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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What do you make of ‘No Trouser Tube Ride’?

189 replies

Proaky · 12/01/2026 21:35

Saw the spectacle for myself. As a woman in my late 20s I have absolutely no desire to participate in this. Seems like an outdated 2013 “quirky” trend that won’t die. I’m always surprised at the diversity in those who participate - old/young, thin/bigger etc.

Maybe I’m getting older but I really just thought “put it away”

Saw the paps at the St I got off and would be mortified being photographed in my knickers.

Some of the hairy, Casper legs were quite frankly gross!

metro.co.uk/2026/01/09/london-underground-tradition-say-messed-up-returning-26173711/amp/

OP posts:
upstairsdownstairscardboardbox · 13/01/2026 09:21

Its fucking grim. I saw a woman in a thong last year - sitting on the tube. Keep your arsehole to yourself you utter skank, and a lot of men in gaping pants. It's not edgy or cool it's just dirty and a way to make an exhibition of yourself, as my grandma would have said.

CloakedInGucci · 13/01/2026 09:22

I think you’re unreasonable to have an issue with the hairy legs - these men could wear shorts and it would be a complete non-issue.

BIossomtoes · 13/01/2026 09:24

Proaky · 12/01/2026 21:47

I saw that too (same day as my hen last year)! Horrifying. So glad I did not have my contacts in so was spared mostly. Did think it was a bit off given how many kids were about

Edited

What did kids see that they wouldn’t see on a beach?

BunnyLake · 13/01/2026 09:25

upstairsdownstairscardboardbox · 13/01/2026 09:21

Its fucking grim. I saw a woman in a thong last year - sitting on the tube. Keep your arsehole to yourself you utter skank, and a lot of men in gaping pants. It's not edgy or cool it's just dirty and a way to make an exhibition of yourself, as my grandma would have said.

Definitely attention seeking, no other excuse for it. I thought actual nightmares were made of people dreaming they’d gone out in public and forgotten to put their skirt or trousers on! Too many people nowadays want to be the star of their own Truman show. Main character syndrome is a blight on civilised society.

Politicians247UnderwearExtinguishingService · 13/01/2026 09:31

JanuaryJasmine · 13/01/2026 03:51

Don't stretch so hard you'll do yourself an injury!

Us Brits have always had a sense of humour, able to take the P out of ourselves. Casper legs is funny/nothing, it's not the equivalent of chocolate legs about a black person.

Presumably you're not so pale yourself, then, that people frequently comment on it, shout insults and berate you for not artificially changing the colour of them, in order to comply with the bullies'... sorry, 'banter merchants''... ideas of what is acceptable for them to look at?

Is it OK if a man makes negative comments about how a woman looks, if he believes that she owes him his idea of 'pretty', as long as they're both white and British and thus it's not racist and they've automatically 'always had a sense of humour'?

By all means feel free to take the P out of yourself; but you don't get to decide what personal insults the whole nation should feel forced to 'laugh off' (or cry about in private) when somebody criticises them for, based on a perfectly normal human variant. I can't actually see where any kind of humour would come from, anyway, as it's not the sharpest of wit, is it? "Hey, your skin is very pale - hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!"

It kind of reminds me of the boorish men who insist on routinely calling women short-based 'nicknames' every time they engage with them, and finding it hilarious top comedy, because they've never quite been aware or intelligent enough to notice that women generally are shorter than men as a basic norm and it isn't actually the result of them doing something bad or stupid. Not that any of that should be inflicted on, or mocked or criticised for, when people actually are considerably shorter than average for their sex for any reason, of course.

ClippyMuldoon · 13/01/2026 09:32

This was on the news here last night, they showed a crowded carriage full of men in winter jackets and underpants. The poor people in seats were eye level with all those bums in 'briefs' , not boxers. That would NOT start my day off well, yack.

HostaCentral · 13/01/2026 09:33

It's harmless. It's just legs. They have underwear on. Less is often worn in Newcastle on a snowy evening out!

Is it elegant....No. But let others crack on.... Literally.

BunnyLake · 13/01/2026 09:34

Perrylobster · 12/01/2026 23:28

It’s for exhibitionists. I try not to give it any attention. I do find it pretty 🤮 though..

I don’t like attention seekers at the best of times. Always best to ignore.

upstairsdownstairscardboardbox · 13/01/2026 09:34

@BIossomtoes swimwear, which does not ave a gaping fly or show your anus is the norm on the beach. I have seen men asked to leave swimming pools for wearing boxers not proper trunks. Genitals should be covered in public, even in 2026.

Politicians247UnderwearExtinguishingService · 13/01/2026 09:35

BIossomtoes · 13/01/2026 09:24

What did kids see that they wouldn’t see on a beach?

Where do you draw the line, though? There's a world of difference between somebody with hairy legs wearing shorts on the tube and minimal beachwear. Would you really be totally OK with people wearing nothing but skimpy bikinis (or even just the bottoms) or budgie smugglers on public transport?

