It is a common argument - are boxers better then briefs? Experts say the type of trunks men choose to wear are not only for comfort, but are quickly becoming a fashion statement, and the type they choose to adorn every day can have more of an effect on their reproductive parts than previously thought.
According to manstouch.com, the Egyptians, by way of a leather loincloth, first wore undergarments.
Early underwear was worn like skirts and used for comfort and hygienic purposes. Boxers and briefs stepped into the picture in the 1930s when elastic was invented. Before elastic, men's underwear was laced up or used buttons and snaps for closure.
Dr. Kellie Flood-Shaffer, an associate professor and program director for the obstetrics and gynecology department at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, said in the case of general health, a man's underwear choice does not matter.
"Boxers and briefs are no different, if a man is healthy. If he isn't, there are certain choices that are better," she said.
Infertility, sperm count, altered testosterone levels and discomfort are some of the consequences that can occur from the type of underwear a man wears.
Flood-Shaffer said the prominent difficulty in wearing briefs is infertility.
"If a man has a low sperm count, we recommend that he wear boxers," she said. "Briefs are often too tight, and the testicles get too hot."
Flood-Shaffer said the reason a man's reproductive organs are located outside of the body, as opposed to a women's ovaries being located inside, is because of the temperature difference a man's testicles need to work properly.
"A man's testicles need to be one or two degrees cooler than the rest of the body to function properly," she said.
Another reason men choose to wear boxers Flood-Shaffer said, is because of comfort.
"When the testicles become too hot, it can become itchy and uncomfortable for a man - that is why they are always adjusting themselves," she said. "Boxers are looser than briefs, but briefs have more support and the new boxer-briefs are a combination of the two."
Steven Herrera, a junior exercise and sports sciences major from Abilene, said he either wears boxers or nothing at all.
"It's either boxers or nothing - briefs are uncomfortable because they are way too tight," he said. "Besides, boxers are more manly - briefs are for little kids."
Amy Felton, a junior business major from Plano agreed.
"I don't like briefs on guys because it makes their legs look too skinny," she said.
Boxers and briefs are no longer solely used for hygiene and comfort. Whitie-tighties and their counterparts are quickly becoming one of the biggest fashion statements of the new century.
Flood-Shaffer said just as girls like to peek their thongs out of their low-rise jeans, men are jumping on the fashion bandwagon and showing the tops of their underwear too.
"Underwear has now become sort of a fashion statement," she said. "Guys like to buy thongs for girls, just as much as girls like to buy fun boxers and briefs for guys - it's a huge gift giving thing."
Brad Rieger, a junior management informational systems major from Decatur, said he likes patterned boxers as long as they're not polka-dotted.
According to Manstouch, the new form of underwear, boxer-briefs, were introduced in the early 1990s. Boxer-briefs take the long shape of boxers, but maintain the tightness and support that briefs provide.
Felton said she likes boxer-briefs on men, although her favorite choice of men's underwear are boxers.
"Boxer-briefs accentuate all that a women likes in a man if he has a good body," she said. "I still prefer guys to wear boxers though, because if I stay with them, I have shorts to wear to sleep."
Rieger said he thinks women like boxers better then briefs.
"I've never asked them, but I think most women would say they liked boxers better," he said.
Flood-Shaffer said there are many myths that underwear affects a man's risk of getting testicular cancer or erectile disfunctions, but to her knowledge no study has proven these myths to be true.
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