[sebbie]

Understanding Old-School Straps and Cups

What feels great (from an arousal-horniness perspective I mean)? What feels mediocre? More importantly, why does something feel great and something else, maybe not so much?

There are all sorts of ways a guy can pleasure himself, whether alone or with a partner. Most of these methods can be described as involving some sort of motion, i.e. stroking, massaging, vibrating, squeezing or perhaps a combination of these.

For young guys, learning how to engage in highly enjoyable partner-sex starts with finding out the various ways and engaging in solo-sex. A lot of guys, consumed with the idea of finding a sexual partner, see solo-sex as simply a second-rate alternative what a partner is unavailable.

The idea of a guy pleasuring himself with steady, direct but gentle pressure on the walls of the penis may seem tame and perhaps more than a little old-fashioned, considering the other options commonly employed that involve more complicated stroking, massaging and employing tools that perhaps squeeze or vibrate.

A long time ago, it was mandatory for any guy engaging in a sport whereby the gonads could easily be injured (football, baseball, even basketball) to wear a mandatory cup and strap. The Bike Company was the inventor and dominant maker of these straps and cups. According to Wikipedia, the first straps were made for wear by Boston bicycle riders, hence the company name. The athletic supporter got renamed the Jock strap as something athletes (the jocks) would wear. Wikipedia also states that the Jockey Company marketed the first Y-front brief in 1935, claiming that it gave a similar support to a jock strap (hence the Jockey company name). The snug-fitting briefs were an immediate hit with men.

Guys were always wary of the whole idea of being in a jock, in part because the cup put pressure and enclosed the penis in, well, interesting, but (perhaps) arousing ways. Getting your first jock strap (with or without a cup) became something of a male “rite of passage” into adulthood.

The photo illustrates some old-school cups I have in my collection. The straps and cups came in various sizes depending on the size and age of the athlete. But the old school cups were all designed for the penis to be pointed firmly downward and held securely in place. The space for the penis would be smaller for the smaller cups. These cups are all from pouched straps sized Youth Large, a size similar in waist size to a Men’s size small with both for waist sizes 30-32 inches, although the cup is not as big for the Youth Large.
These cups are designed to have the penis in the pointing down position. But notice how narrow they are at the base. They all feature a cramped space on the bottom end barely big enough to contain a completely flaccid penis, with no room whatsoever should the guy (inadvertently, of course) get even a bit of a hard-on. With even a trivial hard-on, the walls of the cup bear down firmly on the guy’s penis. Depending on the guy, this might be either really fun or terrifying. At minimum, the guy is likely to precum when firmly strapped into the cup—perhaps a lot, so long as the sport he is engaged in is not occupying his full attention. Great fun or amazing problem? That is for the guy to decide.

I like to use these cups for “recreation” and while I am exercising, but one guy’s definition of recreation while wearing a cup and strap may be different from another guy’s idea.

These old-school cups were great in keeping a guy’s penis safe and secure but provided less protection to the testicles and scrotum. In the years that followed, the so-called Banana” cup was invented, a cup which was longer and provided more room for the penis to flop around inside the cup, as well providing more direct coverage of the balls. In sport activity, however, these bigger cups mean that a guy’s penis is flopping around inside the roomier cup, not simple held firmly in one place.

That the old-school cups used with the correct pouched strap holds the penis securely in place behind the hard plastic cup this works well for sports where the risk is a blow to the groin area from the front even if the issues guys have with having one’s penis in such a confined space. The old-school cups and straps nowadays can be hard to find, but from a recreational effort they are worth a search. I have accumulated the ones I have over many years, starting in the 1970s.

These cups can also be worn without a strap by simply slipping them inside a tight-fitting pair of compression shorts. Some compression shorts have a sewn-in pouch for holding a cup, and I suspect most college and professional athletes wear compression shorts under their other gear in part to be able to be in a cup. It is also possible—and rather interesting--to position the penis in the up not down position inside the cup. In that option, the underside of the penis gets direct firm pressure from underside of the front of the cup. You might find that you like that sensation as well.