The social impact of thong underwear has been covered extensively in the media, ranging from bans on wearing thongs to thongs for children.
The social impact of thong underwear has been covered extensively in the media, ranging from bans on wearing thongs to thongs for children.
Monica Lewinsky gave evidence during the Lewinsky scandal that she was flirting with Bill Clinton in Leon Panetta's office, and that she lifted her jacket to show him the straps of her thong underwear above her pants. [1] Some of the news media in America used thong underwear as a metonym for smut in the Starr Report. [2] According to feminist commentator Carrie Lukas, Lewinsky "with her thong-snapping seduction, forever changed the image of the D.C. junior staffer from aspiring policy wonk to sexual temptress." [3]
Marketing analysts Marian L. Salzman, Ira Matathia and Ann O'Reilly observed in the book Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence and Create Demand that thong brands are riding on the wide media coverage of thongs to create buzz. [4] Photographer Lauren Greenfield wrote in her book Girl Culture, "Understanding the dialectic between the extreme and the mainstream – the anorexic and the dieter, the stripper and the teenager who bares her midriff or wears a thong – is essential to understanding contemporary feminine identity." [5]
In 2004, political commentator Cedric Muhammad wrote in essay The Thong versus the Veil, "We wondered at the end of the day, of the two groups of women most prominently featured on American TV these days, who gains more respect for their intellect and spirit – the Afghan woman who is so totally veiled that you can't even see her eyes or the Black woman in the R&B and Hip-Hop video who dances while wearing a bikini and thong?" [6]
The rise of thong usage has been asserted by Christian minister Oneil McQuick to be linked to a rise of sexualization in society, [7] and by Christian writer Philo Thelos to be linked to a rise in the desire to go unclothed. [8]
When discussing the trend of wearing thongs, Christian writer Sharon Daugherty commented in her book What Guys See That Girls Don't: Or Do They? that the fashion industry "may have changed the mindset of our society". [9] This was followed by her observation that "the whole idea of wearing so that no panty line or bumps can show isn't substantiated" and that "the thong was created by fashion designers to arouse sexual thoughts". [10]
In 1999 a Miami University male professor was banned from using the school's recreation center because he refused to stop wearing thong swimwear. The professor challenged the school in court. [11] In 2000 a high school principal in Salinas, California was in the center of a variety of controversies including bans on certain types of clothing to the extent that "thong panties were unofficially banned." One student alleged that she was given a dress-code violation note for wearing a thong. [12] [13] This story made national headlines in the United States. [12] [14]
In 2002, a female high school vice principal in San Diego physically checked up to 100 female students' underwear [15] 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. [16] In her defense, the vice principal said the checks were for student safety and not specifically because of the wearing of thongs. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] In 2003, the head teacher of a British primary school voiced her concern after learning that female students as young as 10 were wearing thong underwear to school. This incident led to a media debate about the appropriateness of thong underwear marketed to young girls. [22]
In 2003 the University of Victoria Law School in Canada briefly put the school logo on thongs, but quickly pulled them from sale after controversy sprang up. [23] In the mid-2000s the dress code for St. Ambrose Academy, a Roman Catholic middle school and high school in Madison, Wisconsin, specifically described swimsuits with "thong-cut legs" as inappropriate. [24] In the same decade Dixon High School in Dixon, California had a dress code which specified that all undergarments – specifically listing thongs, along with bras and briefs – must be covered. [25]
In 2012 the 4-H program at the University of California specifically forbade "string, thong or crochet" swimsuits for women. For men, the dress code specified "swim trunks only (no shorts, cut-off pants, or Speedos)." [26] A similar policy by Virginia FCCLA bans "skimpy bikini or thong type suits" for women and specifies "swim trunks" for men ("no speedos"). [27]
In 2001, Vicky Botwright, then 16th seeded in women's squash circuit and dubbed the "Lancashire Hot Bot", was prohibited by the Women's International Squash Players Association (WISPA) from wearing a thong and a sports bra in the British Open Championships. [28] Initially, WISPA was "suggesting a thong was inappropriate", but in the end decided no formal ruling was needed against thongs. Botwright stated that "we should be able to wear skimpy clothing if we want to, as some of the more conventional outfits we wear can be quite restrictive..." [29]
In 2004, Alexander Putnam competed in the London Marathon in a green thong and painted as a tropical tree to protest against logging in Congo. [30]
Female bodybuilders in America are prohibited from wearing thong or T-back swimsuits if contests are being filmed for television, otherwise they are allowed to do so. [31]
It is difficult to point out exactly when younger girls, or those under eighteen years old, started to wear thongs. However, in 1997, an owner of a Fort Worth, Texas boutique noted that many high school girls wore thongs under their dresses when attending prom. [32] By 1999, there is at least one documented case of middle-school aged girls wearing them. [33] The popularity of thongs among young girls was to an extent that thong sales for tweens, or those between 7 and 12 years old, totaled about $400,000 in 2000 but increased to about $1.6 million for 2003. [34]
