Many of us have strict rules about what we will and won't allow in our cars.
Some prefer that passengers neither drink nor eat in the car.
But other motorists are even more particular.
Like way more.
Redditor Top-Plankton-4543 to discuss his experience and get some feedback, so naturally, he came to the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subreddit.
He asked:
"AITA for keeping my pants on?"
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
"This happened a few weeks ago, but we ended up debating it in our group chat again today, so I thought I’d come here for a definitive answer."
"I (24 M[ale]) went on a hike with my friends, all guys around my age. "
"There were four of us."
"We are not experienced hikers, but we are all athletic, so we figured it would be fine."
"Anyway, one thing we didn’t account for was how muddy it would be, and by the time we got back to the car, the bottom half of all our pants were messes."
"The friend who drove is very particular about his car and immediately said he did not want us muddying it up."
"He took off his pants and put them in a bag in the trunk and said he was going to drive home in his boxers to not mess up the car."
"The other two guys followed suit."
"They looked at me, and I said I wasn’t comfortable doing that."
"They said we’re all guys here, but I just said I don’t feel comfortable not being dressed."
"And before you guys say, 'boxers are just like bathing suits,' I was wearing boxer briefs, which to me are a lot tighter."
"It was also laundry day, so I didn’t really want anyone to see the pair I was wearing."
"I refused, so of course the car got a little muddy."
"I offered to pay for cleaning, but my friend said it’s not about the money, and I could’ve saved him time and a headache by just not wearing the muddy pants in the car."
"Also, the underwear was clean."
"I don’t wear dirty underwear."
"Just embarrassing."
"Since it’s apparently relevant, since it was a laundry day, I was wearing Spider-Man boxer briefs that I didn’t really want people to see."
The OP was left to wonder:
"AITA?"
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed in on some options to the question, AITA:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You're The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Many Redditors declared that OP was NOT the A**hole.
"Honestly, your friends suck if they’d judge you for wearing Spiderman."
"Mine would’ve started listing off their favorite fun underwear and told stories about other situations where they unexpectedly lost their pants/shirt."
"That said, not cool to try to force you to strip further than you’re comfortable." ~ Meghanshadow
"NTA, you never have to take your clothes off if you're not comfortable." ~ tsplantdaddy
"Since OP mentions the 'bottom half' of the pants, I assume he means from the knee down, so it's the footwell (maybe the back of the front seats, depending on how tight things were) of the vehicle that was getting muddy - not the seats."
"OP would have had to 'step into' the trash bag and hold it around his knees to stop transfer."
"Which I guess would have worked?"
"But damn."
"I like a clean car, too, but mud in the footwell and on the mats is kind of a given, especially when you take people hiking."
"NTA to OP."
"Keep rocking your Spider-Man underoos, bud." ~ TheSentientSnail
"NTA. You are never TA for not wanting to take your clothes off."
"It doesn’t matter who is there or what their gender is."
"Full stop." ~ Desperate-Animal1651
"Even if it were egregious, the offer to have the car cleaned seems to negate that and make the friend seem a bit petty to keep pushing."
"A lot of people have shame around their bodies, not just suboptimal underwear as in OP's case."
"Consent trumps a clean car, and he did his best to remedy the situation in the aftermath. NTA." ~ Local-Entrance-4579
"I've been the driver and owner of the car in a situation exactly the same as this, and my friends getting mud in my car was a non-issue."
"I took responsibility to get them there, I have the responsibility to get them back, and while mud can be cleaned out, a friendship isn't going to last long if I'm placing the cleanliness of my car over the comfort of my friends."
"Aside from that, I had to take responsibility, as we all did, that not expecting to get muddy on a hike was a dumb move, and learn from it."
"You never know what you'll come across (or fall into) while outdoors, and it's best to be prepared for all eventualities." ~ bc_1411
"NTA. I agree with this."
"OP and everyone else had the right to say no to taking their pants off."
"Maybe it's just my upbringing, but if I were driving and afraid of getting my car dirty, I would've packed a blanket or something else just in case."
"That's not OP's fault that they didn't bring anything."
"You're going on a hike with the potential to get dirty and sweaty, so you have to take those extra steps."
