Home
About
Contact
ELDRIDGE CLEAVER’S CODPIECE
(and other sidequests)Sidequest 1: Guardians of the Sperm
Sidequest 2: The Moonies and Cleaver Crusaders
Home
About
Contact
ELDRIDGE CLEAVER’S CODPIECE
(and other sidequests)Sidequest 1: Guardians of the Sperm
Sidequest 2: The Moonies and Cleaver Crusaders
In 1975, Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998), a former Black Panther leader, decided to become a fashion designer. He created “virility” codpiece pants designed to liberate men from “penis binding.”
William Klein, Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther (1970)
LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 1978: Former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver (1935 – 1998) photographs his designer menswear creations featuring trousers with a codpiece displayed in store in Los Angeles California, USA circa 1978. (Photo by Nik Wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images.)
More..
Former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver Unveils his Codpiece Trousers Fashion Design in Los Angles in 1980sLOS ANGELES- JANUARY 1981; Former Black Panther and political activist Eldridge Cleaver turns fashion designer as he reveals his line of mens pants with codpiece at fashion gallery in Los Angeles in 1981; (Photo by Nik Wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images)
More..
Eldridge Cleaver Posing For A PhotoNEW YORK, NY - JUNE 5: Eldridge Cleaver (1935 – 1998) posing for a photo on June 5, 1978 in New York, New York. (Photo by Santi Visalli/Getty Images)
More..
The ‘rebirth’ of Eldridge Cleaver; The old Cleaver wanted to overthrow the ‘American nightmare.’ The new Cleaver is promoting the ‘American dream.’ Is he a convert or an opportunist?; Cleaver
T. D. Allman
Jan. 16, 1977
The New York Times
More..
Eldridge Cleaver in the Pants He Developed
Eldridge Cleaver, Paris, 1975. Photo by René Burri. Courtesy of Magnum Photos.
More..
[Clothing label]: Eldridge Cleaver Unlimited
From Between the Pages Rare Books: Unbound. Pictorial clothing label. Illustrated with a fig leaf bearing the company's initials. Measuring approximately 2¾” x 1¼”. In fine, unused condition. While living in exile in Paris, Cleaver released a line of codpiece-revival "virility pants" that he called the Cleavers. He incorporated his clothing line, Eldridge Cleaver Ltd, after returning to California, opening a factory and West Hollywood shop. An unusual and apparently uncommon piece of ephemera from Cleaver's line of “virility pants."
Item #527670
More..
Return of the Native
Mother Jones Magazine
August 1976
pp .5-6
More..
Words for My Comrades
A Political History of Tupac Shakur
Dean Van Nguyen
2025
More..
People Are Talking About
Jet Magazine
Oct 5, 1978
pp .42
More..
Cleaver means business: Revolutionary line of pants
The San Francisco Examiner
San Francisco, California
Tue, Aug 12, 1975
Page 1
More..
Every revolution needs a haberdasher, right?
Mark Stillman
September 26, 1975
The Harvard Crimson
More..
Eldridge de Paris's "New Fall Collection," featuring Eldridge Cleaver modeling the clothing line [Advertisement]
1975
Rolling Stone Magazine
Eldridge Cleaver Designs Pants 'For Men Only'
Jet Magazine
Sep 21, 1978
pp. 22-24
More..
Radical Chic Share
Horacio Silva
Sept. 23, 2001
The New York Times
More..
Eldridge Cleaver Unlimited
From Boo-Horay:
ca. 1975. Maroon denim pants, approx. 37 inches length.
The exceptionally rare codpiece pants manufactured and distributed by the former Black Panther, Eldridge Cleaver.
More..
Eldridge Cleaver Designs Paris Virility Trousers
Jet Magazine
August 28, 1975
pp. 55
More..
Words of the Week
Jet Magazine
November 20, 1975
pp. 38
More..
Re-Dressing Race and Gender
The Performance and Politics of
Eldridge Cleaver’s Pants
Art Blake
Fashion Studies
2018
More..
Eldridge Cleaver shows off his male liberation front
The San Francisco Examiner
San Francisco, California
Fri, Aug 15, 1975
Page 11
More..