Men's Leggings Are Evolving Beyond the Need for Dick Towels

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Men's Leggings Are Evolving Beyond the Need for Dick Towels

Masculinity is evolving, and our clothes are changing along with us. Take your go-to exercise gear. Once, you suited up for the gym (or more recently, your home workout space or outdoor socially-distanced training spot) by slipping on a pair of nondescript mesh shorts or cotton sweatpants. Now, after much encouragement and some taboo busting, sleek, tight-fitting leggings have been embraced by more men than ever.

That's not to say the widespread adoption of men's tights has come without resistance, even from guys willing to take the Lycra leap. Along the way, the curve-exposing nature of the garment has caused some guys to ease into totally unimpeded wear. Shorts over leggings are common, even as they play the role of the training wheels of men's fitness fashion. And no one should ever forget the Dick Towel discourse of 2019, when Jezebel's Tracy Clark-Flory investigated Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's use of a tucked-in strip of material to cover his own Johnson. The Rock, ever nimble on social media, denied that the towel was for modesty's sake in a good-natured tweet—but the proof that others were covering up the goods with hand towels was too clear to deny the practice is a thing.

Shorts, dick towel, or overlong t-shirt—all of this extra material serves the same purpose: covering up the bulge. Many men aren't ready to expose their crotches to the public, crying modesty. At its worst, pushback against men wearing revealing clothing in public is virulently homophobic, as social media comments on my articles on the subject and video appearances wearing leggings can attest, even as athletes, dancers, and movie superheroes are commonly seen rocking skin-tight duds.

But more men than ever are prepared to wear the tight clothes, and they're finding new clothing options that are increasingly geared to solving the problem of overexposure. I have the opportunity to test a ton of workout apparel as a fitness editor, and I've been surprised recently in some changes to the crotchal region of compression pants from a pair of brands.

- Brett Williams (Men's Health Associate Fitness Editor)

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