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Claim: The fashion of sagging one's pants was born of a prison mode of signalling sexual availability.
Examples:
Origins: Sagging, the fashion of wearing pants with their waistbands around the hips (or lower) rather than snugged to the 
midriff, has been and continues to be a controversial style of dress. Although this sartorial fad is overwhelmingly
favored by young males, it is not limited to The practice, which did begin in prisons, worked its way from the hoosegow into hip hop culture. It was adopted by a variety of rap artists, such as Pants worn this way are kept up by constant hitching, an act that becomes an integral part of the walking style of the wearer. While sagging did gain its start in the U.S. prison system, it was not a clothes-wearing style authored by imprisoned homosexuals intent upon advertising their interest in casual flings. Sagging pants became the behind-the-bars thing thanks to ill-fitting prison-issue garb: some of those incarcerated were provided with clothing a few sizes too large. That oversizing, coupled with the lack of belts in the big house, led to a great number of jailbirds whose pants were falling off their arses. (Belts are not permitted in most correctional facilities because all too often the lifeless bodies of their inmate owners have been found hanging from them.) Sagging has another rumored origin (also false), one less well-traveled than the "gay inmates advertising for sex" postulation:
[Collected on the Internet, 2003]
Another discredited theory says ghetto hoodlums adopted the fashion of wearing their pants in the sagging style to better conceal weapons from rival gang members and police. While it is true a gun or knife can be effectively stashed out of sight in droopy pants, it can also be hidden in more form-fitting bottoms, especially when the pants-wearer tops his cache with an untucked sports jersey, pullover, or sweatshirt.
What's the origin of Gang-banger pants? You know, worn really low and baggy? Before they became a fashion statement, and/or MADE that way by assorted clothing companies, I heard it originated in a prison: An inmate was on suicide watch and couldn't have his belt, which the other inmates were either outraged by or thought was ridiculous given the inmate in question. So they started wearing theirs really low in protest/solidarity. Anyway, that's what I heard. The most intriguing aspect of the "trolling for gay sex" rumor lies not in its veracity, but in its acceptance as gospel by those who encounter it and who are then moved to pass it along to others. While the combination of two facts (homosexuality in prison and falling-down pants worn by inmates) accounts for the origin of the belief that links the one to the other, its spread is attributable to the prevailing dislike of the fashion. Those who choose to wear their pants this way cite comfort as their motive and so find justification for this imitation of rap stars and felons, two groups perceived as toughly self-sufficient and therefore worthy of emulation; those who do not follow this fashion see only the crotches of jeans hanging at or above the knee, hobbling their wearers in a goofy manner. (One can walk in sagging pants. But one can't run in them.) The rumor becomes a way of passing along one group's disdain for another's sartorial practice. Communicating that the saggers are unwittingly offering their backsides to all takers when they think they are mimicking admired rappers and identifying with tough guys no sensible person would mess with becomes a way of saying "The joke is really on them." This same sense of surreptitious delight over being in on a prank someone looked down upon is unknowingly playing on himself fuels another urban legend that involves medallions flaunted by society matrons or Chinese character-emblazoned sweaters proudly worn by their knitters and even some of the "misunderstood souvenir" tales told about globe-trotting tourists. While sagging is embraced by a number of young people, it is far removed from being the subject of widespread approval outside that demographic. Various communities have attempted to ban this form of fashion statement. In February 2005, for example, the Virginia House of Delegates passed the Barbara "bum steered" Mikkelson Last updated: 15 October 2005 Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2008 by snopes.com. This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.  Sources:
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