Questions about Athletic Supporters and Protective Cups

What’s a jock strap?

A jock strap, or athletic supporter, is a pouch of elastic material, typically some combination of cotton, polyester, nylon, and rubber, sewn to a waistband and leg straps, worn by a male athlete to hold his genitals snugly in place.
A garment made of stretchy cotton intended primarily to embarass teenaged boys in gym class and secondarily to secure their wobbly bits from getting jostled.
Boys, if you don't wear your jock strap, then when you make that turnaround jump shot, you'll leave your family jewels on the floor.

Why should I wear a jock strap?

If you play a sport, a jock strap will help hold your genitals in place. Some believe that not wearing a jock can lead to injury.

What are some good reasons to wear a jock strap?

Comfort

To hold the genitals close to the body so that they do not bounce around during athletic activity.

Safety

To hold a protective cup for prevention of injury while playing sports. Some advertisements refer to preventing strain on the scrotum and spermatic cord, but these may be overrated. European soccer players seem to get along fine without athletic supporters.

Modesty

To conceal the genitals when wearing shorts or bathing trunks.

Exhibition

To give the genitals a pleasing shape when wearing shorts or tight pants.

Recreation

Some men just like the way a jock strap feels. Some enjoy being seen in one. Some enjoy seeing others, or photos, of those wearing them.

How do I wear a jock strap?

Hold the jock in front of you so the waistband is horizontal, like a brief. The pouch should be in front and the leg straps should be on either side. Like a brief, step into the jock with one leg on either side of the pouch. The leg straps should go behind your legs and the waistband, of course, should go around your waist. The pouch goes in front of you. Pull it up so the pouch covers and holds your balls.

Should I wear a jock strap over or under my underwear?

That’s up to you. If you wear boxer shorts, under is probably better. If you wear briefs, you can wear a jock strap either way, whichever is more comfortable.

Should I be pointing up or down when I wear my jock?

Whichever way is more comfortable for you.

Is it true a jock strap or cup can cut off circulation to my balls?

It’s not likely. As long as your jock feels snug but comfortable, you’re not going to hurt anything.

What’s the best jock strap?

This is a subject of intense debate on the newsgroup ASJS. Just about any jock strap you find will do the job.

What should I do if I get an erection when I put on my jock?

Enjoy it and don’t worry. That’s a perfectly normal reaction. Basically it means that everything is working right.

What’s a cup jock?

A protective cup is a plastic or metal shell designed to protect male genitals from injuries by impact. It usually comes with a cup supporter, which is an athletic supporter with a pocket in front for the cup.

Why should I wear a cup jock?

If you play any contact sports or engage in any activity where your genitals may get hit by something, you can protect them from injury—and yourself from a lot of pain—by wearing a cup.

What sizes do cup jocks come in?

Generally athletic supporters are available in boy’s small, regular, and large, and men’s small, medium, and large sizes. Protective cups come in boy’s, intermediate, and men’s sizes. Choose an athletic supporter by your waist size; choose a cup by your age or sexual development.

What’s the best protective cup?

This is a subject of intense debate on the newsgroup ASJS. For roominess, protection, and freedom of movement, the favorite seems to be the Bike cup.

Which way is up?

Generally the cup comes in a box with either pictures or the box is shaped to hold the cup in its correct orientation. If those don’t help, then the pointy end goes down. That’s so it will fit between your legs.

Where can I find web sites about jock straps on the web?

Go to www.google.com and enter various words and phrases such as jock strap, athletic supporter, and protective cup.
Go to Mister Poll for an interesting, fun, and informative poll about jock straps.

I’m shy about buying an athletic supporter in person. Where can I buy jock straps on the web?

International Jock is a reputable dealer of all sorts of athletic supporters, compression shorts, and men’s underwear.

Related Questions

What’s a suspensory?

A suspensory is a garment designed to support the testicles and scrotum in a pouch suspended by a belt or waist band. It was invented in the 1800s primarily for horsemen to help prevent them whacking their balls against their horses’ saddles. It doesn’t provide any support for the penis. While a suspensory may help for a scrotal hernia, it does not provide any relief for an inguinal hernia.

What’s a hernia belt?

A hernia belt or truss is a garment designed to press on the usual location of an inguinal hernia. The idea is to help keep the hernia from getting worse and becoming strangulated. Hernia belts are are no longer generally used; surgery is recommended instead. A hernia belt is different from an athletic supporter. An athletic supporter will not help with an inguinal hernia. A hernia belt is not a substitute for an athletic supporter.