"If that was mine, I would've told everyone to hop in anyway and worried about the mud later, LMAO." ~ Cynical_Feline
"I've been putting off going through my underwear drawer and getting rid of any that are worn and look a little tired."
"This has motivated me to do it sooner rather than later." ~ SleepyDeluxe
"4 dudes in their 20’s who didn’t properly plan a trip, think about weather conditions and clothing, and up to but not including not listening to their mother and wear appropriate undies always?"
"I think all of you are all TA’s in my opinion, but hey, that’s what your 20’s are for, man! 😂." ~ Heavy-Ad-7623
"NTA. Surprised by so many people saying the opposite."
"What happened to bodily autonomy and consent?"
"Just because OP is male and many people wouldn't have a problem with it doesn't mean he should be peer pressured or coerced into taking his pants off to keep a car clean."
"I would also say the friend who likes to keep his car super clean is dumb for thinking hiking wouldn't result in any dirt or mud in his car." ~ anothertypicalcmmnt
"It's pretty early, so hopefully the judgment changes and all the asshole votes get pushed down."
"OP is for sure NTA, definitely some sexism in all these comments that just assume all men should be comfortable in their underpants."
"The only thing I wonder is if OP was able to roll his pants up so the mud would be inside, but either way still NTA." ~ FaithinYosh
"The request to remove your pants was - well - sort of weird."
"But under the circumstances, it was reasonable."
"You are all males in your 20s."
"So what?"
"Not like you were riding naked."
"Didn't your Mom ever warn you about never wearing dirty underwear?"
"You never know when you are going to wind up in the ER."
"Anyway, I think it would have been reasonable to have joined in with everyone else."
"While I think you were rather precious about the whole thing, it was a weird request, and you did offer to pay for the cleaning."
"Your refusal was also reasonable in my opinion."
"The a**holes all stayed in their boxers on this one. NAH." ~ Waste_Worker6122
"NAH. The fact that you were all the same gender makes it okay for them to ask you to take them off."
"You were also justified in not being comfortable." ~ sky7897
"NAH. One can be particular about their car."
"One can not want to be taking off their clothes like that."
"All of us can be slow to think of a third option."
"Bonus (I might butcher this, but you're Mel Brooks here): when Mel Brooks was a young writer on the Sid Caesar show, he finally got the invite."
"Come over to Sid's and write, just you and him and maybe one or two others."
"So he goes, yeahhhhh got the invite, got the invite!"
"I think it is the elder Reiner there with Sid, and that makes the three of them with Mel showing up."
"Sid says, let's go to the sauna and chat about the jokes."
"Mel says, I didn't bring a bathing suit."
"Sid says, we don't wear bathing suits, anyway."
"Sid and Reiner go in to get naked and talk funny."
"Mel is like, no way."
"Sid is like, you come in, or you don't, but this is where we're writing."
"Mel didn't."
"And that's totally okay." ~ HappyBadger33
"I can't believe most of these comments."
"In what world was this a reasonable ask from the friend?"
"You said it was the bottom half of your pants, so I'm assuming it was the floorboards and the lower part of the seat that got muddy."
"Mud really isn't that difficult to clean out of those areas once it's dried."
"If cleaning mud is this much of a hassle to the friend, why did he drive them to go hiking in the first place?"
"I always expect to get some dirt/mud in my car after hiking."
"I think most people who are particular about their car either don't mind cleaning it, have protective covers for their floorboards and seats, or avoid using their car to get to/from dirty activities."
"Most importantly, I just can't imagine asking my friend to strip down to their underwear so that I can avoid 10-15 minutes of cleaning."
"It was unreasonable for him to even ask, and it's even worse that he insisted after you said no. NTA." ~ koalatxt
"NTA. I think your friends should have let this go by now."
"Do they not have anything better to think about?"
"Seriously, this isn’t that big of a deal." ~ DazzlingNote1925
"I don't understand car people, just… clean the mud afterward!!! NTA." ~ omgmuffinzlol
Reddit understands your choice, OP.
Not everyone is comfortable running around in their underwear.
You offered to pay for the cleaning.
Maybe next time your friend will think ahead and lay down some blankets and towels.
And never be embarrassed about Spiderman!
