Ranjit K.'s Comments
Mar 24, 2009 | comments: 2
Ranjit K. Mar 24, 2009, 6:00pm EDT
Nylon genes? Great idea. I think I had it in me when I was a teenager. Unfortunately, when my mother found out that I was wearing pantyhose, she and my sister raised a living hell and even with everything I explained, they broke down in tears and thought that I was out of my mind. My father was equally pissed off but would keep muttering that I was probably born a female accidently in a man's body. Recently, my parents would get upset with my sister for refusing to shave her legs and she would say that she'd only wear tights if she was out on a date or a special party. I decided to jump in the fray and tell her that besides her good looks, she risked losing her health on her legs to vericose veins and blood clots. I usually get afraid to do such things for fear that she'll keep embarassing me about my wearing pantyhose as a teen and getting humiliated for it. On a positive note, when my parents recommended my joining a bike club and I told them about the way bikers often wear tights while riding a bike, they didn't object although I don't know if they would have frowned at the idea of wearing even the thicker athletic tights. I'm guessing they won't. I already told them that even Walmart is selling men's bikinis and that Macy's sells shades of pink shirts and socks for men. They'd have fun hearing that but wouldn't go out on a limb telling me not to wear them. Hey, maybe there's progress in the family so that I might be able to let them no and not get flanked for it.

On different note, everyday to and from work I get so sick and tired of listening to those "varicose veins" surgery commercials and I'll even want to tell those two ladies running the commercials "Just wear pantyhose to treat those vericose veins !"
Oct 7, 2008 | comments: 59
Ranjit K. Mar 15, 2009, 10:01am EDT
I couldn't resist after what I saw at Macy's just yesterday. I'm going through the men's isle's checking out the shirts and socks since I've worn out most of my old socks. For the first time, I saw men's dress socks that are Pastel Pink amongst the various colors of socks. Moreover, I also came across more shades of pink polo shirts but then some of those have been around for a while. Back when I was in high school, when my white socks turned a little pinkish I would get laughed at. Nowadays, not so. It shouldn't be long until the same goes for pantyhose.

As a matter of fact, I was wearing them under my pants at the temple and I wasn't afraid to confess that my socks were too long to be taken off. We can't wear shoes in the temple but can still wear socks. The rest of the guys who I went out with took off their socks except for one who was wearing cartoon socks while I left my nylons on. I did get some looks but for the most part it wasn't too bad. Usually, those are the same kinds of gazes on women since our culture is still getting used to looking at Indian women wearing nylons as normal. If I wore the typical tights, it would look like regular dress socks and no one would notice.
Feb 17, 2009 | comments: 30
Ranjit K. Feb 20, 2009, 10:46pm EST
I agree that the bailout is a grave mistake. Now how about allowing people to locally invent and putting their own ideas of transportation to work? Both parties are in bed with Big Auto and for the past 30 years, NOTHING has really improved as far as auto technologies are concerned.
Feb 17, 2009 | comments: 26
Ranjit K. Feb 20, 2009, 10:42pm EST
What nonsense. Neither the liberals nor conservatives know how to spend wisely. Besides, if this same stimulus bill were signed by Mccain, what would the author have said? Thank God we have a moderate Democrat in the White House for a change instead of an out of control partisan.
Oct 7, 2008 | comments: 59
Ranjit K. Feb 18, 2009, 7:36pm EST
Hi Jennifer,

Welcome aboard. To answer your question at the end, yes. We're not into fetish. Btw, your picture looks beautiful all the way and it's not just the nylons. :)

I'm glad you brought up the women's side of the issue on pantyhose. What you described is pretty much a symptom of what happens when what should be considered unisex gets restricted societally speaking to one sex over the other. The same thing is happening to those of us guys in the minority wearing pantyhose openly. I don't wear it openly at least not outside my house but maybe when I get married and my wife accepts the idea, she could perhaps defend me in public and I'll be brave about it as well. If pantyhose for men does indeed make it to equal's status, it will be interesting to see how men and women look at each other in pantyhose. I myself have been battling my troubles of getting attracted to women in pantyhose and yes, they can be so addictive even when slender. I myself have been thinning down to repair my health and look presentable and surprisingly putting on tights more often than not actually reinforces my eating, sleeping, and exercising habits and my toe nails are not as dirty and my foot skin is less cracked than it used to be.
Oct 15, 2008 | comments: 8
Ranjit K. Feb 12, 2009, 1:34am EST
Hi Steve,

The man and woman in their times didn't mind it at first but somewhere the gazing got a little out of hand. I guess each was afraid that the partner would focus on the pantyhose and not the person in general itself. I could be wrong though.
Jan 15, 2009 | comments: 6
Ranjit K. Feb 7, 2009, 1:10pm EST
"But, if you start wearing ActivSkin we'll have to call you a cross-dresser because those are pantyhose made for MEN! "

Hmmm, they look the same as a regular woman's pantyhose at least as far as the leg is showing. I feel sorry for the cheap quality type pantyhose that women have to put up with. Since men usually take quality and durability seriously, I strongly suggest that men and women team up to demand better quality.
Jan 15, 2009 | comments: 7
Ranjit K. Feb 7, 2009, 11:34am EST
This is the history info summarized about bras.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassiere

Interesting that it would replace the corset and corsets were unisex !

