United States Weirdest Law on Sagging Pants

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I feel that in today’s society that men are discriminated against for the way they wear their clothes, specifically, their pants. For many guys sagging your pants are a fashion statement, although many people perceive individuals sagging their pants as “bad” individuals. As a kid, I did wear my pants below my butt, but as I grew older, it gradually raised. I am a professional person, but my style and my comfort have my pants lie just below my hips. I wear a belt, but having my pants all the way above my waist makes me extremely uncomfortable. Even for my wedding, I had to have my pants altered, because tuxedo pants only sit high on the waist. I find it hard to have a law against someone’s choice of fashion, and that one could get fined in some states for sagging your pants. It seems a bit discriminatory when some women can go out barley wearing anything and get fined. The sagging pants law should be eradicated because it is discriminatory and a waste of resources, and instead left up to the community to decide weather they would like to provide services to people who sag their pants.
The main problem that people encounter is the law discriminates not only on gender, but profiles those that they think are troublemakers, or gangsters. With this law they are trying to dictate when, where, and how one can wear their clothes. A college student athlete was boarding a plane, but was asked by the captain to pull up his pants repeatedly; when he did not respond they asked him to leave the plane (Osland, Clinch, and Wells 110). This is a violation of the first amendment for his freedom of expression. As the study showed, they felt that they were discriminating against him because of his race. It is embarrassing that a guy has to go throug...

... middle of paper ...

...he boy sagging his pants like his Hip-Hop idol, or the convenience store owner who puts up a sign refusing service to those who sag their pants. This is not a serious problem that we need to combat, like the war on drugs, but something that many just don’t like.

Works Cited

Osland, Asbjorn, Nanette Clinch, and Pamela M. Wells. "When And Where Are Sagging Pants Appropriate Attire?" Journal Of Critical Incidents 5.(2012): 110-113. Business Source Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Sinopole, Angelica M. "No Saggy Pants: A Review of the First Amendment Issues Presented by the State's Regulation of Fashion in Public Streets." Penn St. L. Rev. 113 (2008): 329.
Williams, Onika K. "The Suppression Of A Saggin' Expression: Exploring The "Saggy Pants" Style Within A First Amendment Context." Indiana Law Journal 85.3 (2010): 1169-1196. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

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