Political Memes

Before they were a biker leather fetish thing and a fetish fetish thing, chaps were an actual functional thing.

When horseback riding through thick brush, you'd wear chaps over your pants, and the tough leather of the chaps would protect your pants (and your legs) from all the thorns, sharp branches, and other scratchy things in the brush you're riding through.

That's why they mainly only cover the front and outside side of the leg. The back of your leg isn't getting scratched much if you're riding forward, and the inside side of your leg is up against the horse, so it doesn't need protection.

They're still used some for that purpose where people are still riding horses through brush. And also by cowboy cosplayers who want to look like they're still doing that.

There are also more specialized forms of chaps out there for protection against other things, still in common use in their niches. Chainsaw chaps are made of kevlar fibers and designed to shred and bind up the blades of a chainsaw before it can cut through and accidentally cut your leg. Snake chaps are made of tough material designed to protect you from snakebites when walking through brush and tall grass where venomous snakes are common, as unexpected snakebites in those situations would normally happen to the front of the leg.