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Thong (clothing)
Encyclopedia
The thong is a garment
generally worn as either underwear or as a swimsuit
in many industrialized societies
around the world. It may also be worn for tradition
al ceremonies
or competitions
such as sumo wrestling. The thong continues to be worn as everyday wear, as it has for hundreds or thousands of years, mostly by men, in many indigenous societies
, particularly in Africa
, South America
, and Asia
.
Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a bikini
bottom, but at the back the material is reduced to a minimum. Thongs are almost always designed to cover the genitals, pubic hair
, anus
, and perineum
, and leave part or most of the buttocks
uncovered. The back of the garment typically consists of a thin waistband and a thin strip of material, designed to be worn between the buttocks, that connects the middle of the waistband with the bottom front of the garment. It is also used as a descriptive term in other types of garment, such as a bodysuit
, bodystocking
, leotard
or onepiece swimsuit
in the context, "thong backed."
One type of thong is the G-string
, the back of which consists only of a (typically elasticized) fabric string. The two terms G-string and thong are often used interchangeably; however, they can refer to distinct pieces of clothing. Thongs come in a variety of styles depending on the thickness, material, or type of the rear portion of fabric and are available for both men and women throughout most of the world.
is from Old English thwong, a flexible leather
cord.
Many languages borrow the English word string to refer to this type of underwear, usually without the G. Another common name is tanga (or sometimes, string tanga), especially in the German
Tanga. A frequent metaphor, especially in South America, is dental floss as in Spanish
hilo dental or Portuguese fio dental (the Brazilian word for thong); in English, the term "Butt floss" is sometimes used. In Lithuanian
it is "siaurikės" ("narrows"), Italian
"perizoma" or "tanga", in Turkish
"ipli külot" ("stringed underpants"), and in Bulgarian
as "prashka" (slingshot). In Israel
the thong, mostly the G-string, is called Khutini , from the word Khut, which means String. Similarly, in Iran
, it is called "Shortbandi" in which "short" (from English
: Shorts) means "briefs" and "bandi" means "with a string". A Puerto-Rican Spanish
slang term, used by Reggaeton
artists, is gistro. Australians often colloquially refer to the G-string as a g-banger or simply banger.
In some names for the thong, the bareness of the buttocks is noted, as in Spanish colaless (the origin is probably connected to the term topless but in reference to cola (colloquial term for butt in South American Spanish), and in other names the "T"-like shape of the back is highlighted. In the dialects of Chinese language
, the T-back is commonly called dingziku (丁字褲/丁字裤) which literally means 丁 character pants (or roughly, T-letter pants). In Korean, it is called 티팬티 (T panty). However, there are several usages of the term T-back in English as well (e.g., Children's literature
author E. L. Konigsburg
's T-backs, T-shirts, Coat and Suit).
and leaves the buttocks bared. The term G-string is generally used when the vertical strap in the rear of a G-string is no wider than a string. In Australia
, the term G-string is usually used to refer to any garments in this style, while the term thong usually refers to a kind of rubber sandal.
According to the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion "The G-string, or thong, [is] a panty front with a half- to one-inch strip of fabric at the back that sits between the buttocks", and Knickers: a Brief History says: "Minor tweaks to the cut earned these skimpy panties different titles-—from the thong, which has a one-inch strip of fabric down AVPL is the underwear the back, to a G-string, which, as the name equivalent of Spanish suggests (hilo dental), is more like a string of fabric akin between the teeth." Striptease: the Untold History of the Girlie Show says: "The thong [is] an undergarment derived from the stripper's G-string", and according to Americanisms: the Illustrated Book of Words Made in the USA a G-string is "a thong panty consisting of a small triangular piece of fabric supported by two elastic straps. Attributed to strippers circa 1936". The Heinemann English Dictionary defines "thong" as "a pair of underpants or swimming costume in a very skimpy style like a G-string". In an article in The Guardian
, Chris Alden writes that "the thong wasn't always so popular: in the old days it used to be called the G-string".
