User:Ubiquitousoysters/sandbox

United States

In 2009, singer Zac Efron admitted that he had been kicked out of his last day of high school in 2006 for sagging his pants.

In 2011, singer Billie Joe Armstrong was kicked off a flight from Oakland to Burbank for repeatedly refusing to pull up his sagging pants.

Sagging often proved controversial to older generations, leading to a generational divide. In 2013, rapper Machine Gun Kelly admitted in an interview that when he was younger, he "almost swung on some old dude because he told me to pull up my pants."

Sagging pants was described as "standard uniform" for young men in 2007; and as "ubiquitous" in 2013.

However by 2017, it was reported that "the era of sagging pants is ending".

By 2023, sagging was described as a "faded" trend in Philadelphia, having been replaced by "Shiesty" ski masks.

Decline

Sagging declined in mainstream popularity during the mid to late 2010s. By 2017 it was observed that "the era of sagging pants is ending". Fashion writer Stephanie Smith-Strickland explained that because rappers and hip hop artists, such as Lil Yachty, were increasingly wearing tailored and well-fitting clothing, so too were the young men seeking to emulate them.

By the early 2020s, sagging was considered a "faded" trend in Philadelphia, where it had once been popular.

2020s

In 2021, luxury fashion line Balenciaga was criticized for marketing a $1,190 pair of sweatpants with boxers woven into them in order to mimic sagging. Critics argued the product "gentrified sagging" and constituted cultural appropriation, and accused Balenciaga of attempting to monetize a trend which had a long history of being used to criminalize Black men.

Although sagging was no longer widely popular amongst men in the 2020s, a 2023 Washington Post article argued that "the age of female sagging" had begun. It was observed that although sagging to reveal underpants had previously been a trend for males, it was now being embraced by young women, motivated by the post-COVID emphasis on comfort, and changing gender norms.

In 2023 Paper analyzed the post-COVID growth of an online community of gay men who regularly posted photographs and videos featuring sagging to social media sites such as Instagram. This was said to reflect a "core collective memory" shared by the posters - by now in their 20s and 30s - of sagging's mainstream popularity amongst heterosexual males during the posters' time at middle and high school (during the 2000s to mid-2010s). This process was said to be a "reclamation" of a trend that was, during its peak, associated with hypermasculinity.

In August 2024, 30-year-old Justin Bieber was filmed being mocked and laughed at by a group of teenagers for sagging his shorts extremely low. Whilst standing with his shorts belted around his thighs, Bieber said "Yo, is this funny to you guys? Get out of here, yo. It's not funny, yo."

United Kingdom

In 2000, Suzanne Moore reported that "most" British teenage boys sagged their pants.

Peru

In 2023, sagging pants low enough to expose underwear was described as "a very popular style" amongst young men.

Trinidad and Tobago

In 2013, Emperor Valley Zoo (the only zoo in Trinidad and Tobago) banned entry to men wearing sagging pants, citing numerous complaints from other patrons.

Europe

Denmark

In 2007 TV Midtvest screened a segment about young men sagging their pants. By 2020, the trend had died out in Denmark and the 2007 clip was republished as a "throwback".

Netherlands

In the late 2000s, the sagging pants trend in the Netherlands extended to young men sagging boardshorts or swim trunks in order to expose their branded underwear. Throughout 2008, there were calls for the trend to be banned at public swimming pools, as it had become so ubiquitous that one journalist who visited three pools throughout Zeelandic Flanders reported that the number of teenage males who were not sagging their shorts "could be counted on one hand".

In December 2008, a swimming pool in Harderwijk became the first reported pool to ban sagging. In late 2011, it was reported that although "in recent years" it had been a trend amongst young men to wear their boardshorts "under their buttocks", exposing expensive underwear, doing so would be banned in all public pools in Nijmegen from 1 January 2012.

By 2010, ...

The minority of teenagers who did not sag were subject to bullying and name-calling, and were perceived by peers to be "gay" and "ugly"; it was considered "embarrassing" to not sag.

Spain

By 2011, it was reported in Madrid that sagging pants had become so common that they had secured a position as a "true basic" of men's fashion.

In 2023, it was reported that since the 1990s, sagging pants had "remained popular" and had become "an integral part of youth culture", despite the difficulty in walking or running experienced by followers of the trend.

Sweden

In 2006, a school library in Falkenberg banned sagging, citing concerns about the students' inability to walk properly. However, after a student rebellion, in which students advocated for their right to follow the trend, the school withdrew the ban.

In 2007, further schools banned sagging pants in physical education classes for safety reasons. It was reported that some students were even struggling to manoeuvre through the cafeteria as they were unable to hold their food trays whilst constantly adjusting their sagging pants.

In 2009, public swimming pools began banning sagging boardshorts or swim trunks.

Africa

Ghana

In 2015, sagging pants were described as "stylish", with an estimate given that four out of six young Ghanaian men sagged their pants, including at places such as churches and banks.

In 2021, it was reported that players on Ghana's national football team the Black Stars had faced criticism for sagging their shorts during matches, with some concerned that these players "struggled when running". Jordan Ayew, son of the former national captain, was one such player criticised for deliberately sagging his shorts during international matches.

Nigeria

In 2010, it was observed that sagging pants had been a trend in Nigeria for the past ten years, but was "at its peak today". It was described as being "common amongst university students". By 2015, it was reported that the minority of secondary and tertiary students who did not sag were subject to bullying. By 2018, it was reported that "the majority" of young men in Nigeria sagged their pants.

In 2020, it was reported that the sagging pants trend had extended to skinny jeans, and that young men were paying tailors to add zips to their jeans to better enable them to sag tight jeans.

However by 2023, it was reported that sagging pants had "lost their status as a mainstream fashion statement", citing increasing professionalism and work standards as a reason for the decline.

Asia

Japan

In 2010, 21-year old Japanese olympic snowboarder Kazuhiro Kokubo was heavily criticised for wearing sagging pants when he flew from Narita International Airport to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Kokubo was punished by the Ski Association of Japan, including being banned from attending the opening ceremony.

Australia

Sagging reached wider popularity in the mid to late 2000s.

In 2007 in Adelaide it was reported that sagging was particularly popular amongst privately educated young men, who sagged habitually even at events such as horse racing, where formal wear was required.

In 2008, a surf club in Coolum Beach banned men from sagging at the club. After a 19-year old surf instructor, Luke McClaren, was denied access to the club, the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties criticised the ban.

Parenting author Kelly Millar wrote that in the late 2000s and early 2010s, sagging had been particularly popular amongst wealthier private school boys, who used the trend to show off branded underwear such as Bonds. In 2013, sagging was most popular amongst middle class suburban teenagers.

In 2009, Bonds released a television commercial in which three young men, sagging their jeans to expose their Bonds underwear, mocked a group of elderly men wearing high-waisted pants.

By 2010, the trend was so widespread that the particular bandy-legged gait adopted by saggers - with their "legs extended a little extra to the side with each step to give their pants extra grip on their thighs" - was described as the "typical gait of the generation" of young Australian men. It was also noted that the trend had shifted away from baggy pants and that young men were instead sagging skinny jeans.

The link between sagging pants and graffiti culture was noted in Melbourne in 2010, with sagging being particularly associated with "vandals" and "taggers".

Sagging waned in popularity from the mid-2010s, and young men were sagging "less often" by 2017.

New Zealand

In 2002, it was reported that the sagging pants trend had been "widely embraced" by young Kiwi men. Multiple secondary schools, including Scots College (the most expensive private school in Wellington) had banned the trend and were giving students detentions for sagging.

Potential health implications