By Jane Han
Korea Times Correspondent
NEW YORK ― Is it a fashion statement or an offensive trend? Regardless of which it is, major U.S. states are stepping up their clampdown against low-hanging baggy pants that show just too much underwear.
The latest to join the crusade is New York, where State Senator Eric Adams announced plans earlier this month to post billboards that promote his campaign against the sagging style.
The signs feature two young men wearing low-slung trousers above the phrase, "Raise your pants, raise your image!" in large bold print.
"You can raise your level of respect if you raise your pants," said Adams, the newest to speak out among a series of public figures and politicians fighting to stop the sag.
"When you raise your pants, you raise your character. When you raise your pants, you raise your grades, self-esteem and how you feel about yourself," said the lawmaker, a retired police captain, who plans to reach out to school boards, media and the Internet to pass on the message.
Adams' latest campaign follows similar ones in other parts of the country.
In Florida, state legislators are moving to require school districts to ban students from wearing droopy drawers. A high school in Virginia launched a campaign with the slogan, "Your swag is as low as your sag," to discourage students from dropping their pants.
Dallas officials kicked off a "Pull Your Pants Up" citywide campaign in 2007 aimed at countering the hip-hop inspired fashion.
Famous celebrities like Bill Cosby stepped up to blast the sagging style, as well as U.S. President Barack Obama, who spoke out against the underwear-showing fad.
"Some people might not want to see your underwear. I'm one of them," Obama, as a presidential candidate, told MTV News in 2008.
Lawmakers in some places have gone as far as trying to pass laws to legally ban baggy pants. However, courts have rejected such measures, deeming them unconstitutional.
The public reaction to the anti-sag campaign is split among those who favor fashion policing and others who claim authorities are violating people's basic rights.
"I welcome the ban because sagging pants is an invasion of my privacy," a writer posted on one online debate. "How dare they assume that I want to see their butt."
