Real Jobbers Wear Pink

I recently ran across some footage from a over a year ago featuring Shaquille O’Neal paying off his bet to Jimmy Fallon.  It seems Shaq had challenged Fallon to a video game with the loser being forced to walk around in pink underwear.

Well lo and behold, Shaq lost the game (possibly on purpose for the thrill of wearing pink briefs in public).   So Shaq was “forced” to walk from outside in public into the studio.

Here is a YouTube video of Shaq peeling off his coat and “walkin’ that aisle” as he high fives the squealing fans like a  wrestler heading to the ring. In this clip, he stands next to Jimmy Fallon, overwhelming the cute white guy with his massive size and forcing Fallon to embrace him crotch-to-crotch.  (Incidentally, Shaq is sporting an eye-catching bulge in the front of his pink trunks, but he later humiliates himself further by pulling out a rolled up sock and showing the world that he isn’t nearly as huge as we thought…)

It seems Shaquille enjoys degrading himself in this manner, sissifying himself by “losing” a bet then being “forced” to walk around in pink panties.  (I had a weirdo friend who was forever making bets like this and losing — it seemed he wanted to stand out in the snow naked or shave off every hair below his neck…)

Here is a YouTube clip of Shaq in a black wife-beater and pink trunks on the beach after losing a volleyball match against two Olympic-level players.

Some people have described his gear as either “pink underwear” or a “pink speedo.”  As I see it, that bright shiny spandex, about 5 inches long at the hips, with a name printed brightly on the ass can only be one type of clothing: wrestling trunks.  I’ve watched enough pro wrestling to know trunks when I see them.  Maybe Shaq fancies himself a rassler — he has already appeared on WWE Raw and has been seen backstage at TNA events.

Pink is a surprising color for wrestling trunks given that pro wrestlers are meant to be hyper-masculine and uber-macho, yet we see wrestlers in tight little pink briefs all the time.  This is another example of the ambiguity, the androgyny, with which pro wrestling treats gender and sexuality.

The bearded brute exudes a fierce warrior vibe, but tempers his testosterone with a pair of skimpy, shiny pink panties.  On the one hand, wearing pink is a sign of masculine confidence, but then again, these pink-clad pretty-boys sure look beautiful.

Certainly the thrill of role-reversal and sissification play into our excitement over seeing a man in pink. A tough Manly Man emasculating himself by wearing a feminine color (on his crotch area) signifies a loss of strength and power, a castration, a willingness to submit and to be dominated like a bitch.

This same power dynamic plays into the thrill Shaq must feel when he removes his pants and struts around in pink.  He has been defeated by Jimmy Fallon, a weaker and less aggressive little man — yet Jimmy has assumed the power to force Shaq to remove his pants and wear pink trunks (with Jimmy’s name on the back.)

The audience laughs and points as Shaq is forced to parade around as they gawk at his pink trunks per his Master’s orders.

From what I’ve seen, many men get a thrill out of losing power and being degraded by a more dominant individual.  Likewise, seeing a big brute like Shaq paraded around like a pony, or any tough pro wrestler donning the pink enables the viewer to fulfill his own fantasies about being sissified and humiliated.

A lot of commentaters have described the pink trunks incident as Shaq’s “walk of shame,” or described the experience as “humiliating.”  The implication is that it is shameful or degrading to wear pink or to wear revealing clothing.

Yet pro wrestlers wear pink trunks frequently.  Is their willingness to humiliate themselves in this gear a sign of their confidence?  Are they, like Shaq, eager to feel humiliated by their clothing?  (and to appear submissive by losing on purpose just like Shaq lost to Jimmy Fallon on purpose?)