So here in Seattle (and I am SURE all around the world) we have some {gay} clubs that enjoying having Underwear Nights. Now of course this will sound overly sexual to many people. Other people will stick with their beliefs that most people going to underwear nights are probably “not the ones you want to see if underwear”. To both of those I say, BULLSHIT.

Okay, so you like, love, or enjoy underwear so why not go to an underwear night? They give you a chance to show off your newest or best pair in a comfortable, controlled setting. How better to discover new brands or styles then when you’re having a drink with friends or new friends at a bar?

Let’s talk nerves. Yes, it can be incredibly nerve-wracking. You are electing to shed everything, well almost everything, to a bar full of people. Talk about exposed. Remember, you’re not alone in this. It can be uncomfortable at first and maybe it will take time to feel natural again but I promise it is worth it. And of course it is always the moment right before that’s the most scary.  Either right before entering the club, right before deciding to go.  Or right before having to take off that first piece of clothing. Breath, take one moment, and then do it!

It can be an amazing rush to ultimately become confident and strong by making yourself vulnerable to everyone there. It’s one of those funny conundrums of life that an act of exposure and openness can make you the most whole and invincible. Will you still fidget, adjust, check and double check? Of course but that’s no problem, we all do it.

Sexuality and sexual energy does not need to have anything to do with the night. Oddly, think of it as a form of natural, nudism.  Yhe point is not to hook up the point is to spend an evening with fairly likeminded people just being you. Our undies are a form of self-expression and that does not need to be sexual in nature. At these nights one often just ends up chatting with friends or strangers.  Rnjoying a strongly poured cocktail or two and just being.

As to the people who assume that “the ones in their underwear are not the ones you’d want to see in their underwear.”  all I can say to them is, “you’re an asshole”.

I like to believe that for every one in their underwear. Rhere is someone out there that wants to see them in their underwear. Perhaps the people that say that are just self-conscience or scared.  Perhaps they are so closed minded that what they think of as an attractive person is the only kind. Either way, it’s too bad for them because they are missing out on a great experience.

This last weekend I went to back to back underwear nights in Seattle. One was at a bar I had never been to and the other was a city staple for this kind of night. I had a blast at both. Everything from the selection process of the underwear, to the meeting up with friends, to the hanging out and being just completely comfortable was great. Plus, getting compliments on my undies was a hoot as well (this weekend was all about CellBlock13 and PUMP! for me). I also saw some new styles I had not seen before and that was a thrill as well.

So, underwear nights, I say try it. I say go for it. I say have a blast. Remember, so many of us love and cherish our underwear for how it makes us feel. Getting to put that out there for everyone to see is empowering. Be brave, be bold, be you…in undies…at the bar

So I recently decided that it was time to scale back my underwear collection.  Gasp, yes I actually said that out loud.  Not to say I have a problem getting rid of them, but I do have a few pairs that I graduated from college with me a couple of decades ago.  The thing is, my tastes in underwear have evolved over the years.  I used to wear strictly briefs.  That was my thing.  I gradually added a few jocks here or there but only wore them for “special occasions”.  That worked for me for years and years.

Then I started to branch out and tried some skimpier bikinis.  What had I been missing all that time?  I was hooked.  So all those briefs went into hiding in my dresser and storage box in the closet.  In the last two years I have really started to enjoy wearing thongs as well.  So my beloved briefs began to gather dust.  About a year ago I decided it was time to purge the collection of the ones that I never wear anymore.  Some just didn’t float my boat anymore, others don’t fit as well (damn this aging thing).

I had a moment of silence as I began to sort through them, the pile of unwanted undies growing ever larger.  Was I really about to throw out so many pairs that had stood the test of time?  I had a hamper full of underwear to go through.  In the end they all went right back where they came from in the dresser and storage boxes.   The best laid plans and all that jazz went right out the window.

Fast forward a year.  I’m moving into a new home soon and have been purging all sorts of things from my current home.  Things that have been in closets since I moved here 4 years ago.  So it only seems natural that I revisit the idea of slimming down my underwear collection.  Realistically, I probably wear about a fourth  of them regularly.

Again I find myself in a dilemma.  What do I do?  I’ve gotten as far as separating the ones I know I want to keep and the ones that no longer fit.  There’s an entire drawer full of underwear that I should part with but am still on the fence about.  Every day I pull a pair or two out and either put it in the keep pile or throw it in the to-go box.  Every time I put another pair in that box I feel a little sad.  It’s like I’m saying goodbye to long time friends.  But hey, I’ve made lots of new “friends” lately and, since I clearly have an obsession, will be making plenty more in the future.  Out with the old and in with the new.   There’s got to be a therapy group for this somewhere.