, is believed to be one of the earliest forms of human clothing
and is also thought to have been worn mostly or exclusively by men. It is thought the thong was probably originally developed to protect, support, or hide the male genitals. The loincloth is probably the earliest form of clothing used by mankind, having originated in the warmer climates of sub-Saharan Africa
where clothing was first worn nearly 75,000 years ago. Many tribal peoples, such as some of the Khoisan
people of southern Africa
, wore thongs for many centuries. Much like the more-than-2000yrs-old Japan
ese fundoshi
, these early garments were made with the male genitalia in mind.
A descendant of the loincloth and thong is the jockstrap
, created by Chicago
sporting goods company Sharp & Smith in 1874. The first historical reference to the thong since then is in 1939 New York City
when Mayor
Fiorello LaGuardia ordered nude dancers to dress more appropriately. Jacques Heim's and Louis Réard's original bikini
from 1946 (that introduced the term bikini) had a culotte with a thong back. Fashion designer Rudi Gernreich
, who had in the mid-1960s created the first topless swimsuit, which he called the monokini
, is credited with introducing the modern thong in 1974.
Thongs first became popular as a swimsuit style in South America
, particularly in Brazil
. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the thong began to gain wider acceptance and popularity in the United States
, most commonly as underwear but also as swimwear, both primarily for women but also for men. In Europe
it has been commonplace for many more years both as underwear and swimwear. They are still not marketed as strongly to men as they are to women. In the USA and Europe, the wearing of thongs by men was once mainly limited to the dance belt
, the posing pouch for bodybuilders and the realm of male strippers. Men's thongs are now more widely available and accepted and are commonly worn as day-to-day underwear or swimwear.
Types of thongs include the traditional thong, the G-string, and the C-string. There are a number of intermediate kinds of thongs between full rear coverage and a string rear. As designs become more risqué there are also types intended to expose genitals as much as they conceal them. Other styles include the Cheeky, V-string, and T-back. The naming of the intermediate styles of thong is debatable, different vendors use the words somewhat interchangeably.
Thongs are available in a wide variety of materials, including silk
, cotton
, microfiber
, satin
, nylon
, and lycra/spandex
.
The most significant difference between thongs designed for men and women is the shape of the front part of the garment. Often, but not always, thongs for men will feature a vertical seam to create shape and space for the male genitalia, and the pouch may be made of stretchy material (usually cotton-Lycra or microfiber) for an ergonomic fit. The equivalent section in women's thongs is normally flat and seamless. However, the fabric is usually thicker in the area where it covers the vulva
(by incorporating a cotton gusset
) and this is done for several reasons, e.g. leukorrhea
. There are also novelty designs for both sexes, featuring shapes to conform to the genitals or provide humorous visual effects.
and later referred to the narrow loincloth itself. William Safire
in his Ode on a G-String quoted the usage of the word G-string for loincloth by Harper's Magazine
15 years after Beadle's and suggested that the magazine confused the word with the musical term G string (i.e., the string for the G note
). Safire also mentions the opinion of linguist Robert Hendrickson that "G" (or "gee") stands for groin
, which was a taboo word at the time. The V-string and T-back are common types of G-string.
that would have been left by the side straps of even a G-string.
.
is a type of thong designed to be used in the same manner as an athletic supporter, but for male dancers (especially in ballet
). Its purpose is to protect and support the dancer during dance activities without being seen through outer garments, such as tights
, leotard
, gym leggings or shorts. Thongs tend to offer better support for the male anatomy than do other underwear styles (as well as eliminating contact between the genitals and inner thighs) and is one of the reasons why men and boys may choose to wear them.
, thong and g-string underwear became more and more popular through the 1990s due to shows like Baywatch
, where numerous females were recorded wearing thong swimsuits.
Recent surveys place the number of American women who wear thongs as their preferred underwear style at 28%. While thongs are available for girls as young as eight years it is common for parents to not approve of girls wearing them until they reach their teens.
