It’s been well-established that we’re huge proponents of the short-shorts look for men. We’ve told you your swim shorts need to be shorter and that you should take some summer-style inspiration from the short shorts-king himself. But in case you’re still hesitant to take the leap into a smaller, thigh-bearing pair of trousers for the remainder of summer, TikTok would like a word with you.
@sabrinaxrod Lemme put you on my man’s favorite shorts😍😍 ##5inchseam
♬ all credit to TATI – lildshef
The hashtag #5inchseam has taken over the video-sharing app. With over 14.4 million views, the TikTok hashtag was made popular thanks to videos of women encouraging men to ditch the 7″ and 9″ inseam shorts in favor of the “5” inseam shorty shorts.”
The TikToks typically feature the “all credit to TATI” sound from popular TikTokker @thereal_tati, which is widely used to compare two similar clothing styles, actors or lawn aesthetics, showing outward disgust for the first choice and then revealing the second, preferred option. Others have chosen to use a soundbite from Bella Hadid’s hilariously cringe-y 2017 Complex sneaker interview to really drive the point home. Because it is true. If he comes through in the 5″ inseams, homeboys gonna, like … get it.
@methyb if u don’t agree get off my page ##fyp ##foryou ##fypage ##greenscreen
♬ all credit to TATI – lildshef
@birthdayshawty more 5inch inseam content (thank u @lancebkr , king of shorts, for the idea) ##fashion ##shorts ##fashiontiktok ##inseam
♬ Homeboy is gonna like get it – uglyho3
When Beth Milan saw one of her favorite TikTokkers make a video in support of the short shorts, she decided to make one too, using the popular “TATI” sound. Her TikTok now has around 2.4 million views and over 300K likes. She tells InsideHook that she simply finds the shorter short style on men more attractive.
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“I think it looks cleaner and more put together. And I’m definitely more attracted to the unconventional style for men. I think it is very attractive when guys can overcome toxic masculinity and wear things that they are more comfortable in,” she explains.
The TikToks are just another example of a semi-recent push for men to start embracing the more skin-baring look. Though this isn’t the first time the internet has had a viral conversation surrounding men’s shorts. In 2015, Fran Lebowitz sent shorts-wearing men across the globe into a frenzy after proclaiming men wearing shorts, in general, was just straight-up “disgusting.”
Clearly, that is insane. But it undoubtedly raised newfound insecurities for male shorts-wearers: people might think your knees, and hence, your body, as a whole are unpleasant to look at. In response, the former fashion-focused website Racked gave men a few pointers on how to deal with the world constantly critiquing your body based on knowledge women have acquired by simply existing: “Some people are going to make you feel bad about them. They’re going to call your knees — and maybe your calves or your thighs — ‘disgusting.’ They’re going to talk about how hairy they are. You can decide to care or not to care, and there are pros and cons of each side. Enjoy the trial and error of figuring it out. And welcome to our world.”
Five years later, that advice might still be helpful to those too self-conscious to sport a more skin-revealing style of short, but the comments on many of the #5inchseam TikToks indicate the larger issue at hand when it comes to men taking an adamant stance against the 5″ short: toxic masculinity.
Like the once-popular male crop top, male short shorts have been sneered at, thanks to a long history of homophobia and dumb ideas perpetuated by hateful idiots. Milam noted that many guys in the comment section of her viral TikTok said that the 5″ inseam short look was too “feminine.”
But despite these comments, Milam hopes the trend can encourage more men to start wearing shorter shorts and other styles that are traditionally considered less masculine, whatever that means.
“I got a lot of other comments from guys saying that they didn’t know a lot of girls preferred that style, and others saying they would buy more shorter shorts,” she said.
Additionally, many other videos in the #5inchseam hashtag feature men happily embracing the short shorts trend and even helping other men find brands that make sustainable, high-quality 5″ shorts.
@scottysire iykyk
♬ all credit to TATI – lildshef
@theallenye seeing a lot of dudes hop on the wave. Those $20 shorts on amazon aren’t gonna look good in 6 months ##5inchseam ##5ininseam ##inseam ##inseamtiktok
♬ original sound – atl_gxccj
So now, with TikTok’s blessing, you can hopefully go onward and unabashedly bare those thunderous upper thighs.
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