A HANDFUL of young Britons and Americans walk along the street with the crotch of their trousers hanging somewhere between their thighs and knees. No wonder they meet with giggles and puzzled looks from passers-by.

But the %26quot;saggy pants%26quot;, made popular by 1990s rap fashion, is not just something people laugh at. Some conservative Americans find it so offensive they want to ban it.

On August 24, city councillors in Dallas, Texas, considered introducing a new law that would allow police to fine anyone wearing their trousers too low. The offence, they argue, is that %26quot;saggy pants%26quot; allow people to see that sacred item of clothing %26mdash; underwear. Putting your boxer shorts or thong on show is the height of bad taste and indecency.

Dallas school trustee Ron Price, who recommended the ban, said: %26quot;Too low allows too much underwear to show.%26quot;

Christina Siderius, 23, from Seattle seemed a little confused upon hearing about Dallas council's proposal. But she wasn't surprised. %26quot;Hey, that's Texas for you,%26quot; she said.

As the home state of US President George W. Bush, Texas is a Republican stronghold. Many in the state oppose abortion and same sex marriage. But they promote faith-based initiatives (programmes that use religion as a part of social reform).

Whether the proposals actually become law is yet to be seen. But Virginia and Louisiana both tried to ban saggy pants in 2004 and failed. Enforcing such a law is simply impractical. Perhaps the biggest threat to those who love to wear their jeans around their ankles is the ridicule they get from other people.

Caroline Tosh, 29, from London, had a %26quot;saggy%26quot; boyfriend for six months. %26quot;He looked like such an idiot,%26quot; she said. Her friends used to laugh at him, saying: %26quot;Does he not know how to pull his trousers up? I can see your boyfriend's bum.%26quot;

Tosh admits that she must have been blinded by love and now has conservative views about the look herself. %26quot;It displays the fact that they don't have to work and won't make that compromise of dressing properly for a job,%26quot; she said.

But Gareth Graham, 27, disagrees. He works for the British Council in London and has to dress smartly during the week. On Friday night he throws away his belt and wears his boxers for all to see. %26quot;It's just really comfortable,%26quot; he said.

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