Quiet Man found this news clip about "Mantyhose"

[Skirt Chaser]

While browsing the weird news section my husband bumped into this news video clip about pantyhose designed for men. http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=mantyhose&type= A few things about it interested me. The first one is that the female presenter comments that men are taking up stuff women have had to put up with for fashion. I think that is part of the problem men who dress unconventionally face, it is not just going against gender expectations but also the self-centered attitude that if the speaker doesn't see value in something then it isn't worth doing by other people.

The laughter in the background from someone in the studio also stood out. On the one hand it does show the immediate reaction somebody had to the idea but at the same time that was unprofessional, especially when the reporting itself had a mostly informative rather than humorous tone. Of course the male presenter had to get in a distancing comment that "some men are" when the copy read something like 'men want equality in hosiery'. There was no news point served by telling us he certainly wasn't one of those men that would like to wear pantyhose. Instead of the macho posturing it would have been refreshing to hear that he wouldn't take the opportunity to wear hose but he's glad to have the equality. Fairness isn't about doing everything you have the opportunity to do but knowing you could if you wanted. It never helps when you knock the choices of others.

In a related fashion the last thing that struck me was the rationale for men wearing them that sounded more like an excuse- they are not as bulky as boxers. Well, you don't need full legs and feet on the hose if all you want is a boxer alternative. There is nothing wrong with saying "I like the feel" or "my legs look attractive in them". Shame those feelings aren't yet considered appropriate for men.

[Peter v]

So well spoken, skirt Chaser.

Quote: "In a related fashion the last thing that struck me was the rationale for men wearing them that sounded more like an excuse- they are not as bulky as boxers. Well, you don't need full legs and feet on the hose if all you want is a boxer alternative. There is nothing wrong with saying "I like the feel" or "my legs look attractive in them". Shame those feelings aren't yet considered appropriate for men."

[Uncle Al]

I just watched the 'clip' and, IMO , the people in the background
as well as the folks infront of the camera were very unprofessional.

Was this clip a 'national' clip or 'local' clip?

I would like to write to the 'station' that reported about the 'pantyhose'/Mantyhose,
and give them a piece of my mind (what little I have left).

Fairness in reporting? I think not!

OK--I've got to settle down. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX

[Since1982]

.

[crfriend]

I just watched the 'clip' and, IMO , the people in the background
as well as the folks infront of the camera were very unprofessional.

Was this clip a 'national' clip or 'local' clip?

That looks like it was a local ABC franchise, not the national organisation. One might almost be tempted to say, "UHF" in character. Neither of the anchors were very professional in that clip.

Bear in mind, however, that their reaction is precisely what we should be expecting, and when we don't get it we should be happy.

Am I imagining things or are these 2 subsequent posts strangely similar??

[Mod hat on]

You missed a key point there in Peter's post: "Quote: 'In a related fashion [...]'".

Decency and respect indicate that if you're going to quote someone else, they should be quoted in their entirety or have edits shown; "cleverly" omitting portions for editorial effect constitutes bad form. It's also not clever.

[Pythos]

So I got a look at this clip.

Can anyone say ignorant?

First off the first and last sets of pics. When they are talking about women wearing how many pics are shown of women putting the things on? Second, The name the apply to the legware. Mantyhose. For god's sakes you idiots!! Mantyhose is a name applied to cheap and crappy "men's hose" that have a sleeve for the member, and a stupid little heart design on the front, which are meant for jokes or intimate occasions. They in my mind are junk that define ignorance.

The other pics were not all that great either. One guy was wearing polka dotted black hose. He looked like a moron. The one in the foreground did not look all that bad. I think the shorts with hose look is a very difficult look to pull off for both men and women, and most of the time, I personally don't like it.

The female presenter was also pretty ignorant, and a typical b--ch when it comes to men getting fashion freedom. Honestly going into (albeit hardly) describing the male comfort panel. Hey silly twit, why don't you also talk about the cotton crotch in women's hose? Oh yea that's right it is something that is not normally discussed. The morons in the backround laughing should get fired for being unprofessional.

[AMM]

Disclaimer -- I didn't look at the video clip (Flash player crashes my browser.)

...[T]he female presenter comments that men are taking up stuff women have had to put up with for fashion.... [Men face] the self-centered attitude that if the speaker doesn't see value in something then it isn't worth doing by other people.

Since I didn't view the clip, I don't know in what tone this was delivered. On the face of it, her comment (as you reported it) was accurate -- women in many situations don't have the option of not wearing pantyhose, even if it's uncomfortable or unhealthy. I'm not sure how this means that "it isn't worth doing by other people," though her delivery may have conveyed that message.

..The laughter in the background from someone in the studio also stood out. ... Of course the male presenter had to get in a distancing comment that "some men are" when the copy read something like 'men want equality in hosiery'. There was no news point served by telling us he certainly wasn't one of those men that would like to wear pantyhose. ...

To me, it's an indication of how uncomfortable the subject made everyone in the studio.

In our society at this time, the point of wearing pantyhose (as opposed to opaque tights) is to a large extent to display one's body for others' enjoyment; or, more bluntly, for others to ogle.[*] In our society, the idea that men are supposed to be the oglers and women the ogle-ees is very deep-seated. For men to reverse these roles by wearing something that says (to most people) "I want to be ogled" makes most people -- both men and women -- pretty uncomfortable. (Fabian is not a counterexample -- I think he makes a lot of men uncomfortable.) You used to see the same sort of ridicule and laughter when they reported on men who stay at home with the kids while their wives go to work. (I haven't seen these reports lately to know if they're stil like that.)

[*] This is another way in which the not having the option not to wear pantyhose is oppressive -- people (=women) who don't want to be looked at "that way" don't have the option of not wearing something that invites it.