A video of Chinese tennis player Sun Fujing soaked in perspiration during a match at the Guangzhou Challenger went viral this past weekend, and for a reason that caught many gay social media users off guard. His sweat-drenched white outfit made it unmistakably clear he was wearing a jockstrap—the very garment that has become so central to gay culture that many had forgotten its actual function. As Alex Reimer reported for Queerty, the post garnered over 20 million views, sparking a cascade of replies from users pointing out the obvious: jockstraps were designed for athletes, not as f*tish wear.
The garment’s history is genuinely practical. Inventor C.F. Bennett created the “jockey strap” in 1897 to protect bicycle riders from injury on cobblestone streets. By the early 1900s, boxers adopted them for safeguarding against below-the-belt hits, though they eventually upgraded to protective cups. Jockstraps remain standard athletic wear across sports today.
But gay culture has long had a talent for repurposing homoerotic sports attire. Much like the singlet, jockstraps were co-opted from their utilitarian origins and transformed into kink and fashion staples. With the rise of PrEP and declining bottom shaming, minimal jocks became a way for many to flaunt their bodies at clubs and events. The irony, of course, is that while designed to cover the front, they leave the back entirely exposed.
Sun’s moment in the sun was brief—he lost in the second round—but the viral reaction served as a lighthearted reminder that sometimes the most iconic gay items are just borrowed from their original context, function completely reimagined.
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