BunnyLake · 13/01/2026 09:39

ClippyMuldoon · 13/01/2026 09:32

This was on the news here last night, they showed a crowded carriage full of men in winter jackets and underpants. The poor people in seats were eye level with all those bums in 'briefs' , not boxers. That would NOT start my day off well, yack.

Having someone’s ‘package’ eye level to me if I’m sitting and they’re facing me on a crowded train is just gross or someone’s pudenda. No thank you. 🫣

Besttobe8001 · 13/01/2026 09:41

Proaky · 12/01/2026 21:47

I saw that too (same day as my hen last year)! Horrifying. So glad I did not have my contacts in so was spared mostly. Did think it was a bit off given how many kids were about

Edited

What's wrong with kids seeing legs?

BIossomtoes · 13/01/2026 09:41

Politicians247UnderwearExtinguishingService · 13/01/2026 09:35

Where do you draw the line, though? There's a world of difference between somebody with hairy legs wearing shorts on the tube and minimal beachwear. Would you really be totally OK with people wearing nothing but skimpy bikinis (or even just the bottoms) or budgie smugglers on public transport?

What’s the difference apart from the location?

BunnyLake · 13/01/2026 09:43

Politicians247UnderwearExtinguishingService · 13/01/2026 09:35

Where do you draw the line, though? There's a world of difference between somebody with hairy legs wearing shorts on the tube and minimal beachwear. Would you really be totally OK with people wearing nothing but skimpy bikinis (or even just the bottoms) or budgie smugglers on public transport?

Or how about teachers going to school in just their knickers or underpants. Do people think that is ok and if not why not? How about your boss or your dentist? People are so eager to be seen as cool they don’t want anyone to ever think they might have boundaries.

BIossomtoes · 13/01/2026 09:47

How about not introducing irrelevant comparisons and sticking to what’s under discussion? It’s a tube train on a Sunday and nobody’s doing the job they’re paid for.

MissMarplesKnittingNeedles · 13/01/2026 09:48

I think it’s great. Makes me laugh every year.

Perrylobster · 13/01/2026 09:54

BIossomtoes · 13/01/2026 09:41

What’s the difference apart from the location?

The difference is the proximity and confined space. A tube in rush hour is a completely different environment to a beach. I don’t want someone’s smelly bum near my face on the tube. It’s grim enough with the smells coming off people.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 13/01/2026 09:58

Cocomelon67 · 12/01/2026 22:16

Can’t get too worked up about it. You’d see much more at the beach.

Yeah, but that's a beach where you're not expected to wear much. Not the grotty London Underground.

Bunch of attention seekers.

Bagsintheboot · 13/01/2026 09:59

Perrylobster · 13/01/2026 09:54

The difference is the proximity and confined space. A tube in rush hour is a completely different environment to a beach. I don’t want someone’s smelly bum near my face on the tube. It’s grim enough with the smells coming off people.

In fairness, this isn't in rush hour. It's done on a Sunday afternoon, so it's considerably less crowded.

BIossomtoes · 13/01/2026 10:00

Bagsintheboot · 13/01/2026 09:59

In fairness, this isn't in rush hour. It's done on a Sunday afternoon, so it's considerably less crowded.

Exactly. At least the pearl clutchers got an outing.

BriefEncountersOfTheThirdKind · 13/01/2026 10:00

Perrylobster · 13/01/2026 09:54

The difference is the proximity and confined space. A tube in rush hour is a completely different environment to a beach. I don’t want someone’s smelly bum near my face on the tube. It’s grim enough with the smells coming off people.

Is a Sunday afternoon rush hour?

And what about in summer when it's shorts and skirts? They don't really cover much more...

WalkDontWalk · 13/01/2026 10:03

BriefEncountersOfTheThirdKind · 13/01/2026 00:01

This is MN though
So you should be in full office gear in your garden in the middle of summer
Daring to sunbathe in a bikini in your garden or wear leggings outside the gym is a cardinal sin

And in this case we also have to contend with instances of the number one MN transgression.

For future reference here’s the top five, culminating in the horror that has already been cited a couple of times in this thread.

5 Dropping by unexpectedly
4 Sauvignon on a school night
3 Refusing to despise all your exes
2 Children sitting on the front wall

….all of which pale in comparison to…

1 Attention seeking

randomchap · 13/01/2026 10:03

Bunch of middle class attention seeking dickheads

Perrylobster · 13/01/2026 10:06

Bagsintheboot · 13/01/2026 09:59

In fairness, this isn't in rush hour. It's done on a Sunday afternoon, so it's considerably less crowded.

Still, it’s a completely different environment to a beach. You can’t just move away from these people participating. You’re trapped on a carriage with them. I think we have to have a certain level of respect for our fellow passengers.
Just the thought of a man’s hairy arse near me on the tube makes me shudder.

Fimofriend · 13/01/2026 10:10

Bagsintheboot · 12/01/2026 21:50

I find it bemusing but not horrifying. Those tube seats are mucky, I wouldn't want to have my bare legs on them!

You see more skin on most nights out and I've seen women wearing "scrunch bum" leggings in public that are far more revealing than a pair of boxers.

I'd worry about getting ringworm. Nasty thing to do.

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