The dapperQ Underwear Survey Surveys Your Underwear Anxieties and Dreams

Welcome to Underwear Week, a whole week dedicated to your favorite bum-hugging clothesthings. As we said many moons ago, we feel a lady is at her best when she’s not wearing pants. And while our last adventure around this neck of the woods took us only as far as boyshorts, this time around we’re exploring the vast and many-flavored land of underwear. From edible panties to hoopskirts and history, we’ve got you covered. Just like your underwear. 

underwear banner

By Ariel Speedwagon

As Autostraddle was gearing up for underpants week, dapperQ was having underwear ideas of our own. As part of our ongoing mission to explore the wide world of transgressing men’s fashion, we wanted to get a sense of how all of our readers thought about their underoos. We put out a survey, and 270 – 270! – responses later, here we are.

One thing that’s important for you know: at no point in this survey did we ask about gender identity or restrict it to certain kind of respondents. The information about gender we received was voluntary. We had answers from trans women, cis women, butch women, people who are not women, trans men, and lots of people who didn’t bother talking about their gender directly. People, their underwear, their genders, the ratio of their hips to their waists, the convex or concave nature of their crotches – we wanted everyone to reply. Obviously, dapperQ has a key audience of masculine-of-center folks, and based on responses to the essay questions, I assume that that’s mostly who answered. From this, we pulled all kinds of data. There are charts, people. And statistics! Never let it be said we don’t take our work seriously.

Here’s what we found:

1) Boxer briefs 4eva

We asked about two situations: underpants when it’s just you and underpants when you’re expecting company. No matter the situation, one thing’s clear: dapperQs luuuuuuv boxer briefs. Two-thirds of our respondents said they wore boxer briefs in either situation. The rest of the responses were split almost evenly between boxers, fun-style y-front underpants, women’s department briefs, and women’s department boy-cut underpants.

underpants-company

unders-just-you-chart

2) People can either find underpants that affirm their gender, or they just don’t care.

It’s important to us to know if it’s even possible to find underpants out there that make you feel good. And here’s the thing: 50% of you can find underpants that affirm your gender. And as for the rest of you, you just don’t really care one way or the other.

Screen Shot 2013-03-10 at 9.02.18 PM

Regardless of where they fell on the affirmed/not affirmed/don’t care spectrum, most people agreed: it’s stressful trying to buy underpants in underpants departments that they weren’t assigned to at birth. To quote one of many respondents:

“I almost passed out the first time I bought boy undies. I wish that had been easier. I expected someone to shoot at me. Probably just refuse to sell to me, or laugh, really. But still. Racing heart, whole deal.”

And, of course, the is the far and away the most cited problem…

3) Respondents really, really, really want “men’s”-style  underpants that have fun patterns and do not have incredibly spacious crotch pouches.

It makes a certain amount of sense that, in the “men’s” department, most of the underwear has crotch pouches. That said, our respondents really wish they didn’t. Even respondents with convex genitals said they generally needed something less roomy. Which, of course, begs the question: what do people do with all that space?

Kittens_in_pants

+ + +

As a part of the dapperQ underwear survey, we solicited ideas: what are the underpants features you’ve always wanted and never been able to find? It’s an understatement, putting it mildly, to say that the masculine-of-center female-assigned underpants market is underexplored. We are not a large market, to put it mildly; we’re out here as per the usual, making do with what we find, making compromises, et cetera, et cetera. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have dreams. Let’s take a look at what some of the dapperQs had to say.

1) Give us some affordable and attractive options
The people want some style. Specific requests were made for polka dots, glow in the dark, classic cars, stripes, bright colors, pastel colors, rainbows, dinosaurs, frogs, superheroes, hearts, different shades of pink, colorful waistbands, camo print, checks…we’d like some extra pizzaz that doesn’t cost a ton of money.

There was a lot of discussion about how frustrating it was that the nice/fun men’s underpants cost so much. And it’s true: Hanes briefs sell in a multipack for less than $10 while a single pair of the much-loved American Apparel briefs cost $14. Some of the queer-specific underpants are upwards of $20. When it comes to small designers, it’s impossible to price things competitively with a giant multinational company. And that’s a major problem because we are no,t generally speaking, a rich people.

briefs

“I expect to hear an “aww” echoing up from across the world as you read this: My sweetheart has a made a tradition of customizing underwear for me for gifts – ironing on glittery and velvety letters that spell out things like “tenderqueer,” “que hermoso,” and other sweet inside jokes and affections.”

2) Solutions for that time of the month

To quote: “This is TMI I guess, but I wish there was a way to not have to wear girl underpants under my boxers during my period. I cannot deal with tampons or DivaCups, so I used a pad of some sort, but then I need to wear briefs. I sometimes put a pad in my men’s briefs, but I really prefer to wear boxers. So usually I wear two pairs of underpants, and that gets a little bulky.”

RIGHT? There’s nowhere for that to go. I for one love the wider crotch of the men’s brief generally but if I want to wear any kind of external menstrual protection – forget it. Has anyone come up with a good solution to this?

redtide

2.5) Other concave crotch design problems

Other design incompatibilities were mentioned in particular – lack of lining for the down theres, awkwardly placed seams, and – of course – the pouch problem.

“More lining under my vagina, as in women’s underwear. I don’t need the extra lining in the front, I need it underneath.”

