Tags
1950s, dorms, Fad, lingerie, panty raid, tighty whitey, university campus, University of Michigan
Panty Raids (1950s)
Legend says panty raids began on March 21, 1952 at the University of Michigan. 600 male students stormed the women’s dorm to confiscate their lingerie. (Did they want to wear it?) For whatever reason, it caught on. After the raid, participants would parade around the dormitory entrance holding up their stolen goods. (Aah, it was supposed to be a fashion show.)
Women had no choice but to retaliate. Back at the University of Michigan, 500 women snuck into the men’s dorm in search of boxers and “tighty whities.” Though the raids were intended to be harmless, the police were often called. Despite this, the raids were commonplace on university campuses through the 1950s. When the 1960s came and ushered in the “sexual revolution,” panty raids lost their appeal.