Why do gay men like white briefs

Underwear is the most intimate of garments, pressed close to the body, whether it is exposed publicly or kept privately hidden beneath an outer layer. Historically, those garments we now popularly understand as underwear were predominantly publicly unseen, in keeping with the prevailing attitude of 'out of sight, out of mind'.

Today, while still primarily private, men's underwear has become increasingly visible and public, particularly through advertising and in popular visual culture. Men's underwear has performed multiple purposes: for protection, modesty and adornment; as an indicator of social status; and for support and for sexual or erotic purposes.

Underwear protects the body from the environment and abrasion from outer clothes, as well as those garments from the body. It preserves modesty, by keeping the body covered in socially and morally acceptable forms. The visible parts of undergarments offer opportunities for decoration and adornment.

The number of garments owned and visibly displayed beneath outerwear can give an indication of the wearer's social status. Men's underwear has supported the genitals as well as shaping the waist, torso and legs. It reflects and enhances sexuality and sensuousness, particularly when considered in the context of the role that concealment plays in the eroticism of clothing, calling attention to the body beneath the clothes.

Men in Briefs

Until the early 20th century, shirts were regarded as undergarments, serving the purposes of protection and modesty, and as indicators of wealth or social status. From the midth century, clean white linen had increasingly been seen as the marker of the courtier and changing the shirt daily became normal for men in court circles.

At the beginning of the 19th century, ruffle-fronted shirts had become the general fashion for both day and evening, and indicated that a man was not a manual worker. During the s these frill-fronted shirts began to lose their popularity for daywear and were replaced by a front panel with vertical pleats or tucks.

By the s the daywear shirt front had become increasingly plain and, with the combination of a high-cut waistcoat and cravat, was practically hidden. The high buttoning of waistcoats and coats continued throughout the 19th century for formal day wear, leaving just the collar and cuffs showing.

By the early 20th century, with a change to a less formal outerwear, the shirt had lost its status as underwear to become a key component of a man's outerwear wardrobe. The s saw the introduction of the woollen vest or 'under-vest', which was "generally made of fine calico" The Workwoman's Guide, Even though this 'undershirt' was worn next to the skin and under the shirt, it retained the name given to flannel under-waistcoats that had previously been worn for extra warmth.

Knitted or flannel undershirts were worn by labouring men because, as well as keeping them warm in winter, they absorbed sweat and were easily washable. Such undershirts were also worn by sailors, and their transformation to the T-shirt has been attributed to naval adoption and adaption.

In the years after the Second World War, most men still wore their T-shirts underneath their shirts. Fashion historian Valerie Steele described the T-shirt as, "the most significant and pervasive example of underwear as outerwear", which "flaunted rules about hidden clothing" and challenged "taboos The 19th century saw great developments in the approach to personal cleanliness, reflected in theories about 'hygienic dress'.

German doctor and zoologist Hans Gustav Jaeger argued that it was crucial to wear wool next to the skin in order to encourage perspiration. As Jaeger objected to dyes, his woollen garments were all undyed and available in creamy white, a variety of light browns and dark brown.

Most of the customers for Jaeger's designs were enlightened, upper-class puritans, or else progressive intellectuals such as playwright George Bernard Shaw, who embraced Jaeger's principles and ordered his first Jaeger suit on 19 June By the early 20th century, opinions about the health properties of fabrics were changing to reflect general ideas about health and fitness.

Alongside this demand for comfort, leading companies saw the benefit of patenting their innovations and promoting their brands through advertising. In the British clothes manufacturer Sunspel developed and patented a lightweight, breathable, woven, open mesh-like fabric, known as Quality 14 Q14and other companies also produced garments in similar fabrics.

In addition to knitted cellular cottons, new why do gay men like white briefs fibres such as rayon developed in offered a lighter-weight and more comfortable alternative to the traditional heavier fabrics and were promoted in quasi-scientific terms.