Middle-school mischief: Sagging your pants

“Do you wear boxers or tighty-whiteys?”

“Tighty-whiteys, I guess.”

“You can’t sag your pants when you wear tighty-whiteys. You gotta start wearing boxers.”

‘Sagging your pants’ originally started when prisoners weren’t allowed to have belts as many of them had previously used belts to hang themselves. As a result, prisoners pants would rest on the top of their butts rather than their hips. Somehow it became a trend ‘on the outside’ to recreate this style, originally in recognition of either your time on the inside, or your homies still locked up. I hadn’t known about this phenomenon until that fateful day in 4^th grade when Dwayne Chisolm brought me in the loop.

I honestly think that was the last day I’ve ever wore ‘tighty-whiteys’.