Many reasons exist why women and men may choose to wear thong underwear or swimwear: prevention of visible panty lines; prevention of ride up so one needn't pull at one's underwear in public; comfort; fashion consciousness, including the feeling of being more adult; and minimization of tan lines.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, some people wore thongs with low-cut hipsters and deliberately exposed them over the top of their trousers. This led to many designs of thong intended to be worn in this manner, which were adorned with jewels and motifs on the back. However, in the 2000s, the exposure of a thong above one's pants became a fashion faux pas
, and the trend turned to the wearing of lower-riding thongs that hardly show above trousers, except when bending or twisting.
, but also in such locations as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
, and Kure Beach, North Carolina
. There is no national law specifically relating to nudity, thongs, or toplessness in the United States.
At least one U.S. city passed an anti-nudity ordinance in 2007 which however did not ban thongs.
Of particular controversy is the retail by several outlets, including Abercrombie & Fitch
, Argos
, and Etam
, of thongs for children as young as seven, due to their previous association with nude or erotic dancers. A spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch stated that he could list "at least 100 reasons why a young girl would want thong underwear." This controversy spawned a great deal of free publicity for Abercrombie, including a chain letter that received wide circulation. Media attention was drawn to the phenomenon when a British
primary head teacher
voiced concerns that pupil
s as young as 10 were wearing thong underwear to school.
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
generally worn as either underwear or as a swimsuit
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...
in many industrialized societies
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
around the world. It may also be worn for tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
al ceremonies
Ceremony
A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin.-Ceremonial occasions:A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human life, marking the significance of, for example:* birth...
or competitions
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
such as sumo wrestling. The thong continues to be worn as everyday wear, as it has for hundreds or thousands of years, mostly by men, in many indigenous societies
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
, particularly in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
bottom, but at the back the material is reduced to a minimum. Thongs are almost always designed to cover the genitals, pubic hair
Pubic hair
Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area, the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region....
, anus
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
, and perineum
Perineum
In human anatomy, the perineum is a region of the body including the perineal body and surrounding structures...
, and leave part or most of the buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
uncovered. The back of the garment typically consists of a thin waistband and a thin strip of material, designed to be worn between the buttocks, that connects the middle of the waistband with the bottom front of the garment. It is also used as a descriptive term in other types of garment, such as a bodysuit
Bodysuit
In clothing, a bodysuit, body-liner, or body is a unisex form-fitting garment that covers the torso. The bodysuit often has sleeves and varying collars. A bodysuit is distinguished from the similar leotard by the use of snaps or hooks at the crotch. A bodysuit may be worn as a top for the smooth...
, bodystocking
Bodystocking
A bodystocking is a one-piece article of lingerie that covers the torso, legs and sometimes the arms of the wearer. Similar in texture and look to stockings or pantyhose, a bodystocking is not a unitard, which is worn as an outfit or article of clothing, or a leotard, which is used as a practice...
, leotard
Leotard
A leotard is a skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso but leaves the legs free. It was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard ....
or onepiece swimsuit
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...
in the context, "thong backed."
One type of thong is the G-string
G-string
A G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
, the back of which consists only of a (typically elasticized) fabric string. The two terms G-string and thong are often used interchangeably; however, they can refer to distinct pieces of clothing. Thongs come in a variety of styles depending on the thickness, material, or type of the rear portion of fabric and are available for both men and women throughout most of the world.
Nomenclature
The origin of the word thong in the English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is from Old English thwong, a flexible leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
cord.
Many languages borrow the English word string to refer to this type of underwear, usually without the G. Another common name is tanga (or sometimes, string tanga), especially in the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Tanga. A frequent metaphor, especially in South America, is dental floss as in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
hilo dental or Portuguese fio dental (the Brazilian word for thong); in English, the term "Butt floss" is sometimes used. In Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
it is "siaurikės" ("narrows"), Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
"perizoma" or "tanga", in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
"ipli külot" ("stringed underpants"), and in Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
as "prashka" (slingshot). In Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
the thong, mostly the G-string, is called Khutini , from the word Khut, which means String. Similarly, in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, it is called "Shortbandi" in which "short" (from English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Shorts) means "briefs" and "bandi" means "with a string". A Puerto-Rican Spanish
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
slang term, used by Reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...
artists, is gistro. Australians often colloquially refer to the G-string as a g-banger or simply banger.
