Sarah's Thoughts
The Psychology of Baggy Pants
My choice of reading material right now is the book Is Bill Cosby Right? by Michael Eric Dyson. The author decides that the answer to the question posed in his title is “NO”. It is an interesting read. Some of Dyson’s points are well-taken, as I do believe Cosby oversimplifies several major issues. However, many arguments made by the author are less than convincing. Take this reasoning behind the baggy dropped-a-load pants that unfortunately have been the trend for over a decade now:
The baggy pants style may represent, consciously or not, their restricted mobility in the culture. Baggy pants, and oversize clothing in general, may also cover black bodies subject to unhealthy surveillance. Maybe black youth who can’t hide in their skin are forced to hide in their clothes. The more they are swallowed up in a sea of denim or cotton, the less likely they are to drown in naked scrutiny of vulnerable limbs.
Oh, please … come now. I really don’t think there is such deep psychology behind the decision to hang jeans around your thighs and show off a snazzy pair of boxers. Perhaps I should head out to the local mall this weekend and complete a quick survey with the teenagers who pass me in the food court. My questions will be as follows –
1. Are you wearing those jeans at mid-thigh and four sizes too big because of your need to cover from the unjust surveillance that is brought on by society?
2. Do you believe that those baggy pants help you to hide from the more unpleasant aspects of our cruel world?
3. Don’t you realize that your mobility would be less restricted if you threw a belt around those suckers and didn’t have to use one hand to hold them up when you choose to walk with any sort of purposeful gait?
4. As a white kid in the suburbs who just got dropped off by your mom in her Volvo, do you understand how ridiculous you look?
When I was in middle school, I wore stirrup pants with three layers of oversized socks from The Gap and ridiculously teased hair. Perhaps the stirrups represented the confinement I felt as a woman who was already aware of the glass ceiling that loomed over me. I needed all of those socks because I wished to masculinize myself by creating the illusion of trunk-like legs and therefore pass off as acceptable in a man’s world. The hairsprayed stiffness of my bangs symbolized the strong facade I wished to present even as my self-esteem was suffering.
Or, maybe I just fell victim to the horrible fashion trends of the time … kind of like those ridiculous baggy pants.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:59 am
Sarah, Very funny discussion on baggy pants and ’80’s hairstyles. Maybe you could help me figure out the psychology behind my parachute pants?
August 15th, 2007 at 6:03 am
Just a thought:
Maybe its because over the years liberal views in middle and high schools have taught children to embrace upon urban impoverished giving them credit where credit wasn’t necessarily due. Hence middle class have taken those teachings and began to identify with the poor and troubled. Result? Because of an inability to dress larger families properly the younger urban children (especially boys) had to wear hand-me-downs that really didn’t fit well and were torn in the knees type thing. This began an identifiable trend as a certain counter culture. Call it anything from rebellion to a statement of identity.
All teenage generations want their own identity that differs from their parents generation. That identity can include things like clothing, music, and street parlance. I also think the dress is a flag that relates to gang psychology. The style personifies generational anger within itself (intended or not). It all goes hand in hand with most hip-hop rap, dance styles, uncontrolled foul language (including girls), certain wearing of baseball caps, hand/finger symbolism and other traits that would separate generations. Of course I don’t think the liberalization of the media and the onset of the internet has helped much.
I guess it was no different for teens in the 60’s who threw long hair, head bands, Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, and drugs into their traditional big band parents shocked faces. The 70’s did it with Disco, the 80’s with New Wave and the 90’s to present with Rap. Unfortunately, Rap has a reputation of containing dangerous messages.
In the end the question of the ages still stands. Where does it go from here?