Times article - 'Beyond manbags: pantyhose for men'

Subtitled 'Why men should never wear tights', this article by Times writer Carol Midgley, posted on the 22nd of November, is a stunning peice of blinkered, biased nonsense which just serves to expose the writer's staggering ignorance and archaic values. You can read the article in its full, unedited 'glory' at

 http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article5171413.ece

She dedicates one paragraph to whining about Jonathan Ross's fashion faux pas, about which I will say nothing beyond pointing out that Jonathan Ross is a total plonker and hardly representative of most British males - thankfully!

Coming back to Ms Midgley's rantings, she commences with this statement; 'There’s no good way to say this, but some men like wearing pantyhose.' And? If I (or any other male) were to say 'There’s no good way to say this, but some women like wearing jeans and t-shirts.' (both of which were originally male garments which were subsequently poached by women) , the knives would be out in a flash, and I would be shouted down as 'old-fashioned', 'out-dated' and 'Victorian'. Why? What's the difference?

She then 'reveals' that what she refers to as 'mantyhose' (that expression makes me want to throw up!!) caught her attention some time ago, but she wanted to 'spare' the general public from the 'mental image' she seems to find so repulsive. Next, she comes up with a classic 'one rule for you' statement; 'The trend for straight men to invade female fashion territory is seemingly unstoppable.' Excuse me, but you started it! Why is it right for women, but not for men? In any case, we are not 'invading' anything; merely taking back what was ours for centuries before the womenfolk stole the idea in the early 20th century, so back off!

Next, she states 'Perhaps people like me who feel ill at the thought of a chap in American Tan should just get over it'; I think I would feel ill at the thought of a chap in American Tan too - thankfully that colour is not available in men's tights. She goes on to quote from Steve K's ComfiLon site, stating that ComfiLon 'does a very reasonable “ultrasheer” range starting at £4.40' - £4.40?? Where does she get that price from? Steve doesn't stock anything that cheap.

In the final paragraph, she says, 'But I would just say to any man thinking of embracing the 20 denier that having to wear tights is one of the very worst things about being a woman.' Is it? Why? She goes on, 'Still, if you don’t mind an itchy crackle-fest around your nether regions, then please be my guest.' What?? Whose tights does she wear? I've never had that problem. Maybe if she bought some decent quality tights in the correct size, she might feel differently about them. And she finishes off with, 'Oh, and don’t expect your tights to be much of a chick-magnet. In fact, I’d say that mantyhose is probably the perfect gift for the man who never wants to get laid again.' I for one, am not remotely interested in being a 'chick magnet', and have no desire to 'get laid', as she puts it. There are other reasons to live besides attracting the opposite sex, you know. She should put her blinkers back on, crawl back under her rock, and leave the rest of us in the 21st century to get on with living in a way we are comfortable with; we can do without her ignorant and opinionated rantings.