In some names for the thong, the bareness of the buttocks is noted, as in Spanish colaless (the origin is probably connected to the term topless but in reference to cola (colloquial term for butt in South American Spanish), and in other names the "T"-like shape of the back is highlighted. In the dialects of Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, the T-back is commonly called dingziku (丁字褲/丁字裤) which literally means 丁 character pants (or roughly, T-letter pants). In Korean, it is called 티팬티 (T panty). However, there are several usages of the term T-back in English as well (e.g., Children's literature
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
author E. L. Konigsburg
E. L. Konigsburg
Elaine Lobl Konigsburg is an American author and illustrator of children's books and young adult fiction. She is one of five authors to win two Newbery Medals, awarded annually for one contribution to American children's literature.Her first two manuscripts were submitted to editor Jean E...
's T-backs, T-shirts, Coat and Suit).
Thong vs. G-string
The word "G-string" is often used interchangeably with the word "thong". However, the G-string is only one form of the thong. The normal association of the difference between a G-string and a thong is the width of the back section that passes between the wearer's buttocks, the string being more string like and narrower. Like the thong, the G-string is essentially a bottom-covering that covers the pubisMons pubis
In human anatomy or in mammals in general, the mons pubis , also known as the mons veneris or simply the mons, is the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone of adult females, anterior to the pubic symphysis...
and leaves the buttocks bared. The term G-string is generally used when the vertical strap in the rear of a G-string is no wider than a string. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the term G-string is usually used to refer to any garments in this style, while the term thong usually refers to a kind of rubber sandal.
According to the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion "The G-string, or thong, [is] a panty front with a half- to one-inch strip of fabric at the back that sits between the buttocks", and Knickers: a Brief History says: "Minor tweaks to the cut earned these skimpy panties different titles-—from the thong, which has a one-inch strip of fabric down AVPL is the underwear the back, to a G-string, which, as the name equivalent of Spanish suggests (hilo dental), is more like a string of fabric akin between the teeth." Striptease: the Untold History of the Girlie Show says: "The thong [is] an undergarment derived from the stripper's G-string", and according to Americanisms: the Illustrated Book of Words Made in the USA a G-string is "a thong panty consisting of a small triangular piece of fabric supported by two elastic straps. Attributed to strippers circa 1936". The Heinemann English Dictionary defines "thong" as "a pair of underpants or swimming costume in a very skimpy style like a G-string". In an article in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Chris Alden writes that "the thong wasn't always so popular: in the old days it used to be called the G-string".
History
The thong, like its probable predecessor the loinclothLoincloth
A loincloth is a one-piece male garment, sometimes kept in place by a belt, which covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks.-History and types:Loincloths are being and have been worn:*in societies where no other clothing is needed or wanted...
, is believed to be one of the earliest forms of human clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
and is also thought to have been worn mostly or exclusively by men. It is thought the thong was probably originally developed to protect, support, or hide the male genitals. The loincloth is probably the earliest form of clothing used by mankind, having originated in the warmer climates of sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
where clothing was first worn nearly 75,000 years ago. Many tribal peoples, such as some of the Khoisan
Khoisan
Khoisan is a unifying name for two ethnic groups of Southern Africa, who share physical and putative linguistic characteristics distinct from the Bantu majority of the region. Culturally, the Khoisan are divided into the foraging San and the pastoral Khoi...
people of southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
, wore thongs for many centuries. Much like the more-than-2000yrs-old Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese fundoshi
Fundoshi
is the traditional Japanese undergarment for adult males, made from a length of cotton. Before World War II, the fundoshi was the main form of underwear for Japanese adult males...
, these early garments were made with the male genitalia in mind.
