Let's Bring back the MUNSINGWEAR MEN!

 

Ah, the drama, the camaraderie, the warm human interaction, the - oh what the hell. It's strange how something that seems so blatantly gay now wasn't really seen as gay then. Or at least, I don't think so. But I've never seen a bunch of straight men in a locker room joshing each other about their underwear. Some of these guys are, I confess, pretty cute and easy on the eyes. Hey, I like men too, like the smell of them, their voices, their. . . excuse me. It is an appreciation that most definitely does NOT wane with the years. But the union suit idea doesn't make it for me. And the "stretchy seat" thing kind of kills whatever attraction might ensue. Not to mention those "slumberalls" that I don't think you'd even see at a co-ed pajama party.

NOTE: My blog program is vastly improved now, so that I can blow this up immensely and you might even be able to read most of the text (which is really the best part). Which is why this gif is running sooooooooo slowly! The original ads were long and skinny (like some of these guys) and fit down the sides of the text in magazines, which makes for an awkward size - and having to scroll down to get all the text, if you're that dedicated. If not, here is a sort of edited version with only the best parts:

By popular demand: THE MUNSINGWEAR MEN!

Ye-e-e-e-e-s, it's those crazy old guys, the Lotharios of the locker room, the Munsingwear Men! Here we provide you with more than you ever wanted of those unforgettable Munsingwear Moments, as these seemingly straight guys act about as gay as men ever did in history. I'd transcribe the dialogue on these, but I'm afraid you're on your own. Just read it real fast. The first gif is the trimmed version of the ads, the second one complete and unadulterated. (Fit That Lasts!) Sorry, it's the best I can do.

No droopy drawers: the Munsingwear Men

Whenever I find a vast trove of ads for Munsingwear men's underwear, it's a happy day. I have sixteen million of them now and am trying to re-format them to fit my little old blog. The homoerotic subtext in these is - well, it's jaw-dropping, though I suppose language was different then. But men didn't talk to other men about their underwear back then.  Men didn't talk to ANYONE about their underwear. Ever.

The reason I made these gifs is that this collection quickly became unmanageable. They bred like homoerotic rabbits. I mean. FORTY ads for Munsingwear underwear, FORTY guys "joshing" each other in highly suggestive language like "maybe YOU should get stuffed"? I had to cut it down some way, and ended up mutilating them in a way which doesn't really do them justice. You just have to read all that delicious dialogue, the long, detailed discussions about stretchy seats, bias cut, leg room and mild vs. firm support. Pouch talk, all of it. But the long, skinny format of these magazine ads is too awkward. I'd thought of dividing up the collection into four parts, and finally thought, fuck that idea! Maybe YOU oughta get stuffed.

 

Go, men. . . go Munsingwear!

These are some choice cuts from the Munsingwear cartoon-style ads I love so well. I find these rife with paradox: at a time (1940s) when homophobia could not have been more rampant, it was common, even perfectly acceptable to depict half-naked men in locker rooms talking about their underwear. They would even argue about the relative merits of their ginch (gonch, gitch, gatch), often criticizing their buddy for having a baggy ass or sagging crotch. My favorite shows two men in bed:  "Leave me alone, you big overstuffed Easter Bunny!" "Wise guy, huh? Tomorrow a.m., when you're sweating icicles, think of me in these draft-proof Slumberalls! They're so comfortable, you don't know you've got 'em on!" A not-so-subtle image, when you think about it, and which (when added to the pillow fight with the guy bending over) makes for an uncomfortable, yet compelling sociological whatayacallit.

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