Sagging: Status Symbol or Irresponsibility?

                                             

Sagging has different means but the one we are discussing in this contest is the very common one amongst men, sagging of pants.

Sagging is wearing ones pants around the hips so that they sag down and bunch up around the ankles. Originally, this was a prison thing that signified that you were another prisoner's property. It was common amongst prisoners because they are not allowed to wear belts, hence the sagging. But Somehow this became a 1990 fashion trend.

One cannot help but marvel at how such a mark of shame became a fashion statement.

Once you type in the word 'sagging' in Google search for pictures, phrase that will greet you is, 'say no to sagging'. Many see sagging as a sign of irresponsibility and even look down on any young man that sags his pants. If this act is a kind of sex appeal to women, then it also failed because no lady in her right mind likes her man displaying his underwear in public. If this is the case, you wonder why a good number of men still go out of their way to sag when no one accepts it.

 Speaking with a few men about sagging revealed that 70 percent of men do not like sagging. In fact, a young man in his late 20 who gave his name as Frank said "it is boys that sag, real men don't sag".

Other guys who saw it as a very ridiculous gesture explained that people that sag are just wanna be gangster.

Sagging is regularly seen among musician round the world. It is rare to see actors in Nollywood or men in any other serious sector sag their pants. And you wonder if it is only artistes that are the irresponsible ones.

The most common place musicians sag is while performing on stage or in their music video. Many Nigerian artistes are guilty of this. We have seen the likes of Iyanya, Burna Boy, DavidO, Wizkid and a few others sag. Other places where you see boys sag is at motor parks. To achieve this style, some go to the extent of buying undersized pants or jeans just to show off their dirty underwear in public.

Since many has condemned sagging as an irresponsible act, one of the ways to stop sagging among younger people is to remind them that they are not prisoners.