A descendant of the loincloth and thong is the jockstrap
Jockstrap
A jockstrap is an undergarment designed for supporting the male genitalia during sports or other vigorous physical activity...
, created by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
sporting goods company Sharp & Smith in 1874. The first historical reference to the thong since then is in 1939 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
when Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Fiorello LaGuardia ordered nude dancers to dress more appropriately. Jacques Heim's and Louis Réard's original bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
from 1946 (that introduced the term bikini) had a culotte with a thong back. Fashion designer Rudi Gernreich
Rudi Gernreich
Rudi Gernreich was a Austrian-born American fashion designer and gay activist.-Biography:Born in Vienna, Gernreich fled Austria at age 16 due to Nazism, and later migrated to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California...
, who had in the mid-1960s created the first topless swimsuit, which he called the monokini
Monokini
A monokini, sometimes referred to as a unikini, is a woman's one-piece garment comprising only the lower half of a bikini, leaving the breasts uncovered...
, is credited with introducing the modern thong in 1974.
Thongs first became popular as a swimsuit style in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, particularly in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the thong began to gain wider acceptance and popularity in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, most commonly as underwear but also as swimwear, both primarily for women but also for men. In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
it has been commonplace for many more years both as underwear and swimwear. They are still not marketed as strongly to men as they are to women. In the USA and Europe, the wearing of thongs by men was once mainly limited to the dance belt
Dance belt
A dance belt is a kind of specialized undergarment commonly worn by male ballet dancers to support their genitals. Most are similar in design to thong underwear....
, the posing pouch for bodybuilders and the realm of male strippers. Men's thongs are now more widely available and accepted and are commonly worn as day-to-day underwear or swimwear.
Design and variety
| Back | Sides | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Strap | Tie | Strapless | |
| T-back | |||
| G-string G-string A G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men... |
|||
| V-string | |||
| C-string |
Types of thongs include the traditional thong, the G-string, and the C-string. There are a number of intermediate kinds of thongs between full rear coverage and a string rear. As designs become more risqué there are also types intended to expose genitals as much as they conceal them. Other styles include the Cheeky, V-string, and T-back. The naming of the intermediate styles of thong is debatable, different vendors use the words somewhat interchangeably.
Thongs are available in a wide variety of materials, including silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, microfiber
Microfiber
Microfiber or microfibre refers to synthetic fibers that measure less than one denier. The most common types of microfibers are made from polyesters, polyamides , and or a conjugation of polyester and polyamide.Microfiber is used to make non-woven, woven and knitted textiles...
, satin
Satin
Satin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...
, nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
, and lycra/spandex
Spandex
Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than natural Latex, its major non-synthetic competitor. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was co-invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's...
.
The most significant difference between thongs designed for men and women is the shape of the front part of the garment. Often, but not always, thongs for men will feature a vertical seam to create shape and space for the male genitalia, and the pouch may be made of stretchy material (usually cotton-Lycra or microfiber) for an ergonomic fit. The equivalent section in women's thongs is normally flat and seamless. However, the fabric is usually thicker in the area where it covers the vulva
Vulva
The vulva consists of the external genital organs of the female mammal. This article deals with the vulva of the human being, although the structures are similar for other mammals....
(by incorporating a cotton gusset
Gusset
In sewing, a gusset is a triangular or rhomboid piece of fabric inserted into a seam to add breadth or reduce stress from tight-fitting clothing...
) and this is done for several reasons, e.g. leukorrhea
Leukorrhea
Leukorrhea or leucorrhoea is a medical term that denotes a thick, whitish or yellowish vaginal discharge.There are many causes of leukorrhea, the usual one being estrogen imbalance...
. There are also novelty designs for both sexes, featuring shapes to conform to the genitals or provide humorous visual effects.
