The Man-Girdle is Here!

The latest fashion essential for men has finally hit North America. The Man-Girdle promises to not only slim that pesky mid-section, but also fix a host of ailments. Developed in Australia and widely sold in Europe, the man-girdle, or 'Core Precision Undershirt', is the latest fashion must-have for men who want to wear more form-fitting clothes and improve their shape. No longer meant be kept hidden like a dirty little secret, shapewear for men is functional and attractive with not a flesh tone in sight. But will men wear it? Yes, and the reason is language.



How Girdles are Sold to Women

Advertisers are very good at tapping into hidden desires and fears. The promotional language marketing girdles to women has long operated on the premise that female consumers think of their bodies as a problem that needs to be fixed. Women, it is assumed, want and need help to look better, so for years they have been squeezing into shapewear because it will slim, shape, cover problem areas, hide extra weight, and hold everything in.
Marketing the Man-Girdle

The marketing campaign directed toward men makes no such assumption about male vanity and consequently employs very different language. To relieve male consumers of any suggestion that the garment is a self-indulgent purchase or remotely feminine, advertisers of the man-girdle emphasize health promotion and performance. The new undershirt for men not only streamlines and slims, it also improves posture, supports core muscles, controls body temperature and promotes circulation.

Couched in pseudo-scientific jargon, the makers claim the undershirt was 'developed in conjunction with physiotherapists, ergonomic consultants and athletic garment engineers', and was created using a 'unique body-mapping system that builds physio taping techniques into every garment to reinforce and support the body's natural structure from the core'. Wow, that's some underwear.

The use of phrases such as 'athletic technology' and 'high performance', and 'compression clothing' market the girdle as a sport enhancing device much like a weight lifting belt or powershake, while terms such as 'precision' and 'engineered' bolster its scientific credentials. This language also means that the man-girdle will not look or sound out of place next to the car or athletic drinks adverts in men's magazines.

But will men buy it? Of course they will. The sales pitch combines the ideal of male health and fitness with the contemporary interest in design and technology. But men will also wear a girdle for the same reasons women do, to fit into their clothes and to hold in the flab. It is not only women who need and want help to look their best, nor it is only men who want to feel like top athletes in their high performance, scientifically engineered underwear.