Comments on: Harpy Seminar: On (Not) Wearing Underwear

By: Em

Em — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:11:54 +0000

I grew up around my mom being comfortable being naked in front of me and the bathroom door open peeing. But she didn’t really tell me not to ware underwear to bed. I am prone to yeast infections and she wasn’t so I think that is why she didn’t think to make it clear. I figured it out myself. I don’t ware underwear to bed unless they are new and clean and often if do that is all I ware on on the lower half. I wore bras to bed when I was younger for some reason even though my mom said I didn’t have to and didn’t know why I wanted too. But I do don’t anymore. It is not comfortable and can bend the under wire. I ware underwear during the day and sometimes I don’t. I feel comfortable both ways but I feel sometimes those external thoughts about not waring underwear out like I am somehow more vulnerable. Like somehow underwear offer some kind of protection. Underwear also keep any fluids from getting on clothes which is good too. But there needs to be air circulation too. I hate those ideas that women without underwear are somehow asking for it or are dirty! The history of the unmentionables is pretty messed up and interesting. How what we ware under our clothes can reflect so much about a culture and a period of time is pretty fascinating. A lot of the reasons why people wore underwear and still do today is really to protect their clothes from their sweat and other body fluids or secretions that could damage them. For example in the past corsets were only to be worn under clothes and they got dirty and stained. The undergarments that lay under what you saw served that purpose when baths were less frequent and or people were waring their best clothes and wanted to protect the nice undergarment from getting ruined and dirty to prolong its life. For example pantaloons, or drawers and knickers and combinations of those.

By: Madison

Madison — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:28:29 +0000

So happy to have found this! I gave up panties many years ago and cannot imagine not going commando anymore, but every time I come home to visit and my mom asks for my laundry and comments on the fact that I never have any underwear, she makes me feel so gross and abnormal. It is nice to know there are people out there who dont see a big problem with no undies!

By: The (Gender) Politics of Pee - The Pursuit of Harpyness

The (Gender) Politics of Pee - The Pursuit of Harpyness — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:01:49 +0000

[...] No, we have to unbutton, unzip, drop trou or pull up our skirts and wrangle our panties around (or wear none at all). Under the best of circumstances, it takes longer for us to do our business than men (hence, the [...]

By: Imaginary

Imaginary — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:26:42 +0000

I don’t wear a bra unless I’m doing an acting thingy and the role calls for it, but I’ve never considered not wearing underpants in public. It sounds pretty awesome though. Just a sec…. there! No underpants! Whoo-hoo!

I remember a nurse gave a talk at my school once and she got this snotty look on her face when I asked if one should forgo underpants at bed time. What I learned is that your vulva/cunt is bad and must be covered at all times! And until I read this article, it stuck with me. Thanks to you, my vagina now has a tale of freedom!!!

By: Evamaria

Evamaria — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:17:05 +0000

Hm. I know my mom doesn’t wear underwear to bed, only long nightshirts. I, on the other hand, do, because I usually wear pjs and want to be able to wear them more than one night (same goes for trousers during the day). I only own cotton panties, though, in combination with cloth pantiliners.

(Btw, once I had a bad yeast infection and the doctor forbade me to wear underwear or trousers – walking around in long skirts with nothing on was rather liberating, I must say! *g*)

By: Mackey

Mackey — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:30:16 +0000

A couple of years back a groups of us (all women) had a similar discussion one night at a studenty dinner party.
Somehow the discussion turned to underwear and underwear free days (the day when we didn’t wear underwear under our clothes). Underwear free days were commonly associated with needing to do some laundry.
It also turned out that all of us regularly had underwear free days (it didn’t matter what was worn as outer clothes – jeans, skirts, dresses).
Most of us slept/went to bed without underwear, so that our most covered and beloved parts could breathe and be unconfined.
I am also a member of the IBTC, so I enjoy sans bra! And really haven’t worn one regularly for a good long time. Though I did feel for a colleague who had to let me know that my “roseate tips” were showing in a light coloured shirt I was wearing one day.

I do remember my mum saying we shouldn’t wear underwear to bed, so that our ‘chinas could breathe. (As youngsters, my sisters and I had trouble saying vulva and vagina, but we all could say “china”).
I had this idea that our ladyparts were delicate and beautifully hand painted like the dinner sets mum had.

By: Tam

Tam — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:34:37 +0000

I grew up with a mom walking naked everywhere, leaving the bathroom door opened, etc… but I am the complete opposite. I can’t sleep without underpants and have never went out without them. I guess I just dont feel comfortable. I also always wear at least a cami under my shirt all times even though I rarely get cold.

By: Rhiannon

Rhiannon — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:38:42 +0000

I do wear panties, mostly because I just find them more comfortable and I get to wear my bottoms more before washing them. I go commando to bed, I hate wearing pj’s; I also find they don’t keep me any warmer and they get tangled. Also if you keep a natural bush the hair can get pinched between your thighs if you wear nothing and that tends to sting.

By: Ocean_breeze

Ocean_breeze — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:27:34 +0000

Ahhh the panties. When I was completely poor and trying to settle into my new job I realized that one thing I was almost out of was underwear but “nice” underwear was completely too expensive!

I resented the idea of shelling out 40$ on a bra and anything else so I took the sad amount I had and bought socks from walmart. I wore what I had and when it was dirty I went without and realized how liberating it was. It felt I’m not kidding like my own personal little secret. No matter who said what to me they had NO IDEA what was going on under my clothing. So I still own underwear but some days I can’t be bothered with it and that suits me just fine.

By: Isa

Isa — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:48:33 +0000

My mother never wears underwear to bed, I don’t remember what she taught me about it though. She did, however, tell me not to wear a bra to bed. I used to all the time, but now it’s too uncomfortable.

I used to wear panties all the time, but now I hardly ever do, unless I’m wearing a short skirt.