Underwear is like electricity: it’s obviously there, but it’s rarely discussed. And like lightning, your underwear has power. It has a certain effect on your physical comfort and mental state. Despite its influence, the ubiquity of underwear takes it easy, but it has a story to tell. Not only has it had a varied history, but it may also have a surprising future. To fully explore your underwear would take more space than we have here, so for the sake of brevity, we will limit ourselves in this article to the interesting history and various effects of your underwear.
Dress codes
Humans and their ancestors have roamed this planet for millions of years, and one of their first “inventions” was textiles, fabrics made from weaving plant fibers together. We can imagine that when people decided that clothing was a good choice, an early use was to cover our vulnerable genitals. Since the earliest textile evidence is from Georgia and dates back to 32,000 years ago, it is likely that genital coverings were worn for a long time.
Although this may be speculation, we know for sure that underwear was developed independently in many different cultures, and we have evidence that it began at least 6,000 years ago. There are images of belts worn by men and women during the Ubaid civilization of Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq) from 5500-4000 BC. The belt was a simple piece of cloth that could be tied around the waist, then pulled between the legs and tucked inside. The Persians also wore a belt like the Chinese, although in the second century BC the Chinese also wore a “dubikun” (or cow’s nose), which wrapped most of the body around the waist and tied it to the waist.
Belts have been worn in Egypt since at least 4400 BC. As far back as 1200 BC, artworks show us that the Egyptians wore a belt called a shenti made of cotton and linen. For some time, girdles were not underwear, but actually outerwear, the only clothing. However, later in Egypt we know that they wore long outer garments above their waists, which means that trousers must have entered our wardrobe at least 3000 to 4000 years ago.
The Romans also wore their girdles as underwear. These were known as “sublicula” and were often used during gymnasium exercises. Subliculae were made of both linen and leather, and women wore this type of leather during menstruation.
During the Middle Ages (476 to the end of the 15th century AD) in Europe, underwear was mainly reserved for men and took the form of a bra, a pair of loose pants that were tucked in at the waist and then fastened just below the knee with girders.
Although breeches were originally worn as outerwear, by the late Middle Ages they were worn only as underwear and were designed with a flap in the front that could be opened, allowing men to urinate without removing the entire garment. This box became known as a “codfish”, not for any connection to fish or flopping, but from the Middle English word “cod”, which means “bag”, “bag” or “scrotum”. Over the centuries, symbols have become a symbol of wealth and power, filled to signify masculinity, as you will see very clearly just by looking at Holbein’s famous portrait of Henry VIII. Codpard had to pass with all fashions and by the end of the 16th century its popularity declined. Fashion would change over the next few centuries, but the 20th century saw a stealth revolution.
Union suits and G-strings
As mentioned above, underwear on the body is a completely separate story, and the transition from corsets to bras and then bras is a myth of women’s liberation. That’s a story for another time, because here we’re sticking to underwear that was used for the lower body, and we’re jumping a bit from the Renaissance to the 19th century. At this time, “drawers” were worn by both sexes and were loose pants that went to the steamers. Jackets were made of wool, silk or flannel and sometimes had buttons in the front. Then, in the late 19th century, “union suits” combined upper and lower body clothing.
Union suits were popular from the 1870s to the 1930s and were a type of underwear for women, men and children. They were a one-piece that buttoned up the front and consisted of long sleeves on top and long leggings on the bottom. The brief, which is provided with buttons, can be opened to free the tails and make it easier to go to the toilet. Union suits were comfortable, which was a big step forward, especially for women who were free from the pain of corsets. The union suit eventually evolved into the Long Johns, probably named after the naked boxer champion John L Sullivan who wore them while fighting.
In the early 20th century, the introduction of materials such as nylon and elastic did a lot to revolutionize underwear. Chicks became shorter for women. The “flapper” era of the 1920s saw shorter dresses and more active dancing along with the use of these flexible fabrics. This led to the emergence of “panties”, or “panties”, which were closer to each other, closed and more decorative. These tighter pants were also known as “knickers,” a shortening of “knickerbockers,” a term used for athletic outerwear in the late 1800s. The 1920s also saw the birth of the G-string, worn by showgirls for burlesque performances. The name “G-string” comes from the 19th century term “geestring” for a string that goes up the waist, and the “g” probably refers to “girdle” or “girdle”. The development of the string bikini in the 1970s took the G-string to a new level as a fashion item, and in the 2000s, G-strings were deliberately worn to show off the top of low-cut jeans.
