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Underwear used to be simple: support, comfort, and staying underneath your clothes. Gay men have never been particularly good at leaving it there. From barely-there nude tones and iconic jockstraps to bodysuits and harnesses, underwear has become fashion, flirtation and self-expression. What we wear underneath—or increasingly choose not to cover up at all—can say as much about confidence as the rest of the outfit.

First, What Do the Numbers Actually Say?

Briefs may still be the everyday favorite, but gay men's relationship with underwear goes far beyond practicality. In one GTV survey, 83% of respondents said underwear sexually excited them, with most pointing to the way it accentuates the male body.

And that's perhaps the more interesting takeaway. Sexy doesn't necessarily mean showing everything. The right cut, fabric or strategically placed opening can frame the body in a way that makes what's still covered even more intriguing.

Maybe that's why men's underwear keeps getting more adventurous.

Bodysuits: When Underwear Becomes the Outfit

A bodysuit changes the conversation because suddenly we're not just talking about what's underneath anymore.

Unlike conventional underwear, a bodysuit uses the entire body as its canvas. The chest, torso, back and hips become part of one continuous silhouette, while mesh, cut-outs, panels and straps can completely change how that silhouette is perceived.

That makes bodysuits particularly at home in queer nightlife. At a circuit party, Pride event or club, they don't necessarily need another layer over them. Styled with shorts, boots or accessories, something inspired by underwear can easily become the entire look.

It's part of a wider shift in men's fashion where the boundary between underwear and outerwear is becoming increasingly blurred. Instead of asking what should go over a bodysuit, sometimes the more interesting styling decision is allowing it to stand on its own.

Nude & Sheer: When the Body Becomes the Design

At the other end of the spectrum is underwear that almost disappears.

Nude tones, sheer mesh and semi-transparent fabrics don't rely on elaborate prints or oversized branding. Their appeal comes from what they reveal—and what they don't. The body becomes part of the design itself.

There's something quietly confident about that. Nude underwear doesn't necessarily shout for attention in the way a neon jockstrap might, but it can feel equally provocative because it plays with illusion. From a distance, you might wonder whether someone is wearing anything at all.

The evolution of “nude” is also worth mentioning. Fashion has gradually moved away from treating one pale beige as a universal skin tone toward recognizing a broader spectrum of bodies and complexions. For underwear, that creates far more possibilities: matching the skin closely, deliberately contrasting against it, or choosing a tone simply because it looks good.

Sometimes sexy doesn't need more decoration. Sometimes the body is enough.

Harnesses: Dressing the Body Without Covering It

A harness takes that idea even further. It adds something to an outfit while barely covering the body at all.

Its place within gay culture goes much deeper than contemporary festival fashion. Leather harnesses have long been associated with gay leather and fetish communities, where clothing and masculinity developed their own visual language. Over time, the harness travelled beyond those spaces and became increasingly visible at Pride, circuit parties, clubs, festivals and in fashion.

Modern harnesses now range from traditional leather constructions to elastic and fashion-focused designs. They can be worn against the body, layered over a top or combined with a bodysuit.

What remains consistent is the visual effect. The straps create lines across the torso, emphasizing the shoulders and chest rather than hiding them.

A harness doesn't cover the body. It frames it.

And Never Underestimate the Jockstrap

If there's one piece of underwear that deserves special mention in gay culture, it's the jockstrap.

Originally invented as practical athletic underwear, the jockstrap became something completely different within queer fashion and sexual culture. The GTV survey gives us a glimpse of that transformation: only 7% chose jockstraps as their preferred everyday underwear, but that rose to 19% when respondents were asked what they preferred seeing on other men.

That gap is fascinating because it shows the difference between underwear we choose for practicality and underwear we respond to visually.

The jockstrap manages to be both masculine and revealing, athletic and erotic. It frames rather than hides the body—and that basic idea can also help explain the appeal of contemporary lace, sheer and cut-out designs.

Sometimes the sexiest underwear isn't the one that shows the most. It's the one that knows exactly what to show.

For decades, men's underwear came with fairly narrow rules about what men were supposed to wear. Those rules are becoming considerably less interesting.

Because sometimes underwear belongs underneath your clothes. And sometimes, it is the outfit.