Lingerie That is Strong Enough for a Man

For most men, the sensual pleasures of lingerie will never be fully appreciated. They will never enjoy the feeling of silken undergarments against their skin or know the joy of dressing to excite a lover. No, for most men, their exposure to lingerie is limited to an annual holiday—Valentine’s Day—and the secondhand enjoyment of seeing their significant other in something lacy.

The problem, dear reader, is that we live in a profoundly hetero-normative society and in that society, gender roles are as deeply entrenched as our appreciation for baseball, the Fourth of July, and apple pie. Our culture dictates that men wear utilitarian cotton briefs or boxers and eschew all other accoutrements for fear of upsetting the delicate order of things. These binaries can be alienating; they ignore the limitless points between cisgenders, a myriad of human sexuality’s gray areas, and de-legitimize the desires of those who deviate from traditional gender signifiers.

So, what about the men of discerning taste who are not Tim Curry, David Johansen or Oscar de la Hoya? According to The Underwear Expert, Welterweight boxing champions and Transylvanian transvestites are hardly unique in their appreciation for luxurious undergarments. The site states:

It’s estimated that 10% of men who buy women’s underwear buy it for themselves. Who knew? This could be because some men just really like women’s underwear (Rocky Horror, anyone?) or maybe that 10% is on to something.

Indeed they are. Enter Australian (of course) lingerie brand, HommeMystère. The line is specifically geared toward men of refined, gender-bending tastes and promises its customers unyielding discretion and the highest quality in men’s brassières, playsuits, and c-strings (the latter is NSFW at all). The inspiration for the garments may be women’s lingerie, but each piece is uniquely designed to fit the male form.

The calm confidence of a man who has found proper support

(Kindly note that HommeMystère does not accept Diners Club cards at this time.)

All teasing aside, I do believe that lines such as HommeMystère represent a positive step toward a more open, comprehensive understanding of human sexuality. Human sexual behavior is complicated and all too often, we mock that which challenges us and makes us uneasy. If HommeMystère’s target audience is pleased by its existence (and if the customer testimonials and menswear blog articles are to be trusted, this seems to be the case), then I fail to find much to criticize–except maybe that some of the prints are a bit tacky.

Images: hommemystere.com

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