:"Hot Pants" redirects here. For the James Brown song see Hot Pants (song) Shorts are a garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, circling the waist, and covering the upper part of the upper legs or more, sometimes extending as far as mid-calf, but not covering the entire length of the leg, either as outer or undergarment. They are called "shorts" because they're a shortened version of pants which cover the entire leg. Sociology Within the United States, historically, in the 1… (More on Shorts)