Tightening underwear has long been not only for women. For men, it helps with health problems, self-esteem and gender reassignment
Swimming, working with weights, Zumba classes... people work on being fit and looking good in different ways. But it would be better to say "worked". This year has shuffled the cards a lot and those who were used to going to the gym or to various dance/movement studios etc., suddenly found themselves trapped literally between four walls. Of course, there were those who coped with this new situation and set up an improvised fitness centre in their living room, but for many people, sitting in their home office (for better) or on the sofa with a computer on their lap (for worse) became a daily routine. So it's no wonder that for some, both physical fitness itself and physical appearance have begun to deteriorate. When the only possible movement becomes a trip to the fridge and back, of course it does no one (and the abdominal parts in particular) any good. What to do about it? Men have discovered the magic of tightening belts and underwear...
The various ways of "tightening the body" to make it look sexy have, of course, a long tradition. For example, women in the early 20th century used to tighten their bodies so tightly that many had miscarriages and even suffocated because of too much pressure.
But there is also an unquestionable history of tight clothing for men. According to fashion historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, in the 19th century it was common for men's tailors to make clothes for their customers that were padded and tightened to achieve the "ideal of beauty" - the hourglass figure.
It is said that the cavalry officers were bathed in deerskin trousers, which were then left to dry on them, resulting in a 'shrinkage' and the trousers fitting very tightly around the legs. However, men's tight-fitting clothing did not disappear in the later decades of the 20th century either - e.g. "support trousers" were available to accentuate the male boast, but also tight shirts etc. Nevertheless, we still cannot talk about regular men's tightening underwear.
Belly tightening is not for men!
Although, of course, various products that could be used for body shaping were also available on the market for men, tightening underwear was for a long time considered a female "fad". So the question was definitely relevant - why can women tighten their body parts with belts or underwear, but men can't? This was the question posed by Nash Abi, who founded a company in Australia specialising in male body corrections. The biggest hit was a tightening belt designed for the breast area. Many people will probably think that gynecomastia, the unwanted enlargement of breasts in men, is quite a common problem, so it is appropriate to offer an adequate solution. Indeed, then, the men who suffer from this problem were the ones for whom the tightening underwear was intended. And the founder of the company himself also consulted these men to find out what suited them, what was comfortable and how to achieve the desired effect.
But the tightening belts that Abi's company produced eventually found a following from a very different customer base. "Suddenly, we started hearing from men in transition, those who were going through gender transition from female to male, and they were praising our products a lot because they made them feel more masculine," Abi says, adding that pretty quickly his brand turned into a brand with products for trans men. On the other hand, the particular constriction belts designed for the breast area have also found a medical use - they are also provided to men who suffer from the aforementioned gynaecomastia, but as a support after the procedure (gynaecomastia is dealt with surgically and usually consists of the removal of mammary glands or excess fat).
Tightening underwear for every man
Although it is said that the exceptions prove the rule, the example of the Australian company mentioned is of course one of many. Moreover, not every man suffers from enlarged breasts (not to mention that not everyone is born a woman). It is not surprising, then, that this company, as well as many others, offers various types of compression underwear to men who are, for example, unhappy with the way their body looks and are subjected to ridicule from others because of it. This may be because of the aforementioned gynaecomastia, whose surgical reduction may not always be possible, but also simply because not all bodies are ideal.
"A tightening undergarment is a pretty simple piece of clothing, but it can do a lot to help the psyche. It's a way for men who are ridiculed because of their body shape to look presentable," a user who suffered because of his bulky physique when he was in high school describes in one of the topic forums. Today, in his own words, he feels very comfortable in compression underwear and has also found confidence in meeting new people.
And according to career coach Stephen Viscusi, compression underwear should be worn by all men over 40 on certain occasions - job interviews not excluded. Not to look better, but to feel better and, as a result, make a better impression. "Job applicants are always interested in how they look, it could be the whiteness of their teeth, their inability to button their jacket or whether they look good in a T-shirt. In the latter two cases, tightening underwear is an immediate solution. And when people feel more confident, they also appear more confident," she sums up.
So while it might seem that tightening underwear is just a convenient solution to escape the drudgery of the gym, it's actually a "cure" for anyone who is plagued by the occasional bodily imperfection. And if the tightening of enlarged breasts or a bulkier belly can help men feel better, they have as much right to compression underwear as women.
