Dear Editor,

One weekend in the summer holidays, my 16-year-old son got dressed to go to a birthday party. As he was leaving the apartment, I noticed that his underwear was showing above his pants waist. Recognising that he was doing what had become the new fashion trend, I immediately instructed him to fix his clothes. I further told him that if I ever saw him dressed like that again I would knock him out. Nothing like the threat of violence to a lad to catch his attention and drive home a message!

As a result of this episode I got curious as to where this bizarre style could have originated. I have seen rappers and local dancehall artistes wearing their pants in a similar way and so I was not totally unfamilar with the practice, although I was always uncomfortable with it. It took me a couple of months but I believe I have finally found out where it started.

Apparently it started in the United States prison system where gay men who wanted to engage in sex would advertise their availability and willingness by wearing their pants in such a manner as to expose their underwear. The practice then made it on to main street and into popular culture in the United States, and of course our local entertainers followed suit.

I think this is one of those times when that old Jamaican saying my mother often told me when I was a lad should be heeded: “Nuh fallah fashan”.

James Grant

jamesgrant@yahoo.com