Elephant in the Room: Skirts and the Male Bulge

Elephant in the Room: Skirts and the Male Bulge


Tags: Guides Style tips

One issue for a number of skirted males, is whether to obscure the appearance of a bulge. We'll explore different perspectives, along with a look at the textiles, prints, tailoring, and accessories that can help.

Plenty of males in the 60s and 70s had no issue with letting their bulge be known. Not just rock stars (but definitely, musicians).

Left: David Bowie with jean bulge; Middle: Tom Jones with jean bulge and gun and binoculars; Right: Freddie Mercury with shorts bulge on stage.

Male bulges are more or less accepted in ballet, bicycle racing, football, swimming, and figure skating. They're fairly normalized under jeans, although a denim fly can obscure things.

With female bodies, there’s a full spectrum of concern on the topic of ‘cameltoe’ in pants or tights—many don’t give it a single thought, and some act like it’s the worst thing to ever happen. Not to mention concern around VPL (visible panty line), or the market for nipple covers.

Back on the male side, some might think they should have a big bulge, if anything. Sadly, even progressive people still make jokes and insults about size, like it matters.

We all have different bodies. If someone with male anatomy wears constricting attire to hide the bulge, they lose one of the best features of skirts: open, airy, freedom. Quite the opposite of jeans: 

Jeans with bunched up fabric near the crotch. Why men wear skirts: reason #6. No wads of extra fabric near the crotch.
From @everybodyskirts on Instagram


So why would males ever want to hide their anatomy? We’re not female—why should we pretend to be? And we’re not Ken dolls.

Avoiding attention

Some people obsess over what’s going on ‘down there’. They see someone who doesn’t fit the “normal” sex they’re used to seeing in a skirt, and glance (or worse, stare) at your junk. Growing awareness of trans people can amplify this obsession with genitalia as well.

Males who wear skirts might not enjoy this attention.

Minimalism

Some may want a minimalist look. Even male ballet dancers wear a ‘dance belt’ which is like a flexible jock strap that presents a “smooth and inexplicit contour to onlookers”.

This desire may come from the flush female look that society might call a “normal” skirt aesthetic:

White woman in a tight brown skirt, with hand on hip.

Bodily discomfort and double standards

Though bulges are standard in swimming, speedos can be deemed ‘creepy’ in certain pockets of culture. Whether this comes from a discomfort with bodies in general, trauma, or something else, ideas like this can weigh on a skirted male.

Males in many cultures don’t have the clothing freedom available to females, for example, in showing curvature, flaunting their legs, etc.

Environment

Around family or children, males might be hyper aware of any appearance of their bulge, and wear specific skirts, if at all. Like the speedo example, this can come from a cultural idea that certain body parts should be hidden as much as possible.

At work, males are less likely to wear skirts—especially those that accentuate the bulge. This could stem from fear of job loss, not being promoted, or excessive caution around indecency.

Other surroundings where males might avoid bulgy skirts are religious settings, public transportation, and conservative societies. Not wanting to add fire to recent anti-trans rhetoric is also valid.

Windy days can also put your anatomy on display, with certain skirts.

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Whatever the reason, there’s no shame in hiding or obscuring the bulge. Just like there’s no shame in avoiding spandex shorts for a grocery run.

How to hide the bulge

This isn’t an article about tucking. It’s about how to make the bulge less apparent by choosing certain skirts and accessories. Don’t worry—constricting attire is not necessary.

To understand what makes the bulge more or less apparent, we’ve grouped things into four areas:

Textile: 3 scales from 'Bulge' to 'No bulge': Clingy, stretchy to Rigid; Smooth, shiny to textured, matte; Thin, light to Thick, heavy

A thin, clingy skirt compared to rigid denim with a fly:

Thin pink skirt on left, thick denim pink skirt on right.

A stretchy, tight miniskirt compared to a thick, wool skirt:

Thin purple pattern skirt on left, thick red/black wool skirt on right

 

Print: 2 scales from 'Bulge' to 'No bulge': Bright to Dark; Solid colour to Irregular pattern

Bright vs. dark (shadows have more contrast with brighter colours):

Light pink denim skirt on left, black skirt with pattern on right

Aside from high-contrast geometric patterns (ie. black and white checkerboard), irregular patterns will generally hide the bulge more.

Solid colour vs. irregular pattern:

Light brown skirt on left, yellow/red/black striped pattern skirt on right

 

Tailoring: 3 scales from 'Bulge' to 'No bulge': Tight to Loose, flared; Single-layer to Multi-layer; Low rise to Belly draped

Fabric layering can take many forms, from pleats, folds, frills, and bunching, to flies, aprons, and snaps. Some skirts even create a partial/angled overlap, like this one.

Here are a couple basic examples of single to multi layer:

Front pocket:

Black skirt on left with white stripes, orange/green/black skirt on right with front pocket

Frilled:

Light thin pink skirt on left, multi-layer grey frilled skirt on right

Here's what low rise vs. belly draped might look like:

Black with white stripes skirt on left, loose belly high light blue skirt on right

 

Accessories: 3 scales from 'Bulge' to 'No bulge' - Short top to Long top; No undies to Flattening undies; No bag to Front hanging bag

Short top vs. long top:

Tight black studded mini skirt on left, same on right but with long yellow plaid shirt

You can try cotton slips, control top tights, or even a skort to minimize the bulge.

