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It can be argued that the length of a man's shorts may be an expression of his sexual orientation. Athletic attire aside, a man prominently displaying his thighs and buttocks in short, form-fitting shorts is assumed to be doing so in order to attract the attention of other men.
Athletic attire aside, a man prominently displaying his thighs and buttocks in short, form-fitting shorts is assumed to be doing so in order to attract the attention of other men.As a former rugby player, this statement has vast implications for the homosexuality of the sport apparently.
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I feel that unless it was explicitly noted otherwise, the gentlemen in this photo can safely be assumed to identify with gay subculture, or are lampooning it. The fit of their shorts is likely one of a few indicators, and the indicator most readily observable in a still-frame image.
I am assuming that such attire has been informally adopted not only to advertise one's figure to potential partners and increase the likelihood of a sexual encounter, but also to advertise one's membership of this subculture, as an affirmation of pride in gay identity and the affinity with others of the same identity. This was once the case with the earring on the right ear and the wallet chain.
Plenty of straight men have their right ear pierced, and the wallet chain has been largely appropriated by youth skater subculture, so neither are sure-fire signals of one's homosexual orientation. But it was once known, among older people I know who were familiar with mid-late 20th century Greenwich Village society, that walking around with a wallet chain meant you were gay and cruising. Those not intending to be mistaken as such would therefore not wear a wallet chain. Adopting this accessory as an adolescent emulating skater culture in the 1990's, my father sternly advised me accordingly "you know that's gay, right?"
One of the trademark indicators of one's emulation of gangsta subculture is the wearing of his pants in a near-fallen state, below the buttocks, thus fully exposing the seat of his underwear beneath. This originated in prison, where the wearing of pants in such a manner meant you were "turned out" -- available for ********. Little doubt exists that the poisonous hyper-masculinity of gangsta subculture would cease this practice if the knowledge of its origins were more universal.
And the flip side, men of all orientations wore very short jean "daisy duke" shorts throughout the mid-late 20th century, very commonly in the 1970's and 1980's, up until it was appropriated by gay subculture. So again, none of this is absolute truth. Short shorts don't mean you're gay, wallet chains don't mean you're gay, wearing your pants around your thighs don't mean you're gay. Our social perceptions of dress evolve with the evolution of human society.
Today, a heterosexual man not intending to appear as a member of LGBT subculture would therefore mind the length and fit of his shorts to something more currently accepted as "not gay." There's a pretty large margin for error here. Tapered chino shorts with a 7-10 inch inseam (or that fall up to 3 inches above the top of the kneecap) are the ideal "happy medium," in my opinion, to not potentially be advertising any subtext about one's proclivities or be mistaken for someone they may not care to be mistaken for.
I'm not arguing the validity of these stereotypes, I'm arguing that they exist.I understand why you might believe these stereotypes, but it seems like you're culturally out of touch. People haven't sagged their pants in a long time, but for a while, and still to some degree today, that style is just a cultural marker for music and skateboarding. Some people wear short shorts because they like the look.
I'm not arguing the validity of these stereotypes, I'm arguing that they exist.
"People haven't sagged their pants in a long time" is a statement relative to your frame of observation. I very frequently observe young ethnic minorities in NYC and North Jersey, where my life takes place, emulating gangsta culture wear their pants in this manner.
I won't argue that I'm culturally out of touch -- it's something I'm defiantly proud of, actually -- or that some people wear short shorts because they like the look. I'm merely stating that there is a social perception that the length and fit of a man's shorts may correlate with his sexual orientation.
That's totally fine. But you're not going to reasonably argue that I'm culturally out of touch because I believe the men in the above image to be gay. I think the majority would indeed agree with me. And I don't need to overstate what the consensus would be among my heterosexual male peers.If you're culturally out of touch, then the majority doesn't agree with you. So presumably most people won't view these things as you do.
I personally wouldn't wear a 10" tapered chino short because it doesn't jive with my personality and self-identity. It just looks really uptight to me.
That's totally fine. But you're not going to reasonably argue that I'm culturally out of touch because I believe the men in the above image to be gay. I think the majority would indeed agree with me. And I don't need to overstate what the consensus would be among my heterosexual male peers.
I want to emphasize again that I am not speaking in absolutes. Social perceptions evolve with shifts in culture, and are ultimately individually subjective. But I don’t believe individual subjectivity somehow invalidates the existence of cultural consensus on men wearing tight short shorts, and likewise, that consensus doesn’t determine one’s individual identity or necessarily dictate his individual perceptions. But the consensus does exist.I mean, yes, those people are posing as some stereotypical gay personality (stereotypical here being the very active word, as not all gay men dress or act like that). But wearing five-inch shorts doesn't automatically result in that look.
I'm a straight man, but wouldn't care if someone thought I way gay. I don't even know why we're having this conversation. But in any case, most people won't view someone in 5" shorts and think "he's gay" unless they're culturally out of touch.
I want to emphasize again that I am not speaking in absolutes. Social perceptions evolve with shifts in culture, and are ultimately individually subjective. But I don’t believe individual subjectivity somehow invalidates the existence of cultural consensus on men wearing tight short shorts, and likewise, that consensus doesn’t determine one’s individual identity or necessarily dictate his individual perceptions. But the consensus does exist.
So.. two gays make a straight. Got it!I'm going to blow your mind.
If you sag 5" shorts by 5", they become 10" shorts.