If I said the word “lingerie” to you, I can pretty much guess that you’d think of lacy, frilly, revealing clothing that you wear for mere minutes before either you or a sexual partner is ripping it off (but hopefully less violent!). It’s the stuff that we primarily see women wearing that are supposed to get men who are attracted to women SUPER wound up. Who ever would have thought that’s all it could take?
Thinking of lingerie in that sense isn’t wrong. The technical definition for lingerie, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, is “women’s intimate apparel.” Once you think about this definition, the obvious loophole is “men can wear this stuff, too.” So the definition there has already changed, since it’s not just for women. After breaking down that wall, we then have to think about whether or not traditional “lingerie” would be attractive for women who are attracted to men. Would they enjoy seeing their boyfriend in that sort of apparel? Or would they rather them wear something on the more masculine side? Would it still be considered lingerie even if it’s not feminine?
A lot of these questions were spurred by this one picture I found on the internet:
I mean, there's definitely some truth to this.
I know it’s not a definitive statement, because every woman is going to think differently about what sort of clothing will attract them to a man. However, it got me thinking about whether lingerie can really be condensed into just one standard of clothing. Because lingerie is primarily meant to arouse a partner, why WOULDN’T a suit be considered lingerie for some people? If it turns them on in the bedroom, why not have their partner wear a suit and have them consider it as “lingerie?”
Unless wearing other types of clothing for sexual arousal is mostly considered “fetish”…but then is lingerie just a TYPE of fetish? Or does it just belong to its own category?
As you can see, this has become something my brain refuses to stop thinking about. However, I want to know what you think of this! What do YOU consider “lingerie” to be? Is it primarily the frilly, feminine clothing that we think of first? Or do you think it’s broadened out to be so much more?
1 comment
I am in no doubt that the majority of us including me regard lingerie as “feminine underwear” usually worn for sexual rather than practical purposes. Lingerie has the ability to turn one on by its look and feel and although I am prepared to accept anything that anybody may wish to put in to that category, I am confident most of us believe lingerie to be the ultimate clothing turn on. After all you don’t see mass orgies in the street because suits turn everybody on.