Eric Clapton's penis

August 6, 2014 7:23 PM

This 1967 photo of Cream. I have questions. About Eric Clapton's penis.

At least, I think it's his penis. There's an outside chance it's just the way the pants are creased. But I don't think so.

So anyway, assuming it is his penis: what's up with that? Did men in general dress like this (i.e. with their penis starkly evident through their pants) back in the 60s, or was this just a rock star thing (a la Sticky Fingers and Spinal Tap)? I've never in my life encountered anyone so bold in this manner.

And what would he do if he unexpectedly got an unwanted erection? There's no way to hide that. Or would that just be part of the whole 'on display' approach?

posted by paleyellowwithorange to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (17 answers total)

Best answer: Yeah, it's a fashion statement and definitely a common thing for that era. My mom often mentioned Muff Winwood's pants from the album artwork of Traffic's The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.
posted by kendrak at 7:41 PM on August 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

See also: Sticky Fingers.
posted by Specklet at 8:26 PM on August 6, 2014

Yep. Right up until the eighties, even early nineties, this was definitely a thing, and was kind of the whole point of tight pants. Then the baggy-pants nineties kicked off an era of genital denialism that is somehow still holding despite pants being tighter now than ever.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:29 PM on August 6, 2014 [11 favorites]

Thus the joke in This Is Spinal Tap where Derek Smalls stuffs a cucumber wrapped in tinfoil in his pants.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 8:32 PM on August 6, 2014 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Heh, my very-well-hung Hug-buddy was a small-town rock star in his late teens in late 70s. Big afro hairdo, body-shirt and the tight white flares. There is this one picture of him, his band and their girlfriends that just cracks me up. He's done the 'to-the-side' thing and he's got a hard-on and because he is so large in that department, it is causing a long bulge down his inner thigh over half-way to his knee. It looks so Spinal Tap. Especially with the grin he is wearing.

So, my answer to your question would be - it's real, and it was a thing.

BTW, anybody reading this thread who has not heard Low Spark of High Heeled Boys should do it right now..
posted by Kerasia at 8:32 PM on August 6, 2014 [10 favorites]

Best answer: I inherited a bunch of pants from my uncles, circa early 1970s. Several pairs had obvious and significant dick fade (as in faded spots where the dick was pressed up against the fabric). I chose to toss those. For the record, they were not rock stars.
posted by mrfuga0 at 8:33 PM on August 6, 2014 [28 favorites]

Ever seen "Kiss and Say Goodbye"? Once you've notice the bulges, you can't stop noticing.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:57 PM on August 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Yes, in the late sixties, early seventies, guys dressed in tight clothes, loved showing their bulges. I think it was a way of one-upping women's lib. Sort of, "If you want to be sexually liberated, lady, you need look no further than right here!" (Sorta the way women dress today--very tight tops and dresses, showing off a bit) Hippies, we called them back then; it was a sexy, sexy time.
posted by Anitanola at 8:58 PM on August 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

What, you may wonder, happens if you take this process too far? This.

(image contains a man's willy bursting forth to pursue its own ends as sort of a pantsburster, so you probably ought not look at it in a setting where looking at willies is frowned upon)
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:36 PM on August 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

Mod note: Please limit your comments to answers addressing the question as posed. Examples in support of an answer are of course fine, but please don't turn this into a discussion or share photos for its own sake, thanks.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 2:37 AM on August 7, 2014

Odd and possibly irrelevant observation: this male hyper-genital display in tight pants was/is often coupled with soft shirts and long hair, high heels and sometimes makeup.

But then, so is camel toe.
posted by Kerasia at 5:14 AM on August 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

Yes, going commando in tight pants was very definitely a thing back in the late 60's and 70's. Which, of course, made things a bit difficult for those who couldn't quite...um...complete the look.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:40 AM on August 7, 2014

In The Thin Grey Line, the author talks about how in the 19th century the West Point tailor would ask new cadets if they hung left or right-in other words which pant leg they stuffed their penis down.
posted by postel's law at 5:40 AM on August 7, 2014

...the author talks about how in the 19th century the West Point tailor would ask new cadets if they hung left or right-in other words which pant leg they stuffed their penis down.

Point of fact, any good tailor even today will ask a gentleman on which side he "dresses".
posted by Thorzdad at 6:08 AM on August 7, 2014 [8 favorites]

Best answer: And what would he do if he unexpectedly got an unwanted erection? There's no way to hide that. Or would that just be part of the whole 'on display' approach?

With sufficiently tight pants, there isn't really even room for a penis to get fully erect.

If you got an erection in one of these outfits, you wouldn't end up with the familiar "tent" effect with your penis sticking up or forwards — you'd just have a longer, chubbier looking penis-shaped bulge that was still aimed straight down the leg of your pants.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:46 AM on August 7, 2014

Yes, this was a "thing" (as it were), a look famously inaugurated in 1962 by The Rutles.
posted by Devoidoid at 6:52 AM on August 7, 2014

Best answer: ...the author talks about how in the 19th century the West Point tailor would ask new cadets if they hung left or right-in other words which pant leg they stuffed their penis down.

Point of fact, any good tailor even today will ask a gentleman on which side he "dresses".

This is because the crotch in pants used to ride a lot higher than these days. Now we are all Lyndon Johnson / cowboys with extra room down there so there isn't even a need for a right left divide.

Also keep in mind how damn skinny people were in the seventies. When you are just cartilage and bones you bits tend to stand out a bit more than when they are framed by the between the meaty thighs of the contemporary male.
posted by srboisvert at 3:55 PM on August 7, 2014 [3 favorites]