I’m on my bike on my way to my strength training in my new sports leggings, new red sports leggings because black is always so boring, when a young guy comes up behind me, with a large sports bag on the handlebars. He catches up with me, keeps his legs still for a moment and says: “I thought I’d mention it anyway: you’re quite transparent from behind.”
Wow. Oh… How embarrassing.
“Thank you,” I stammer with glowing cheeks. “How good of you to say that, thank you, really!” The boy smiles crookedly and cycles on quickly. I turn around and drive back home. In the mirror I see that he is absolutely right: my black underpants are clearly visible through the fabric, especially when I make a squat movement.
Shit.
I have already done my strength training in these pants twice. Didn’t anyone see it? Or just no one said anything about it? Shame comes over me. How can a pair of quality trousers costing eighty euros be transparent, I think angrily. And immediately afterwards I feel gratitude for the guy on the bike who had the courage to say something about it.
Because that’s what it is, right? These are things we dare not say anything about. Especially in these times, when the term transgressive behavior is never far away, and boys and men are unsure about what they are and are not ‘allowed’ to do. Showing that you have looked at a woman’s buttocks sometimes seems like a mortal sin. But everyone has eyes, and there is a big difference between observing and staring.
Showing that you have looked at a woman’s buttocks sometimes seems like a mortal sin. But everyone has eyes.
Let me just be very clear: saying that someone is transparent is allowed. Very much so. In fact, we have to, and now that spring has arrived this week, I can’t stress it enough. Many people get their racing bikes out of the shed and their old cycling suits out of the closet. Because of course things don’t just go wrong with sports leggings. The risk of see-through also increases with the number of times worn and the number of washes for cycling shorts, swimsuits and all kinds of other tight sportswear.
How many times have I cycled behind someone in cycling shorts that were showing through? And you don’t see that yourself, that you show your buttocks in all their glory. Women’s buttocks are still nice to look at, but men’s buttocks often also have hair. Those little sweaty curls under the thin layer of fabric.
What often happens is that there is sly laughter. And pointed out. Look at that one. How stupid of you to walk around like that. But actually, quite honestly: isn’t that incredibly immature? Imagine that you are the person being mocked, and you are not aware of a translucent butt crack.
So. Be a guy. Or a woman. Say something. Always, even when it concerns the opposite sex. And that can be super casual: the sentence that the young guy came up with with his sports bag is actually perfect. Neutral and polite. Nothing is more embarrassing than sporting a see-through backside. What you do not want to happen to you, do not do to others. Everyone will be grateful to you.