Traditional thong
This style is generally the most common and features a strip of fabric of varying widths, at the rear of the garment, connecting the front or pouch to the waistband.G-string
The G-string style consists of an elastic string, as opposed to a strip of fabric, connecting the front/pouch and the waistband at back. Since the mid 1920s, female strippers and exotic dancers in the West have been referring to the style of thongs they wore for their performances as G-strings. The origin of the term G-string is obscure. Since the 19th century the term geestring referred to the string which held the loincloth of American IndiansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and later referred to the narrow loincloth itself. William Safire
William Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
in his Ode on a G-String quoted the usage of the word G-string for loincloth by Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
15 years after Beadle's and suggested that the magazine confused the word with the musical term G string (i.e., the string for the G note
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
). Safire also mentions the opinion of linguist Robert Hendrickson that "G" (or "gee") stands for groin
Groin
In human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles...
, which was a taboo word at the time. The V-string and T-back are common types of G-string.
V-string
A type of G-string in which the string is connected to the waistband by a triangle just above the buttocks.T-back
A similar style to the V-string but without a rear triangle. The string connects with the waistband directly to form a 'T' shape at back.C-string
As narrow as a G-string but without the band around the waist, leaving just a C shaped piece between the legs held in place firmly by a flexible internal frame. Since there is no material around the waist, the c-string completely eliminates the panty lines which thongs and other underwear create. C-strings are also designed for use as beachwear, which reduces the tan linesTan lines
Tan lines refers to a division between an area or areas on the skin of a human of pronounced comparative paleness relative to other areas of their body that have been suntanned by prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The source of the radiation may be the sun, or artificial UV sources as...
that would have been left by the side straps of even a G-string.
Cheeky
A more conservative style called a cheeky covers a little more area, but exposes the bottom part of the buttocks. Some cheekies are used as undergarments while others function as bikini bottoms.Sling
Normally a one piece, swimsuit style that is characterized by shoulder straps attached to the thong, with optional amounts of other fabric strips, strings or ties to hold the garment in place and cover specific areas of the body. Popularized by the actor Sacha Baron Cohen in the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
.
Dance belt
A dance beltDance belt
A dance belt is a kind of specialized undergarment commonly worn by male ballet dancers to support their genitals. Most are similar in design to thong underwear....
is a type of thong designed to be used in the same manner as an athletic supporter, but for male dancers (especially in ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
). Its purpose is to protect and support the dancer during dance activities without being seen through outer garments, such as tights
Tights
Tights are a kind of cloth leg garment, most often sheathing the body from about the waist to the feet with a more or less tight fit, hence the name....
, leotard
Leotard
A leotard is a skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso but leaves the legs free. It was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard ....
, gym leggings or shorts. Thongs tend to offer better support for the male anatomy than do other underwear styles (as well as eliminating contact between the genitals and inner thighs) and is one of the reasons why men and boys may choose to wear them.
Society
Attitudes to the wearing of g-strings vary, as is usual with highly revealing clothing. Prior to its entrance into mainstream fashion, g-strings were primarily worn by exotic dancers. In the modern Western world, g-strings are more commonly marketed towards females but are worn by both sexes. By the late 1980s, the style (for females) had made its way into most of the Western worldWestern world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, thong and g-string underwear became more and more popular through the 1990s due to shows like Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
, where numerous females were recorded wearing thong swimsuits.
Recent surveys place the number of American women who wear thongs as their preferred underwear style at 28%. While thongs are available for girls as young as eight years it is common for parents to not approve of girls wearing them until they reach their teens.
Many reasons exist why women and men may choose to wear thong underwear or swimwear: prevention of visible panty lines; prevention of ride up so one needn't pull at one's underwear in public; comfort; fashion consciousness, including the feeling of being more adult; and minimization of tan lines.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, some people wore thongs with low-cut hipsters and deliberately exposed them over the top of their trousers. This led to many designs of thong intended to be worn in this manner, which were adorned with jewels and motifs on the back. However, in the 2000s, the exposure of a thong above one's pants became a fashion faux pas
Fashion faux pas
A faux pas is defined as "a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion." More specifically, a fashion faux pas is an unfortunate error in fashion etiquette. Entire decades have been considered a "fashion faux pas"...
