Issue No. 69 - March - April 2012 - DOH

fashion DOCTORThe"Crack Epidemic"“Exposure”A fit and healthy body exudesconfidence in carrying any type of clothing,from the relaxed jeans and t-shirt to themost formal barong or coat and tie for menand dinner dress or gown for women. And sothe old fashion maxim goes, “if you have it,flaunt it.”But what if you don’t have thatkind of body, and what you got is a beerbelly or a coca cola body (coke in can, thatis) instead of a six-pack abs or a curvaceousbody. Would you still wear the trendiestfashion?On the street, on television, in themall and even in the office, women (andmen too) of all ages and sizes are wearingtight, low-slung, butt-hugging jeans andpants that hit at, or often far below, the hip.Low-rise jeans are worn to display more skinat the waist, torso, and hips. Accordingly,they are sometimes worn in combinationwith shorter crop tops, giving a glimpseof skin between the jeans and the top, orshowing their entire midriff including thebelly button.This fashion statement escalatesto the “crack epidemic” where low-risejeans partially reveal the buttocks whenthe wearer sits down or bends over. In manycases, butt cleavage becomes visible.In some cases, it is the designer orbranded underwear that is flaunted. Whena thong is exposed above a pair of low-risejeans on the back, it is commonly referred toas a "whale tail," due to its somewhat similarshape. When boxer shorts become visiblethis is known as "sagging" or "sagg".A Facebook post posing as a "publicservice announcement" that is recentlycirculating, discourages people from wearinglow-rise jeans. It says that this fashion trendwas born in the United States' jails whereprisoners who were willing to have sex withother prisoners needed to invent a signal bypartially showing their butts and that theywere available to be penetrated. (See imagenext page.)In the US, low-rise jeans are said tofall out of favor in 2008 and have become lesscommon since, although they still remainsomewhat popular. In the Philippines, itis still very much in fashion especially foryoung people. However, paraphrasing thetourism campaign, wearing low-rise jeansis “more funny in the Philippines” especiallyfor the modest Filipinos. Instead of flauntingtheir butt crack, they keep on pulling theirshirts or blouses down or cover their backwith their hands when they sit or bend over.Wearing these jeans is like putting their hipsand buttocks in some humiliating way.“Etiology”Low-rise jeans are not new fashion.The style dates back to the late 1960s withthe ascendance of the hippie countercultureand rock 'n' roll, and was referred to as hiphuggers.Rock icons like Jimi Hendrix, JanisJoplin and Jim Morrison popularized it. Later,hip-huggers became a staple of popularculture and were incorporated into the discoscene of the 1970s. However, waistlines48 HEALTHbeat I March - April 2012