from macho men to femme: mantyhose.

MSNBC just did a piece on “mantyhose”, or pantyhose for men.  Now I’ve got absolutely no qualms about men wearing pantyhose, I just can’t for the life of me understand why they would want to.  They’re itchy, terribly annoying, and awkward to readjust.  Plus, they are a nuisance when you really have to pee.  But apparently, they’re good for something.  Like keeping you warm, giving you better legs (see above.  RAWR!), the control top, and making you miserable.  Come on ladies, I know I am not alone here.

I’ve never seen a man wear pantyhose.  Actually, I lied.  One Christmas way back, my aunt wrapped a gift and put the wrong tag on it.  My uncle was the proud receiver of a pair of pantyhose with snowflakes on them.  My uncle being who he is, gladly put them on and showed them off for the family.  Wow, I had blocked that memory out until now.  Oh, the horror!

Americans being the strictly socialized, prudish (thanks Puritan ancestors!) and oppressed creatures that we are, some are struggling with the gender roles.

“My wife was really uncomfortable at first — she was nervous about going out with me in public when I had them on,” said Andrews. “But then we went out and she saw that no one noticed or had any adverse reaction.”

Honestly dude, nobody is really going to notice unless you pair it with a skirt and a foxy pair of heels.

The companies that make mantyhose, like Comfilon, are doing their best to keep it manly.  But ya know… Anyway, I just LOVE the tagline from Comfilon.

“This is NOT your mother’s pantyhose.”

Haha, you think?

So add mantyhose to the list of things that belonged solely to women but are now shared with men.  Another example?  The murse, or man purse.  But here is my all time favorite:  The Brozilian.  A Brazilian wax for men.  How do you like dem apples? (The answer to that question is obviously ‘waxed’.)  I could go on and on about that, but let’s save that one for another day.

[Posted by Kathleen]