why do girls wear leggings?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3057320/

I get to go old school with this reference. Basically male and female circulation systems act differently in cold weather. Men tend to keep blood flowing to all their extremities in cold weather, women tend to keep your core temperature consistent and reduce the flow of blood to extremities.

So men don't feel as cold, but they're burning more energy, and their core temperature can dip more. Women feel colder, but they're core temperature is more stable, and doesn't dip as much.

In real life we experienced this as women are often colder in the same environment men are comfortable in. Because of physiological differences in blood flow during cold weather events.

So legs stockings are both an effort to keep the body warmer, be fashionable, and maybe do some body shaping. But you're more likely to see them in the winter, in colder climates.

Anecdotal data: in Southeast Asia I never see leggings, even in " winter ". In Japan I see leggings all the time.

This makes sense. But it doesn't explain why I have to wear a jacket and pants to work everyday while the colder-extremities-sex wears sleeveless dresses.

I feel it would work better for everyone if we all switched to long, flowing, wizard robes (short or long sleeve optional) in all professional fields.
- Bring up your dress code with your employer. Tell them you are concerned it is not inclusive enough. My boss very quickly added that the pictures are just guidelines and if it falls within the office appropriate "business casual" guidelines then it's fine. Our dress code genderless and allows for cultural clothing even though it didn't specify that.
  
  I agree with the robes though. Summer climates especially require a more Middle Eastern type clothing. Light layers, light colours, and lots of airflow.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2NNm8MTboA
  
  Human culture is weird. Just go with the flow
Leggings are extremely popular here in Québec, Canada. Always have been. Anecdotal data that confirms your anecdotal date.

The weird part is that all the men used to wear them.

Men back in the day wore such hose.
Well that's just dandy
- Flourish the pinky!
My leg hairs itches just looking at them.
- You get used to it and then stop noticing. They're so comfy.
- I'm sure they were warm though.
- I use them for running during winter and that's a non issue.

Because they're comfortable and practical!

I can't stand the feeling of loose things around my legs like pants. They either have to be tight like leggings, or free flowing like skirts/dresses/baggy shorts.

Well that's different. As a guy, I can't stand tight things on my legs, and I don't think it's just due to different equipment.
- I wonder if it has anything to do with shaving/not shaving legs...?
- Tight around each leg or tight so that it restricts your legs to each other? I never had an issue with baseball pants but tight jeans are the enemy
- Tight things like pants and even socks irritate my skin where the body hair roots are and I hate it.

Because they're warm.

Regular pants aren't?
- I wear them under the regular pants when it get's really cold.
- I should clarify I'm a guy and I don't think I've ever worn tights. But I think some trousers can feel colder than tights (because tights are close to the skin and trap a tiny amount of heat) but obviously would be colder than a thick pair of trousers, particularly ones that block the wind. However the fashion is for ladies to get their legs out, wearing tights does this while being warmer than bare skin.

Not a girl: I regular wear tights in winter. I really don't like being cold.

Everyone says being warm but I only wear them out of comfort. I walk a lot to travel cause I don't own a car and leggings are comfy for walking in. I even wear them during the summer.

I’d imagine they help with chafing thighs!

Guy here - borrowed some from my mum for a LARP and they were super comfy. I kept them afterwards.

Warmth and comfort, mostly.

There we go. That's the answer lol

Fashion aesthetics, either by choice or as part of a uniform/etiquette. They are practical in winter as they are warm. Also prevent chafing on people without a thigh gap. They help shape legs and lower belly too.

I don't like wearing them though.

Why not? This is also a genuine question. What is puzzling you about girls wearing leggings? Are you wondering why they don't wear jeans or some other kind of pants instead? If yes, the answer might be: a) fashion changes all the time and this is in now and b) leggings are usually made of very stretchy fabrics, which makes them much more comfortable than form-fitting trousers made of more traditional textiles.

Well the truth is I recently started a job at a high school and the female students mostly wear skirts, of them about half of them wear dark stockings and I just ¯_ (ツ) _/¯ I dunno I just wondered what they do (if anything) but looking through the comments it totally makes sense that they'd add a layer of comfort particularly in colder months, when I realized I also wear a tight pair of thermal pants sometimes then it became clearer as well

Not that anyone has to justify wearing what they wear I was just slightly curious is all
- When in comes to combination of leggings and skirts, I think many women also feel safer and less exposed with legging under their skirts. Active girls and women don't have to think of their movements wearing leggings under a mini-skirt or a lightweight fabric skirt.
- I suppose also, there was likely a time before modern textiles when wearing a skirt that was durable enough for every day use could have been pretty uncomfortable

Our clothes are often made of thinner material than yours. Ever look at the difference in the thread weight of a man's tshirt vs a woman's tshirt? The same honestly goes for pants. Plus, leggings and tights give us the benefit of a layer that can be worn not just under pants but under dresses, shorts, skirts etc especially in colder months.

I only wear sports leggings occasionally for exercise, so I can't really represent the view of women wearing leggings as pants in everyday life, but I guess the main reason is that they're very comfortable (unless they're shapewear). I would compare their comfort level to sweatpants.

As a man—the worst way to begin any post on a question about women—I have to plug the comfort of leggings.

I got some Under Armour compression leggings to wear when walking in cold weather (for warmth, the other main reason I see in here for these things), to wear under my shorts (or jeans if it’s cold enough). They are remarkably comfortable. I kind of look forward to the autumn and winter months when I get to wear them.

(Also because I’m fat, to get ones that fit my waist they’re LONG, so they cover half my feet as well. It’s almost like wearing footy pajamas. I love them.)

All I know is it's the greatest thing that's happened in my life when women just started wearing them in public all the time.

You get to show your ass off whilst still wearing something

They're super comfy!

They're basically fashionable, at least for now.

Why don't you?

Got a pair for snowboarding. Wear em under my waterproof outers. They're divine.

Where's a good place to get leggings as a guy? Any tips for sizing them?
- I just bought my pair off Amazon. They had a size guide where if you know your waist size in inches then get a medium or large or whatever if it's not just one size fits all

Because they want to?