Why does Kevin Fanning put off buying Spanx in "One Man Explains Why He Swears by Wearing Spanx"?

According to Fanning in his article for
"Racked," he first realized he was "fat" in fifth grade when he overheard
other students talking about him critically. Despite this, "Spanx," or control
underwear, has traditionally been the preserve of women. As such, it would not occur to most men
that they could acquire control underwear for themselves. This is where the answer to your
question comes inFanning discusses the gendered connotations shapewear has and why this
prevented him from buying them at first.

Fanning notes that he often heard
women talking about their control underwear, which was, for them, simply a fact of life, part of
the uniform. However, even thought he coveted Spanx for himself as a means of counteracting his
habit of sucking in his stomach at all times, he never heard other men talking about such
things. Therefore, even though Spanx did make underwear for men, Fanning felt that because men
do not talk about these things, there was "shame" in wanting them.

Also, Spanx are "not cheap," which compounded Fanning's feelings of
shamebecause he hates spending money on himself anyway, the idea of spending money on something
generally not thought of as being "for men" was even more shameful. As such, he put
off buying Spanx until he was given an Amazon gift card.