[sebbie]

Part XXXIX

The history of companies like Speedo® Jockey® and Bike® go back a long way to the 1930s, 1920s, and in the case of Bike back into the 19th century. Each of these companies came up with an iconic design (The Speedo® swim brief, the Jockey® brief underwear and the Bike® athletic supporter) that changed in fundamental ways how guys needed to deal with clothing that fit snugly in the groin area. A “dark secret” is that each of these offerings probably also changed in fundamental ways how guys “played” with themselves as well as each of these items ended up being used while engaging in masturbation.

No guy ever wants to admit to others that he gets himself off while wearing certain items of clothing—it’s just too embarrassing on a host of different levels, not the least of which such an admission could be interpreted as having some sort of abnormal clothing “fetish”. Indeed, the so called sex experts, psychologists who counsel patients, seem more or less stumped by this too. There seems to be general agreement among these experts now that masturbation—even frequently—is OK and this is not a sign that a guy has a problem of some sort that needs to be resolved in relating to the inability to pair with possible sexual partners.

Indeed, these same experts have become advocates for masturbation “aids” such as lubricants, vibrators and a variety of other sex toys such as electronic masturbation sleeves. Still, the guy who likes to get off wearing a simple swim brief or strap must have a problem of some sort, and he could make himself normal again by instead purchasing one of these expensive sex toys designed for males!

Besides, a swim brief or a strap used in this fashion can be far more easily explained away as being for something other than masturbation play if discovered by your college roommate than some goofy vibrating male sex toy that has only one purpose. Being able to conceal one’s personal masturbation methods is important for a lot of guys, guys in a sexual relationship with a partner or not.

So the history of compression gear made from snug-fitting fabric is much more recent than for the other items I have discussed. One could argue that compression gear only became popular with guys to any real degree after the Under Armor® company was founded, and that did not happen until 1996. If you read the history of that company, their first important product was not the compression shorts but the compression tee, a shirt that covered a guy’s chest in a snug-fitting fabric that, unlike cotton, wicked the sweat and moisture away, while also claiming compression benefits for upper body muscles. By the late 1990s compression tees were hugely popular with male athletes and the fact that they put chest muscles on display while still covering the chest was part of the appeal.

But the compression tee was shortly followed by the compression shorts, that kept everything snug and tight down below as well. Suddenly wearing a strap to do this as well seemed unnecessary. Besides, the sloppy shorts the major NBA stars were wearing suddenly started showing another kind of short underneath, a short that fit snug to the thighs. What was that, anyway? Why compression shorts as well. A lot of guys in the NBA were wearing a compression tee under their team sleeveless jersey, and compression shorts under the sloppy team shorts. A well-appointed athlete had compression undergarments both top and bottom, and Under Armor® compression gear sales soared.

Several things were going on here of interest. First, the compression shorts were seen by a lot of guys as a reasonable substitute for a traditional strap in terms of keeping the ‘nads in place. If a guy needed to wear a hard cup for additional protection, why not just build a pouch inside the compression short to hold one. Sales of traditional straps floundered, as a result.

Beside, most guys think of their upper thighs as being important, potentially erogenous zones of their anatomy, and a lot of guys like garments that fit really snug to the upper thighs. Compression shorts did that.

The fact that the compression gear fabrics were really slick and smooth helped as well. Wearing compression gear as shorts took off at about the same time that competitive swimmers started wearing jammers instead of briefs. It is not possible to know exactly how guys were dealing with all of this from a self-pleasuring perspective, but one could certainly make some educated guesses as to what must have been happening on that front too, that compression gear, like other clothing items that fit snug in the groin area, became important to a lot of guys as a convenient method to employ while self-pleasuring. Not that any guy would ever admit that was going on for sure! But it almost had to be. A guy would likely put on his compression gear, tees and shorts, and have some fun with himself whenever he had a degree of privacy.


Like I said, sales of compression gear from Under Armor® and other sports clothing manufacturers took off starting in the late 1990s. You don’t think all of this stuff was sold to serious athletes, do you?

Like so much else in male self-pleasuring, one must try and put two and two together! Can reality be that mysterious? The teen non-athlete will have a lot easier time explaining to his parents that he needs a pair of compression tee, than, say a swim brief or strap! Did I mention that you can walk into the male underwear section of any Walmart and see a host of different designs for underwear that look and feel almost like compression shorts? I like to put two and two together. If guys want to buy underwear to use when masturbating, why should the manufacturers care? A sale is a sale!

To be continued…