On the issue of feminists and bras, I found it surprising that some feminists consider bras and tights to be subtle chastity belts. Bras I can understand but tights? Oh boy ! Maybe they're misinterpreting the history that just because they were originally on men long before women that it was never meant to be for women. I guess they forgot that some things can be tailored a bit differently where need be. Where are the good old days of creativity and innovations that existed up until somewhere in the late 1980s?

On the issue of temperature, 30s and 40s will feel like a cool breeze when I have tights on. Without them, I would have to put up with a cold seat in my car when I sit through traffic jams every day and the seat warmer usually takes at least 10 minutes to warm up the seat let alone get the frozen feeling off my legs.
Oct 15, 2008 | comments: 8
Ranjit K. Feb 7, 2009, 9:34am EST
There'd be less fetish on pantyhose if the guys had as much of a freedom to wear them publicly as women. As I see it, those patterned nylon dress socks for men can easily be extended into tights or even pantyhose and they would look no less masculine. Besides, when women can look attractive showing off their legs in skinnier form, why can't men? And don't get me started on superheros.

P.S.: A few days ago, I came across an interesting couple. The guy's wife used to not mind him staring at her when she'd wear tights under her shorts but after she got annoyed at being looked at as a sex object, she decided to make him try it on for a change and refused to wear pantyhose until he stopped staring at her. At first he begged but then he decided to listen and learn. After trying them on and feeling comfortable wearing them under his shorts, his wife was turned on and he realized fully well why his wife was annoyed at him. They finally agreed to a compromise that if one wants the other to wear them under their shorts, both have to wear them. Once in a while just like the encounter, the two of them go out together dressed in shorts and tights and yet the man looks masculine in them while the woman looks feminine in them amazingly. I can learn from them.
Oct 7, 2008 | comments: 59
Ranjit K. Feb 7, 2009, 9:18am EST
Hi DJ,

I'll say that out here in DC, the weather has been in the pounding 20s and even teens this past month alone. There are some tights that look more gender neutral even in retail stores but I had to be careful not to tell a retail clerk when I was asked. She was especially Indian and since I'm Indian, I didn't want to let her know that I was purchasing it for myself since in our community, embarrassments are quick to spread and stick. The sweater tights under my pants are especially helpful when I have to stand outside while filling my car at a gas station, walking a couple of blocks every day to work from my parking lot since it's cheaper to park a little farther out, and even when I want to go for a brisk walk regardless of the temperature. Plus I don't have to crank up the heat in my car as badly.

As for the tights targetted for men, one of my security officers who's cool to talk to at work told me about it. He confirmed that unlike the cheap brand, the male brand doesn't fold as inconveniently and the chances of runs are fewer. Of course, he cuts his nails and keeps himself well groomed to take advantage of the warmth and comfort.

By the way, he wondered why I was still shivering from the cold unlike the other colder days and I confessed that it was because I wasn't wearing tights under my pants. He also told me not to feel so scared about it since he wears it all the time in the winter and to put those silly prejudices aside.
Oct 7, 2008 | comments: 59
Ranjit K. Jan 21, 2009, 6:38pm EST
Hi Steve. Yes, I think the wearing shorts part in Jan out in OH will be more than enough for most folks to overlook the pantyhose part. As for me wearing shorts, well I'll admit that I used to be scared of showing off my legs even after grooming them. But then again, my parents used to have to get me out of my fears of looking "girlie" in certain clothes even though they were boys' clothes back in my younger days. I have overcome most of that fear except for wearing shorts although more boys and girls in my culture even among the elderly are getting into the groove these days at least in the big cities.

I went back and check on my pants that was in question and was curious if you were successful in being able to wear tights/pantyhose under woolen/polyester pants without any static clinging.
Jan 13, 2009 | comments: 7
Ranjit K. Jan 21, 2009, 6:31pm EST
Peter, when it comes to wearing pantyhose, some women find it comfortable and even healthful while others don't. I'm pretty sure the same will apply to men.
Jan 15, 2009 | comments: 7
Ranjit K. Jan 21, 2009, 6:28pm EST
And by the way, what authority does Oprah have to preach others about what to wear? Some women like to wear pantyhose while others don't and I'm pretty sure the same will go for men. I wish you the best of luck as I already fear you'll be facing a rather intolerant audience.
Jan 15, 2009 | comments: 7
Ranjit K. Jan 21, 2009, 6:26pm EST
Did the show finally air because I'm not able to watch Opera since I work a little late hours more often than not. Is there a transcript or a video link for those of us who missed it?
Jan 15, 2009 | comments: 7
Ranjit K. Jan 21, 2009, 6:24pm EST
If more feminists were aware that tights was originally worn by men up until the 20th century, they'd be even more up in arms about calling pantyhose a chastity belt on women. I see nothing wrong with men and women wearing pantyhose. In fact, out here in DC, I noticed a major difference between going out with pantyhose under my pants vs going outside without pantyhose under my pants. Note, when the temperature is around 20 F, nylons don't seem to help me much so I turn to cotton sweater tights but have no trouble wearing nylon tights otherwise. Without the pantyhose, I would get typical leg muscle spasms and severe headaches whereas with the hose, my legs felt equally warm as my upper portion of my body plus I could avoid the headache pills !

