The wearing of low slung sagging pants (trousers) is fast becoming an issue of some concern in several communities across the USA. An increasing number of them are planning to ban the wearing of sagging pants which exposes underwear, for example in Florida there have been several arrests all of whom were African American males. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0911081baggy1.html
Some view this as further evidence of the criminalisation of black urban youth, an infringement of basic human rights and freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution. There are disputing claims as to the origins of this fashion, it is said the practise is based on prison culture where the degree of sag was indicative of your availability – homosexually that is. This explanation has become quite popular, I am reminded of my father-in-law's warning to his sagging pants wearing grandson on the eve of his departure to attend university,
"Son you should be careful walking about the campus like that, some people might think you're advertising!"
Now if this is the case, it begs the question as to why this should be something that our supposedly homophobic homeboys would want to emulate. I think this is something of an urban myth and it more likely that the practice came about as a consequence of ill-fitting prison clothes and belts being withheld because of their use as weapons or a ligature risk in suicides.
Whatever the explanation it does beg the question, of all institutions where does the attraction for prison chic come from? Since when has prison grab become the latest must have?
My worst saggy pants experience occurred during a long escalator ride on my way to work. I was standing behind a young man whose pants were beneath his bottom exposing his boxers. I took a step backwards so as not to be too close but nevertheless that still left his underwear exposed backside at head height. To be honest that was the last thing I wanted, Monday’s are traumatic enough without having someone’s arse in my face. Call me old fashioned but as a fashion statement as far I’m concern it’s a major faux pas.
When the introduction of such a ban was muted in Atlanta, Debbie Seagraves, head of the local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said the proposal was, by its nature, discriminatory because it aimed to forbid something that has its roots in black culture. Black culture, gimme a break, are we led to believe that the Black presence in America and the thousands of years of African history and culture has been reduced to a fashion statement in which you metaphorically bare your arse! This is nothing to do with Black culture, this explanation is far from convincing, it’s simply a feeble post-cultural definition of blackness, since when has exposing your crack been exclusively black!
The idea of banning saggy pants has been endorsed by a number of Black legislators, but in truth the issue is not really about fashion, it represents an attempt by the authorities to try to curb the rising criminality and gang violence, to address black underachievement and over-representation within the criminal justice system. As such it simply highlights the paucity of ideas and lack of an effective strategy to deal with black inequality and inequity. But the bottom line is that people have their own ideas about how they should live their lives and ultimately it's impossible to legislate against stupidity.
For some commentators this fashion is seen as an outward manifestation of the excesses of hip hop culture, however like the music the fashion has crossed the ethnic and racial divide and is no longer just a black thing. It’s not gender specific either, as it’s adopted by both males and females, and like many things American it's spread worldwide.
Like it or not we have to assume that saggy pants wearers have adopted the style because they deem it fashionable, for some it may even be that it marks them out as outsiders, gangstas, gang members and gang bangers. But the young have always been rebellious and used fashion as a medium of expression; in the 60’s it was miniskirts, now its saggy pants, it’s just something that young people do. But as much as I find it just plain stupid and unattractive I don’t think it warrants banning. If we imprisoned people for bad taste, most of America would be a prison camp.
I felt most uneasy as I viewed the mug shots of the 12 black guys who’d been arrested in Florida, the last thing the African American community needs is legislation to incarcerate more black males. According to data from the US Census Bureau in 2006, blacks made up 41 percent of US prison inmates, but only account for around 12 percent of the population.
People do all sorts of things that I find objectionable but in a democracy it is their right as long as it doesn’t harm anyone. How they dress has to be pretty low down on the list of misdemeanours, it might very well be a crime as far as the fashion police are concerned, but the transgression probably needs a major injection of style rather than imprisonment and a fine!