“It irritates me (literally) that boxer briefs don’t have the double gusset type of thing that I need with my beloved girl parts. Things sometimes chaffe that should never chaffe, and in summer it can get a little… unpleasant.”

3) Pack it up, pack it in
I love my underwear, but they can’t hold a soft pack. I wish gender affirming undies were as cheap as other undies. It’s really just another flap of fabric! Where to put the packer? Soft or hard pack – anything at all – this being built into underpants was a HUGE desire.

And a few other great ideas: condom pouch! Tiny pocket for lube or condoms! Pee funnel! The possibilities are endless!

+ + +

So, that’s a taste of what we’ve got. And now, of course, dear readers: How do you straddle cost versus style? How do you deal with the great pouch problem?  What are your underpants dreams?

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

dapperq

DapperQ is one of the world’s most widely read digital queer style magazines and is a preeminent voice in queer fashion and beauty. We inspire people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender presentations to think differently about both queer fashion and beauty as art and visual activism, and ultimately have a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with style. In the words of founder Anita Dolce Vita, “dapperQ is a queer fashion revolution, one of the most stylish forms of protest of our generation.”

has written 35 articles for us.

27 Comments

  1. Honestly, a little pouch for condoms (Or gloves! Or dental dams!) would be ideal for all underwear, regardless of gender presentation.

    • IDK much about condoms anymore, but I think the reason they haven’t already done the underwear pouch is the same reason they tell you not to put it in your wallet…heat is bad for them XP

      • Yeah, that strikes me as a terrible idea from a body-heat perspective -you’re not even meant to carry them in your pocket, let alone your underoos. You could keep lube there though.

        • You see a problem, I see an engineering challenge!*

          *For someone else. I’m not an engineer.

  2. The period dilema, ugh yes. I don’t particularly enjoy having my period and having to wear regular girl underwear just makes it worse.

  3. I’ve just started wearing men’s boxers and when I got my period I switched back to ladies underwear to fit sanitary pads, but after a few days I tried them in boxers and it was absolutely fine. It’s better without wings, but the ones I used with wings were fine, just less of the wings were actually underneath. It sticks there like normal, so I don’t really see much of a problem

  4. I can fit pads in my trunks without a problem, even with wings. I have reusable pads with snaps and they fit fine around the bottom, believe it or not.

    I use them as backup for a DivaCup because I have heavy periods, but I bet it would be fine for other people who just use pads.

  5. UNIQLO men’s briefs for 6 dollars you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They have like no space in front at all. I’m a small but even the mediums don’t on me either! Plus they have some great colors/patterns, and they don’t fade nearly as quickly as American Eagle.

    • I’m a HUGE fan of Uniqlo undies. They’re fantastic. I don’t know if it’s the same for the briefs, but the boxer briefs have a GREAT elastic band at the top that never wrinkles or loses its shape.

    • H&M Trunks are also relatively cheap ($17.95) and also have a pretty awesome top elastic band!

      Definitely going to have to give the Uniqlo ones a try too though. Any words of advice on how sizes run?

  6. I only wear boxers (hate how tight boxer briefs feel on my thighs), except during Shark Week. I’m also a pad wearer during that special time of the month. I’ve found that the low-rise trunks from American Eagle work well for the period problem – they’re definitely tight enough to keep a pad firmly in place.

    • this is the main question that is relevant to my interests, mostly because cats are always relevant to my interests.

      I would like all underwear better if it came with kittens. can we make this a reality?

  7. I only own one pair of boxers (and I think they’re made for women because they have flowers on them lol) but they always ride up so much. I hate that everyone ends up seeing my underwear, because otherwise they are fairly comfy. Do all boxers do this?

  8. Condoms in undies is not the greatest idea, FYI. The body heat breaks down the condom, which could cause it to break.

  9. Maybe it is because I wear my boxer briefs snug, but I haven’t been especially bothered by the extra room at the front. Inspired by Underwear Week, I just shelled out for some awesome Diesel striped boxer briefs (which thankfully come in xxl!) and am happily wearing them under my jeans. I do wish there were more affordable sexy options in boxer briefs, though.

  10. I have a mixture of boxer briefs and briefs from the women’s and men’s department. Although more and more I’m leaning towards men’s boxer briefs.

    One year for Christmas my mom bought me some American Apparel briefs that were from the women’s section, they’re comfy and look kind of like little boy briefs. She also bought me a pair of boxer briefs from the men’s side of AA and the ribbing is a little too tight for my cyclist thighs, but the waist fits perfectly, these have become my laundry day undies.The elastic on all of the AA undies didn’t last very long. I don’t think I will buy either for myself, as I think there are slightly more affordable options available that last longer and fit better.

    And I agree with Tara that there should be some special sexy boxer briefs.

    Maybe this is what I should do with my life, start a sexy boxer brief line for queer people.

  11. I like Moskova M6 boxer briefs (http://us.moskova.com/apparel/29/m6-boxer-brief-w-pocket) simply because they have giant pockets (and are super comfy)which solves the “What do I do with all of my shit when my pants/dress/skirt doesn’t have pockets (or as is more likely I decide not to wear pants at all)?” dilemma. They’re expensive even on sale so I could never afford them for myself, but that’s what girlfriends and birthdays are for right?

  12. This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally
    I’ve found something which helped me. Many thanks!

Comments are closed.