Are men’s leggings fashion or fetish?

Honestly, the title of this blog post is a bit silly. I don’t really think it matters. But I recently shared a post on Instagram that showed my butt in leggings and a comment thread kind of opened up this topic of conversation.

I think it is interesting to see these different viewpoints pop up even from other men who are into the movement of men’s leggings. Obviously, leggings are more triggering than other clothing items we can decide to wear but in general, I thought it would be fun to write through this topic.

How should men wear leggings in public?

I think the crux of the conversation is really related to “how should leggings be worn in public?” Can you show off your goods? Is that okay?

This is a topic I have written about before - feel free to read To bulge or not to bulge

Invariably the sexual undertones of leggings come up. In a way, it has to. They are, in fact, sexy. But is that all they are?

Wearing men’s leggings for fashion

When you develop your look and wardrobe around men’s leggings you do have to kind of decide if you are going to show off your butt and bulge or not. I have only ever shown off my butt and bulge for photo shoots - you know for the gram! I haven’t shown them in my daily wear in public. I desperately want to, but the fear, anxiety and social pressure present in the comment chain on my Instagram have kept me from doing just that.

Why am I drawn to wear men’s leggings like women wear leggings?

Every day you see gals walking around with their butts uncovered. They look great. They look comfortable. They look sexy as fuck!

I want to experience that. It feels like something electric. Even when I wear leggings by myself for the camera and when I publish those photos online I get a taste of that. But I don’t have to deal with living breathing people. There is somehting different about being in the direct presence of other central nervous systems. Online the eyeballs and people are removed from me. They see me through the internet. It is a bit safer.

So here’s the crux. Am I drawn to leggings simply because of the sexual rush? Am I just a fetishist?

Again at the topline logic of this entire blog - no. Leggings are clothing. They are fashionable. But they are certainly stigmatized.

Are men’s leggings just a fetish?

Again I think there’s two ways to look at this. From my perspective I want to build my fashion and my gender expression around my masculinity and my feminity and I want to wear leggings as fashion. For me they are fashion, but I do think there are people who do like leggings as fetish.

They have ever single right to. In fact I think that is awesome! They know what they like.

I think the best thing to do is realize that leggings are just clothes. Just apparel. They require context to be fashion or fetish. They can be both at the same time. They can be anything to anyone at anytime.

What do leggings mean to me?

This is the basic topic of this whole blog post. Back in August I posted a pic of my butt in leggings on Instagram. It was just a picture. A picture of a style of fashion women wear daily in super markets, sports bars and to youth soccer games around the globe everyday. But it did make folks comment on the sexualized nature of leggings.

I think some of the women walking around wearing leggings and cropped tops are experiencing the same fetishes that are still socially taboo for me to experience. Why can’t fashion and fetish mingle from time to time? Why do we blame what the person wore for how we feel inside? Aren’t they our feelings? Provoked or otherwise should we be in control of our own emotional response?

At the end of the day, for my personal fashion, leggings are a way for me to feel amazing about my image. I love they way they make e feel. I love the way they make me look and I love how they have helped me overcome some pretty deep darkness and shame about my own gender identity and how I move through society.

For me leggings represent a way for me to share my femininity and masculinity with the world and also point out the silly double standards we have and the ridiculousness of forcing society into a gender binary. It doesn’t matter how you approach your own desires, whether they be fashion or fetish. What matters is how you treat others around you and how you behave.

Worrying about what others will think or about what they’ll say or about how they’ll act if they see you should not come up from how you present yourself to the world. Those worries should only be tied to our behaviors. How we treat and talk to others. How we dress shouldn’t matter.

So to me leggings are a way for me to work on myself. Love myself. Be myself. Present myself. What the world thinks be damned.