The 1920s were a turning point for underwear. For men, boxing shorts appeared in 1925 as a more flexible form of the leather belted trunks worn by professional boxers. They became very popular after they were given to soldiers in World War II. Y-front cards originated in 1934 and were inspired by the swimwear of the French Riviera. The fronts of the Y were endless, close and supportive. They were also known as “jockeys” because they resembled a jockstrap. So the “boxers vs. jockeys” debate has been going on for almost a century, and we’ll take it up in a moment.
At this point, we can sit back and marvel at the trajectory of an item of clothing that has taken it from a protective piece of linen to a statement of personal identity. The very whimsical and flimsy nature of some modern underwear may make you not take it seriously, but you should have no doubt that your choice of underwear has a real impact on your body and mind.
Bisphenols, bugs and balls
Positioning your genitals as they are, underwear is very important to the health of your vagina, liver and urinary tract. The first issue isn’t with heat and sweat, though we’ll get to that, but with something called bisphenol-A (BPA).
BPAs are hormone-like molecules that are often added to fabric as color stabilizers. The problem is that they can disrupt your hormonal system, meaning they are linked to diseases like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and hormone-related cancers. A November 2024 report published by the non-profit organization Arnika revealed the results of tests on pants sold in Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The results showed that 33 percent of the pants tested had detectable levels of bisphenols, and 10 percent exceeded the safety limits set by the authorities. Women’s underwear is at the highest risk, with 50 percent containing bisphenols, 17 percent of which are at elevated levels. The good news is that washing reduced bisphenol levels by an average of 74 percent. So, especially if you buy colorful synthetic pants, washing them before wearing them is a smart tactic.
In 2018, a study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology found that G-string wearers are more likely to develop urinary tract infections, yeast vaginitis, and bacterial vaginitis. However, they found that women who frequently wore G-strings were more likely to engage in oral sex, which may have increased the risk of infection. Research has also shown that cotton underwear is linked to yeast vaginitis.
We’ve mentioned before that the boxers vs briefs debate is an old one. The importance of this is that the testicles are the site of sperm production. They hang away from the body to reach a temperature two to four degrees below body temperature. This low temperature is so important for healthy sperm production that the body uses the “pampiniform plexus” to cool the arterial blood as it enters the testicles. The theory is that briefs or Y-fronts raise the scrotal temperature more than boxers, leading to a lower sperm count. A study from the Boston School of Public Health reported that men who mostly wore boxer shorts had 25 percent more sperm concentration, 17 percent more total sperm count, and 33 percent more swimming sperm per ejaculate. This does not mean that wearing shorts will make you infertile. A 17 percent change in sperm count should be placed on the basis that the normal sperm count is 15 million to 200 million sperm per milliliter, or 39 million to 928 million sperm per ejaculation. With such numbers, the short closure will only have an effect if the sperm count is already very low.
Underwear in your mind
The psychology of underwear is not a well-studied field, but there are some interesting studies out there. A study from the Journal of Consumer Culture found that women put a lot of effort into buying pants for specific occasions. Women also report that underwear can be a representation of “who I am.” At the same time, this study showed that underwear advertising, because it usually uses models of the same body type, can make a woman’s sense of self-esteem difficult. A Japanese study found that men also make a statement about themselves when choosing underwear, but they are less “different” than women and invest in their relationships.
Commando or not?
Going commando is a euphemism for wearing no underwear. It comes from the command’s elite soldiers who are ready to “go” at any moment. What are the pros and cons of the commando style
Supporter
• Reduces lingering sweat odors
• Reduces blood clotting
• Protects against allergic sensitivity to fabrics and colors
• For women: reduces the risk of candidiasis.
• For men: can increase sperm count
Benefits
• The choice of clothes becomes important
• Tight clothing can irritate the vagina, penis or fetus
• Tight clothing can still lead to yeast infections
Fantastic future
Of course, the story of pants continues to be written. In the December 2025 issue of the journal Biosensors & Bioelectronics, the authors report the development of “smart underwear” that continuously measures the hydrogen gas released in the gas (fart). An average person passes gas 14 to 25 times a day and produces 250 to 2000 ml of gas. This is a huge amount of health data being generated and smart underwear can monitor it. Underwear can track dietary changes and assess the health of your microbiome. One day soon, your underwear may communicate with your doctor, which may not be a comfortable idea, but it can be healthy.
In 2016, a report was published in the publication Journal of Design History concluded: “Historians of various professions have turned to the study of underwear as a more effective means of studying the wider society.” Of course, underwear can reveal not only where we’ve been, but also where we’re going.