, and the trend turned to the wearing of lower-riding thongs that hardly show above trousers, except when bending or twisting.
Acceptance as swimwear
Thong swimsuits are generally accepted to some degree in most western countries, including most of Europe, North and South America, Australia, and parts of Asia. On the other hand, thongs are banned or strongly discouraged in some places, including some Muslim countries such as Iran and Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, but also in such locations as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
, and Kure Beach, North Carolina
Kure Beach, North Carolina
Kure Beach (ˈkjʊərɪ KYUR-ee) is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina about 15 miles south of Wilmington. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2000 census...
. There is no national law specifically relating to nudity, thongs, or toplessness in the United States.
At least one U.S. city passed an anti-nudity ordinance in 2007 which however did not ban thongs.
Controversy
Several institutions have banned thongs, mainly schools and universities. In one particular case in 2002, a high school vice principal in San Diego physically checked up to 100 female students' underwear as they entered the school for a dance, with or without student permission, causing an uproar among students and some parents and eliciting an investigation by the school into the vice principal's conduct. In her defense, the vice principal said the checks were for student safety and not specifically because of the wearing of thongs (“This was a safety issue, it was not a choice of underwear issue”).Of particular controversy is the retail by several outlets, including Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally....
, Argos
Argos (retailer)
Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...
, and Etam
Etam UK
Etam UK was a British women's, retail clothing brand owned by the French firm Etam Developement.The brand included a subsidiary called Tammy which specialized in clothing for girls in their early teens....
, of thongs for children as young as seven, due to their previous association with nude or erotic dancers. A spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch stated that he could list "at least 100 reasons why a young girl would want thong underwear." This controversy spawned a great deal of free publicity for Abercrombie, including a chain letter that received wide circulation. Media attention was drawn to the phenomenon when a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
primary head teacher
Head teacher
A head teacher or school principal is the most senior teacher, leader and manager of a school....
voiced concerns that pupil
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s as young as 10 were wearing thong underwear to school.
See also
- Beachwear
- BikiniBikiniThe bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
- Bikini variantsBikini variantsThe bikini has spawned many stylistic variations. A regular bikini is defined as a two pieces of garments that cover the groin and buttocks at the lower end and the breasts in the upper end. Some bikinis can offer a large amount of coverage, while other bikinis provide only the barest minimum....
- BodysuitBodysuitIn clothing, a bodysuit, body-liner, or body is a unisex form-fitting garment that covers the torso. The bodysuit often has sleeves and varying collars. A bodysuit is distinguished from the similar leotard by the use of snaps or hooks at the crotch. A bodysuit may be worn as a top for the smooth...
- Dance beltDance beltA dance belt is a kind of specialized undergarment commonly worn by male ballet dancers to support their genitals. Most are similar in design to thong underwear....
- KowpeenamKowpeenamKowpeenam or Langot is a simple garment worn by saints of India. The devotees of lord Shiva were said to be wearing Kowpeenam. Even lord Murugan of Palani is said to be wearing this garment....
- FundoshiFundoshiis the traditional Japanese undergarment for adult males, made from a length of cotton. Before World War II, the fundoshi was the main form of underwear for Japanese adult males...
- G-stringG-stringA G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
- JockstrapJockstrapA jockstrap is an undergarment designed for supporting the male genitalia during sports or other vigorous physical activity...
- Social impact of thong underwear
- Speedo (suit style)
- SwimsuitSwimsuitA swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...
- Thong SongThong Song"Thong Song" is a 2000 song recorded by Sisqó of Dru Hill for the Def Soul imprint of Def Jam. The song was issued as the second single from Sisqó's Unleash the Dragon LP in February 2000, and was its second biggest hit....
- UndergarmentUndergarmentUndergarments or underwear are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by bodily secretions and discharges, shape the body, and provide support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional...
- Underwear as outerwearUnderwear as outerwearWearing underwear as outerwear is a fashion trend. Current examples include the display of thongs and bras in women's clothing, and the display of underpants under low-slung pants in men...