Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Origin of Sagging


Many trends have come and gone, but most people are not aware of where the trend began or how long they will last. Most trends tend not to have long staying power. One trend that has had more than 10 years of popularity is sagging pants. Sagging pants is the art of wearing ones pants below the waist, usually hanging low enough to show underwear. There is some controversy as to where it started. So has the trend been popularized from behind prison walls? Or is it the influence of hip-hop?

One theory of how sagging pants originated is from prison in the 1990s. Prisoners are given oversized uniforms without belts. Belts are a popular way to commit suicide; by hanging oneself, to hang others, or to be used as a weapon in fights.

Other reason is that when they wear their pants below the waist is that it is sign that says that they are homosexual. Sagging pants were not meant to be trend for the males.

The other reason was that wearing your pants below your waist states that you were another inmate’s property. The inmate who related the story was an elderly black gentleman who had been sentenced to life in prison and had been there for over fifty years. He marveled how such a mark of shame has become a fashion statement. He says “that younger inmates don't believe him when he tells them, but swears it's the truth”.

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