Gaff (clothing)

A homemade gaff, used by trans women and cross-dressers

A gaff is a piece of fabric, usually augmented by an elastic such as a rubber band, that is designed to hide a penile bulge and make the groin appear smoother and flatter.[1] It is usually worn by people who were assigned-male-at-birth (AMAB) who wish to wear feminine clothing, including trans women, gender-non-conforming, and other nonbinary individuals. Since the 2010s, underwear manufacturers have begun to design underwear with the same function as gaffs. Home-made gaffs are often made by cutting the ends off a single sock, then placing a pair of elastic loops through them.[2] The main function of gaffs (or underwear that replicates gaffs) is to hide a crotch bulge.

  1. ^ Lease, Bryce. "Dragging rights, queering publics: realness, self-fashioning and the Miss Gay Western Cape pageant." Safundi 18.2 (2017): 131–146.
  2. ^ Pajer, Nicole (May 1, 2019). "There Are New Options in Trans Underwear". The New York Times.