows their bodies to be admired in a 'I'd do her' way then it is socially acceptable for women who conform to a very narrowly defined body image to wear that clothing. That isn't really an option for anyone over size say 14 (aust) who has any issues at all about her body shape. Despite the fact that we are at the gym to tone up or whatever.

I agree that male athletes shouldn't have to cover up their lovely physiques either.

I am interested in your comment that wearing Speedos somehow marks you out as gay. (I understand that it's not necessarily the questioning of your sexuality that bothers you, but rather the agression and threat that can go with such a call.) Is it the showing of more flesh than current male fashion allows? Is it being proud of your physique?

The pool where my kids have swimming lessons in Canberra has a number of guys in Speedos of all ages and I don't recall anyone worrying about their sexuality (but then I don't go in the mens locker room).

As for shorts, can't you wear rugby league footy shorts? I know that this could mean having or pretending to have an interest in rugby league, but wouldn't this solve your shorts issue? Either that or learn to sew so you can take up the hems on the shorts. Fashion will swing back eventually.
tigtog:
I can count on one hand those that wear speedos, of which I am one. Yet a woman wearing a bikini or a two piece in the pool would not be blinked at, nor would her sexuality be questioned as men in speedos often face.

She might well face having her sexuality questioned if she wears something more modest though, unless of course she is fat when she will be mocked if she does not cover up the flab. It's not a wider choice for women if one's acceptability is still mandated by what one does or does not wear.

The most common analysis I've previously read of current men's fashions for the baggy look is that it functions to make the men wearing those clothes look bulkier, at the same time as tight/skimpy clothes for women make them look tinier, as an exaggeration of the sexual binary. That has a ring of truth to me, especially when in winter you see women freezing in tiny outfits because warmer clothes would make them look "too big", although of course simply my perception doesn't mean it is necessarily true.

I note that the fashions for the leading men on British TV are for sharp suits, in colourful fabrics and modern pinstripes, which fit the form closely and show off a good physique (or make a scrawny one look stronger). We see some of the same here in Oz as well, and even in the US certainly there are hosts like David Letterman who wears a very sharply tailored collection of suits (pity he's not that funny, but he's beautifully dressed).

I just don't see the phenomenon you describe, Cam. Not here in Sydney anyway.
tps12:
I don't think women being over sexualised is the issue...The male physique needs to be brought back into focus as an instrument of sexuality.

These are two sides of the same coin: the female body is sexually objectified to extent that the male isn't, and whether you gloss that as "women over-sexualized" or "men under-sexualized" is a matter of perspective. It's the very definition of a feminist issue.
Francis Xavier Holden: cam - I think that male fashion /clothing choices are a squillion times better than they have ever been. I guess they could still be shit to you.I'm curious - why don't you get your own stuff made to suit you? Most mens clothes are carelessly made and the choice is small medium or big and bigger. Mind you most men don't even buy their own clothes as you will notice if you spend any time in menswear shops. The ratio of women to men in menswear shops is always at least 2 -1.

Personally I can't stand the look of most "sportswear" men or women. If I look / gaze at women or men, and I do,its always in a slightly bemused and curious way as I try to work out why on earth they chose something that doesn't suit them or work out what are the elements of their clothing or look that works.
Francis Xavier Holden: This guy - The Sartorialist not only takes good fashion photos but catches a lot of everyday dress, tight and loose, for men and women young and old. As far as I can see he avoids the crude sexy phwoar factor but captures style. Its worth spending some time going back in the archives and also reading comments to analyse style.

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/
Francis Xavier Holden: Shorts:

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/search?q=shorts

I don't own any and I rarely see anyone of any gender look good in them. But I think I might be in the minority.
CNJ:
I don't think women being over sexualised is the issue. Women are given greater scope to express their sexuality, physique and liberty of fashion than men are.

I don't buy that. Women competing in Olympic beach volleyball, for example, have restrictions on the maximum size of uniforms. How is this giving them any sort of choice?

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