There's a new 'cause' to support. If you're not already familiar with them, Facebook allows users to start a 'cause' to generate support or donations for something the user strongly believes in. These causes allow other Facebook users to read about it, without requiring them to belong to a Facebook page if they don't want. A loyal Nylon Gene follower, Kevin Wright, has created one called "Save Our Legs. Support Men's Legwear"...Kevin is an example of the 'second wave' of male legwear proponents that have started to move to the forefront in the effort to promote nylon hosiery as a legitimate male garment with practical applications. For some time now, there have been a select few men who have stepped into the spotlight to proclaim that, "yes, we wear tights, and you can wear them while retaining your masculinity." These included Steve Katz, Chan Kraemer, myself, and a limited number of others as well. Now, a new wave of men are taking up the challenge that was laid down, and are themselves stepping out in front and encouraging others to see for themselves the practical benefits of 'mantyhose.'
That's where the 'Save Our Legs' cause comes in. Kevin is asking men (as well as sympathetically inclined women) to join the cause on Facebook, so it can be a visible sign of how many supporters there actually are out there. When joining, you are asked if you would be willing to commit to share the cause with five others. If everyone who joins is willing to share their information with at least a few of their friends, it will begin to spread 'virally' and take on a momentum of its own.One of the biggest obstacles limiting the growth of the men's legwear trend is the men's own reluctance to let others in their circle of friends to know that they wear it. Fear of ridicule or rejection plays a big role in this reluctance. However, the new reality is that there are now more than a dozen or so companies selling tights and pantyhose made for men--most notably ACTIVSKIN, of course. Media coverage of the trend has reached the point where the default assumption on the part of most people is that a man wearing nylon legwear must be doing so for leg health reasons, or maybe athletic benefits. The days when unfavorable presumptions of cross-dressing and the like are just about long gone.
I was chatting online with Kevin when he launched the 'Save Our Legs' cause last night. That was less than 12 hours ago, and already it has grown to 12 members, and surpassed the first two growth milestones. That's a pretty strong start! So, if you are a friend of male legwear in the slightest, please help us (I'm an admin for it, too) keep growing. (When you sign on, you can use my name as the recruiter)
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I've been thinking about this recently and I think a lot has to do with what we choose to call them. There will never be acceptance if we continue to call them "pantyhose" and especially not "mantyhose"! Those terms just don't make it with guys or the women in their lives. "Tights" is a little better, but you're fighting the ballet and Robin Hood stereotypes. (I understand they are actually different products, but I think you get my drift.) "Leggings" is perhaps a little better, but I think "legwear" is best.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right, if the question is taken completely in isolation. However, there are some other factors that come into play. I posted an extensive discussion on this some months back in 2009. You might be interested to go back in blog archive and find it, along with the poll I ran at the time.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I originally hated the term, "mantyhose", I've gradually, grudgingly come to accept and even use it. It's the word that the media has latched onto and seems to have a death grip upon. And, it is unique in being the one single term that most unambiguously describes what we're referring to.
Why did they take your cause off?
ReplyDeleteI neglected to post an important update on "Save Our Legs". It was off to a very strong start--having grown from 0 to 130 in just seven days. However, Kevin Wright (who originated it) felt compelled to delete it because of recurring involvement with those whose profiles or pictures were suggestive of fetishism or cross dressing. Kevin and myself posted several insistent pleas for the guilty parties to either change their profiles accordingly, or leave the cause. However, it became an uphill battle for him to keep up with overriding them and he decided it wasn't worth the trouble.
ReplyDeleteIt was very unfortunate that it came to that point. We had envisioned the 'SOL' cause to be a vehicle with which to bring more people into awareness of men's legwear as a practical, legitimate male garment, and remove many of the misconceptions associated with it. The presence of these unwelcome intruders only served to contradict the whole premise.
It was hoped that the cause would encourage the 'ordinary guys' who wear legwear to share a link with their friends, so they could see the trend for what it really is: a legitimate garment with practical benefits for men with tired or cold legs.
Although the Facebook cause is dead, the trend isn't. Let's all of us here on The Nylon Gene try to brainstorm ways to accomplish the goal by other means...