By the way Steve, speaking of man bra, I thought they only existed simply because of the cursed obesity epidemic whereby the guys could end up with breasts due to morbid obesity. But I thought bras never existed for men or women until the 20th century, no?
Dec 3, 2008 | comments: 7
Ranjit K. Dec 15, 2008, 10:55pm EST
Hi Mark,

Men used to wear skirts and even heels back in the good old days. It is possible to taylor skirts for men just like it was pantsuits for women. You can start out with kilts.
Oct 7, 2008 | comments: 59
Ranjit K. Dec 15, 2008, 10:48pm EST
Hi all, I'm back. It has been a while I know but after having gone through a sleepless semester in online education and an intense work load as the fiscal year was coming to a close, I'm finally free to discuss.

Steve brought up an interesting point about men who wear pantyhose under their trousers but never get noticed. I must say however that it's not always so easy. I was wearing tights under my polyester pants to survive another really cold day (around 20 degrees) and my pants ended up sticking to the tights more often than not. Thankfully, nobody cared to notice, not even the mean gals. Still, I get this scared feeling that somehow someone will notice. Plus I think I lost my recent date since I never heard back from her and feared that maybe she suspects that something's weird about my legs having shook them. She was wearing a mini skirt, pantyhose, and boots as well but I was afraid to tell her that I too wear tights for health and comfort even though we never discussed it. I'm still afraid of when to break it to my partner that I wear tights/pantyhose underneath my pants though not for fetish reasons for fear that I'll never be able to marry.
Oct 7, 2008 | comments: 59
Ranjit K. Nov 11, 2008, 1:05am EST
Hi Steve,

Pleased to meet you. Well, my parents are cool for the most part. It's just that they weren't used to seeing boys dressed in tights even though they saw the boys and men back in Europe who used to wear them in the Renaissance days. I was trying to get over my bad habit of getting hooked into staring at a woman's legs in tights and I was curious as a teenager as to what it really was like to wear such tight leggings so I bought a couple of pairs for myself although at that time I had to lie that it was for my sister lest I fear getting exposed. Nowadays, if someone tries to show me a woman somehow looking sexy in tights/pantyhose, I sometimes get angry and tell them to leave her alone because they really don't know anything about wearing nylons. I could be wrong though and I do admit to overreacting due to fearing that I'll get lulled again into another fetish.

On an interesting note, since I live close to most grocery marts, when I ride my bike with tights under my pants, I notice that I am able to ride longer with less fatigue building up though I hear the athletic version, unisex I think, is supposed to be better albeit thicker.


P.S.: As of writing this message, my heater is currently broken down and my wearing legwarmers on my arms and body shaping tights all underneath my pjs is what is saving me from the cold although my face isn't so lucky. And it's 30-35 degrees !
Oct 7, 2008 | comments: 59
Ranjit K. Nov 10, 2008, 5:40pm EST
Hi guys and gals. I thought I was completely alone in thinking it was just fine for men to wear tights. My folks wouldn't have a word out of it when I was a teen and while they never punished me physically speaking, they would humiliate me to the core though they seem to have eased off on it a few years ago and in fact wished I wouldn't be so scared and shy when I wear shorts, let alone tights, in public. I do wear tights under my pants and I feel great. Moreover, my legs don't itch from wearing woolen pants.

By the way, I usually wear the organic cotton tights brand. It's named "Maggie's" and I bought a couple of pairs from Whole Foods. It's not the same since it is 72% organic cotton, 23% nylon, and 5% spandex but it doesn't fold and the likelyhood of a run is less. Plus, I notice they look more athletic similar to the bike tights. Note, I don't have the patterned tights as that would likely cause a scene compared to the non-patterned ones. Have any of you tried Maggie's brand of organic cotton tights?
 
Ranjit K.
Washington, DC
Gather | Friends | Groups | Share
About Gather | Engagement Marketing | Make New Friends | Gather Points | Advertise on Gather | Gather Press | Privacy | Terms of Service | Community Guidelines
Books | Celebs | Entertainment | Family | Food | Health | Moms | Money | News | Politics | Spirituality | Sports | Travel | Writing
Version 16961, "Pacino"; Copyright © 2009 Gather Inc. All rights reserved.