Certain underwear will also have a flattening effect. The boxer brief achieves a sweet spot – less bunching (not a good look on skirts with thinner material), with a comfortable flattening effect:

tight purple mini skirt on left, same on right but with flattening underwear which can be seen at legs slightly (black)

A simple front-hanging bag can do wonders:

light brown mini skirt on left, same on right but with leather bag covering groin area

 

Bulge scorecards

Which skirts naturally hide the bulge well?

Kilt

A kilt happens to be among the best. It's made of sturdy wool with a tartan pattern, often darker in colour. The garment has multiple layers which then overlap at the front like a wrap. They drape down from the belly, and a 'sporran ' pouch traditionally hangs in front. 

A picture of a kilt with 10 scales from 'bulge' to 'no bulge', scoring high on most (except 'no undies to flattening undies')

Skater skirt

The skater skirt often comes in solid colours, but the layered folds give it a bulge obscuring edge even when in white:

Male bodied person wearing white skater skirt, being ranked across various scales from 'Bulge' to 'No bulge'. Multi-layer is highest ranking towards 'No bulge'.

Thin and bunched maxi skirt

This summery skirt is worn a bit higher than others, and has a good belly drape. Though the fabric is thin and will show a bulge on windy days, the bunching adds a bit of mask.

Picture of a male wearing a long, black and white with star pattern maxi skirt, and orange tank top. Skirt is ranked across various scales ranging from 'bulge' to 'no bulge', with highest ranking being 'Belly draped', and lowest/bulgiest being 'Thin, light'.

    Pencil skirt with fly

    This skirt's fly, pockets, and sturdier fabric help to hide the bulge.

    A male in a dark green skinny knee length skirt, that has pockets and a fly. Black fitted shirt with white polka dots. Skirt is ranked across various scales, from 'Bulge' to 'No bulge', with 'Multi-layer', 'Dark', and 'Rigid' being the highest scoring towards 'No bulge', and 'Solid colour' being lowest scoring, towards 'Bulge'.

    Wearing skirts while male takes courage. Ultimately, we need to find the right balance between social and physical comfort.

    If you’re relatively new to skirts, start with the less bulgy options. Consider who you’ll be around when choosing your outfit, but keep in mind:

    • Far less people will care or stare than you might expect
    • Bulges look more obvious from the owner's view vs. someone else's

    Any concern you might have will fade with experience.

    As skirts become less exclusive to feminine fashion, skirted bulges will become normal. Innovation in tailoring is also making skirts more fit for the male body.

    Whether you choose to obscure the bulge or not, have fun exploring the options! And don’t overthink it ;)
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    Share your thoughts below, and check out the comments on our instagram post

    Tags: Guides Style tips

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    7 comments

    @Vox thanks for this share. Yes, I remember the intimidation of wind—especially while walking—when first wearing skirts 😅

    You make some great points and I appreciated the phallus and the sword/pen metaphor. I think much of the ‘issue’ is rooted in a mix of hate or fear of men, misogyny (“women should be the gender that showcases their anatomy”), and general body phobia.

    Chip

    While not shaming our bodies, bulges can be just down right awkward. There is a clear difference between passive knowledge of one’s anatomy and putting that anatomy on display! Women are very mindful of anatomical emphasis when selecting clothing (think: club versus office). So there is a deeply ingrained perception that a skirted man must have the same purpose.

    The week that I first wore a skirt, I was apprehensive of many things. I was particularly concerned that wind or stride-induced air currents might vaguely suggest my lower anatomy. I wrongly believed that I had some duty to shield the public from consciousness of my anatomy even though it was a perfectly natural part of my body. After a few days of internal conflict, I finally came to the realization that I would never instruct a woman to subdue the visible form of her upper anatomy, so on what basis was I imposing this inegalitarian onus upon myself? I was in fact being (mis)guided by culturally-taught misandry that men are inherently bad and that men therefore have a duty to avoid anything which might cause alarm. Regarding all men as penis-minded creeps is no different than regarding all women as vagina-exploiting golddiggers. Both are objectifications of anatomy. Equality begins with abandoning such notions. A woman who wears a skirt does not potentiate her becoming a victim of assault and a man who wears a skirt is neither a predator nor a pervert. It is a double standard. The phallus and the sword are anthropologically ingrained associations. So is the socially-disruptive pen (which is mightier than the sword?). I think that is why we feel so uncomfortable about the perfectly natural.

    Vox

    I’ll hide MY bulge when women hide theirs.
    And their bulges are MUCH more prominent.

    Chris

    To bulge or not to bulge? That is the question, and everybody’s answer is different, as one would expect. This article pretty much covers all the angles, Thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

    Maurice

    For me it’s just about the look I’m going for. Most of the time I don’t care, but with some tight skirts I have, I want a smooth look. I’ve only once had someone mention that they could see my “boy bulge” while wear a sweater dress over a knee length skirt.

    Robert Minch

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