Guys, now you can shed up to 2 inches from your waistline in 2 seconds! Like a few other products that have been associated with woman's fashion for many years, the girdle is trying to work it's way across the gender divide. Just like Clinique's makeup for men, the man girdle is sailing boldly into the uncharted waters of the men's department -- with little or no knowledge of how many dudes are secretly looking for a way to shed an inch or two.

Men used to wear girdles back in the early 1800s -- and they also wore wigs and makeup. Now, marketing heads must think that the mirdle could once again be a big deal, because more and more brands are dabbling in the world of "bodyshaping" undies. There's just one hitch in the marketing scheme: men don't want to hear the "g-word" in reference anything that they wear, ever. That's why all man-girdles are being marketed as "compression shorts," "support boxers", or my favorite "bodywear."

So, the marketing and adoption process is really a social experiment in hypocrisy. In a nutshell, men who want to wear a girdle don't want to feel emasculated by having it called a girdle -- or even a mirdle. It seems like to me that if you can't own up to wearing a girdle, you shouldn't wear one. If you're fine with your man-girdle, more power to you -- it's cheaper than surgery and easier than actually getting in shape.