What’s “jock itch”?

Jock itch, or tinea cruris, is itching caused by a fungus growing on your skin. It’s related to athlete's foot, or tinea pedis.

What can I do about it?

Take a shower and wash well after athletic activity. With a clean towel, dry yourself thoroughly, then apply an antifungal cream such as Lamisil. Put on clean underwear. Keep up the treatment for the full period listed in the directions. If you stop the treatment or apply the cream irregularly, you could end up creating a resistant breed of fungus. If one over-the-counter remedy doesn’t work, try one that uses a different active ingredient. If that doesn’t work, see a doctor.

What’s “athlete’s foot”?

Athlete's foot, or tinea pedis, is itching caused by a fungus growing on your feet. It’s related to tinea cruris, or jock itch.

What can I do about it?

Just as with jock itch, take a shower and wash well after athletic activity. With a clean towel, dry your feet thoroughly, then apply an antifungal cream such as Lamisil. Put on clean socks. Then put on your underwar. Keep up the treatment for the full period listed in the directions. If you stop the treatment or apply the cream irregularly, you could end up creating a resistant breed of fungus. If one over-the-counter remedy doesn’t work, try one that uses a different active ingredient. If that doesn’t work, see a doctor.
If you shower in a gym or other public showers such as at a hockey arena, get a pair of shower sandals. Avoid stepping with bare feet on the floor of the locker room. That will help prevent picking up the fungus in the first place.

While you’re using the antifungal cream, it can help to apply a foot powder such as Dr. Scholl’s Sneaker Spray to your athletic shoes or skates and set them out to dry. Don’t leave them in a closed-up bag where they’ll stay wet.
In the summertime, go barefoot or wear sandals. That will keep your feet nice and dry and inhospitable for fungus.

Questions about the FAQ

Is this FAQ official?

No.

Where is the official FAQ?

There isn’t one.

Who are you and what qualifies you to write this FAQ?

I play ice hockey. As a goalie, I’m interested in protecting my groin from sticks, knees, and pucks. I also ride a motorcycle, so I’m interested in protecting my groin from getting the fuel tank. I frequent alt.support.jock-strap, so I frequently see the same frequently asked questions asked frequently, so I thought I’d make this page as a handy reference for the answers.

Where did you get the answers to these questions?

Most of them I made up. Some I plagiarized borrowed from posts on the newsgroup because they answered the questions so well.

Questions about the Newsgroup

What is alt.support.jock-strap?

ASJS is a newsgroup set up to discuss jock straps, athletic supporters, protective cups, compression shorts, and related athletic gear.

Who would start such a newsgroup?

Someone with a sense of humor. According to legend, ASJS was started as a joke about the other newsgroups in the alt.support hierarchy.

Can I post pictures?

Yes, as long as you keep the pictures on-topic. Please also post thumbnails so people with slow connections can choose which ones to download. Be aware that many ISPs these days filter out posts with binaries, so many readers won’t see your post.

What’s the best way to share pictures?

Put them on your web site and post a link on the newsgroup.

How do I post pictures on the newsgroup?

Here’s what you do. You get a free home-page account with tripod or Geocities or some other place, and upload the photos there. Then you post the URL to those photos here. That way everyone can view the photo, since people like me who use Google Groups (groups.google.com) can’t see usenet images anyway. It makes everyone happy.

Where can I find more information about the newsgroup?

You can read the Unofficial Charter.

So-and-so irritates me because he’s such a know-it-all. How can I get him to shut up?

So-and-so has the same right to post on Usenet as you do. If you don’t like his posts, use your news-reader’s filtering feature to hide his posts from you.

So-and-so is posting off-topic sleaze or is spamming the group. How can I get him to shut up?

Set your newsreader's preferences to display the headers for each post. In the headers you will often find information about whom to send complaints to. Write them an email that quotes the offending message.

What about kids in the locker room?

Sometimes people with bad spelling and punctuation post messages on the newsgroup. They say they’re underage boys and ask various questions. Maybe they’re really kids whose parents don’t supervise them enough. Maybe they’re cops trying to entrap adults who talk with kids on adult newsgroups. Either way the advice is the same: look but don’t touch.

Got More Questions?

Post them on the newsgroup. If you think the FAQ needs a question added, then please e-mail the author.

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