Sunday, March 9, 2014

Men's Underwear- The Sexual Desire Debate and Manties

This article about men's underwear on The Lingerie Addict got me thinking recently.
Men's underwear tends to be utilitarian in the extreme. The only debate you ever hear about in the context of men's scanties is boxers vs. briefs. This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart as an issue of gender politics and women's sexual desire. At its heart the issue is the age old issue of sexual object versus sexual subject. A man has no need of sexy underwear because he is generally viewed as desiring whereas a woman's role has traditionally been to make herself desired. I don't want to get too deep into the weeds of sexual politics but I am a big supporter of the diversification of the men's underwear industry for several reasons:

a.)     Why should women get all the fun panties? (I kid, I kid.)

b.)     With the blurring of gender lines and the increasing social recognition of sexuality as a spectrum, the old subject vs object debate is getting increasingly muddled. People are people and everyone has the right to chose their role in a relationship.

c.)     In addition to allowing women to be subject and view men with desire, it allows men to break away from the trap that is the traditional masculine role. Men have the same infinite number of aesthetic opinions and desires as women.

d.)     Because by pushing the envelope (and making people giggle uncomfortably), you also make them think about why they're giggling and why that part male sexuality makes them uncomfortable in this day and age.

Anyway, out of tangled weeds of the sexual politics debate and on to the underwear!
I've included a list of some of the biggest names in men's underwear for reference. I'm hoping to have some guest reviews of men's styles on my blog later. 

Photo Courtesy of Pull In


1. Pull In

Pull In is mostly standard men's trunks and boxers in fun patterns. I'm insanely jealous that this Stormtooper trunk doesn't come in women's but some of their women's patterns have been on my lust list for ages.


Photo Courtesy of Calvin Klein

 2. Calvin Klein

It's hard to think of a more classic example of classic example of upscale men's underwear. Calvin Klein has loads of more restrained but still sexy options.

Photo Courtesy of 2XIST

 3. 2XIST

2XIST is another line of more restrained briefs. They make a number of different cuts and use primarily ultrasoft modal and microfibers.
Photo Courtesy of Ginch Gonch

 4. Ginch Gonch

Ginch Gonch specializes in the kind of awesome briefs that men had as kids but sized for adults. Their collections tend to be full of fun patterns like the comic book pattern about and are made of primarily cotton.

Photo Courtesy of Obviously

 5. Obviously for Men

This brand specializes in a of variety of super sexy cuts for men. It uses different styles of pouch to create various desired silhouettes and I have heard nothing but raves about their comfort.

  
Photo Courtesy of Andrew Christian

6. Andrew Christian

Andrew Christian is marketed very heavily towards the gay community and has probably the largest variety of colors and cuts of all of the listed brands. They do everything from mesh jockstraps to full trunks with a variety of aesthetic modifications.

Photo Courtesy of Mundo Unico

7. Mundo Unico

Mundo Unico is a Brazilian brand that does a variety of cuts in some basic and some fun colorways. My understanding is that they run quite small, so sizing up is recommended.


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  4. Nice blog... I love to read about mens fashion, specially underwear fashion. My favourite underwear is see-through underwear. I know lace underwear mostly use by women. But, I like the soft and comfy fabric of lace underwear. They looks and feels comfortable and confident. I purchased from many sites. But I found skiviez.com more valuable and best store in lace underwear department. They sell very soft and smooth fabric of lace underwear for men at an affordable price.

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