The weird (& kinda sexy) history of jockstraps
according to one source. As jockstraps gained popularity in the early 1900s, retailers and medical professionals began recommending them, not only as a way to avoid athletic injuries, but also as a great supportive garment for men recovering from non-sports injuries as well as guys who had undergone genital surgeries for things like hernias and hydroceles (excess fluid in the testicles–EEK!).One particularly kooky health-nut version of the jockstrap, the Heidelberg Electric Belt, claimed to fix all sorts of medical issues.
It was a battery-powered belt with electrodes along the front and back of its waist and one for the genitals. (YOW!) The company claimed its belt could cure “weakness,” impotency, back pain, poor circulation, kidney and liver diseases, and “all nervous disorders.” But… yeah, no.Interestingly, in 1935, a company called Coopers Incorporated introduced a new style of men’s underwear brief called “the Jockey” which, they claimed, offered support like a jockstrap.
The briefs quickly became popular in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The company renamed itself Jockey Menswear in 1971 and still sells its trademark Y-shaped fly briefs to this day.Around the 1930s, the Guelph Elastic Hosiery company also began adding pockets at the front of their jockstraps so that athletes could slip in a protective cup to help protect their genitals from direct hits.
This was especially helpful to boxers who experienced the occasional “below the belt” hit, but protective cups became more widely used in contact sports of all kinds.From the 1920s through the 1960s, jockstraps were also becoming very popular amongst gay men who enjoyed seeing them in erotic drawings (like Tom of Finland’s) and softcore adult magazines like.