The 2000s saw a rise in the popularity of thongs among younger girls, who have been dubbed "thong feminists" by comedian Janeane Garofalo. According to child therapist Ron Taffel, when 12-year-old girls wear a thong, "it's not about rebellion against adults"; rather, he says that the thong is a "statement to other kids that they are part of this very, very intense, powerful second family of peer group and pop culture that is shaping kids' wants, needs and feelings." [35] Developmental psychologist Deborah Tolman does not agree that all young girl thong-wearing is sexualized; she states that "[k]ids are engaged with their sexuality at younger ages, but they're not necessarily sexually active", and she says tween thong wearers may be facing "...social pressure to look sexy – without crossing over the murky line into seeming slutty". [35]
Understanding the risqué nature of the underwear, in order to buy thongs, girls adopted a number of strategies. At times, after a bit of prodding, some would receive permission from their parents to buy and wear them. While others did not receive parental permission to purchase thong underwear, they would do so anyway by using their allowance. [36] Knowing that some parents who discovered that their daughters bought thongs without permission would throw the underwear in the garbage, many girls would try their best to hide the underwear during laundry days. [37]
The growing popularity of thongs among young girls strongly affected the environment of many middle and high schools across the Western world. By 2004, in at least one American high school, thong exposure was common enough that one student stated that it happened "all the time. Several times a day." [38] Whether revealed accidentally or purposefully, the underwear became a ubiquitous part of many middle and high schools with girls exposing their thongs walking to school, [39] sitting down in class [40] or in the cafeteria, [41] bending over at a locker, [42] and even while participating at school-sanctioned functions such as dances. [43] The look became so ubiquitous that when describing teenage actress Keira Knightley, who was described as wearing "baggy trousers hanging off her hips to expose a flash of pink thong," the Evening Standard stated that Knightley "look[ed] like any teenager." [44]
With thongs entrenched as a must-have item by the mid-2000s, some girls experienced strong pressure to wear them. In 2005, at one American high school, a high school first-year student, who did not like thongs, noted that she might have been the only student in her physical education class who was not wearing them. As one of the few who did not, while changing in the locker, another student teased her and called her "Granny" due to her decision not to wear thongs. [45] A thirteen-year-old living in Canada, writing in 2006, expressed similar frustrations; some of her peers made fun of her because she did not wear thongs. Adding insult to injury, she noted that her friends could wear thongs but she could not. [46]
While sometimes the pressures to wear thongs were explicit, at other times they may have been purely in one's head. A high school first-year student living in the United States, writing in 2006, noted the mental difficulties of changing in a locker room where most of the girls wore thongs. While this particular student did not note being explicitly teased by her peers, she imagined that other girls were doing so behind her back. This feeling played a role in her desire to ask her mother for thongs. [47]
Entertainment media would pick up on the trend. In one particularly infamous episode from the show Degrassi: Next Generation , the teenaged character Manny Santos dropped her innocent look by adopting a more risqué fashion sense that showcased an exposed rhinestone-studded blue thong over low-rise jeans. The episode may have been inspired by a real-life decision made by her real-life actress Cassie Steele. In an effort "to be taken seriously and be mature and more sexy", the then-teenager purposefully revealed a whale tail during rehearsal. Afterwards, the aforementioned episode would be written and produced. [48]
Degrassi was not the only form of media to showcase the trend. Kaley Cuoco, portraying 17-year-old high school student Bridget, would reveal her thong in multiple scenes for the premiere episode of the 2002 show 8 Simple Rules . When teased, Bridget, perhaps echoing the sentiments of many girls her age, defiantly noted that she is part of the "thong generation." [49] In the 2003 film Thirteen , Evie Zamora, played by actress Nikki Reed, is portrayed as a free-spirited but troubled middle school student. One key aspect of Evie's behavior is her tendency to expose her thong underwear. Evan Rachel Wood, who portrayed fellow middle school student Tracy Freeland, befriended Evie and quickly adopted her exposed thong habit. Tracy's appropriation of this behavior is an important part of her character's transformation from being a mild-mannered honor student to a troubled teenager who steals and does drugs. [50]
The trend has been attributed to pop idols like Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. [51] In 2002 Abercrombie & Fitch released a line of thong underwear targeted for girls ages 10–16, though critics pointed out that children as young as seven could fit one of the thongs. [52] [53] [54] A spokesman for A&F, Hampton Carney, stated that he could list "at least 100 reasons why a young girl would want thong underwear." [53] This controversy spawned a great deal of free publicity for Abercrombie, including a chain letter that received wide circulation. [55] In 2007 British retailer Argos removed from sale its G-string panties and padded bras for nine-year-old girls, following negative response from the public. [56] In Japan, photobooks and DVDs of underaged girls in T-back thongs have become popular as "T-back Junior Idols", a phenomenon which has been criticised as a disguised form of child pornography. [57]
A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering the intergluteal cleft and some or all of the buttocks. The size of the top and bottom can vary, from bikinis that offer full coverage of the breasts, pelvis, and buttocks, to more revealing designs with a thong or G-string bottom that covers only the mons pubis, but exposes the buttocks, and a top that covers only the areolae. Bikini bottoms covering about half the buttocks may be described as "Brazilian-cut".
A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries.
Japanese school uniforms are modeled on European-style naval uniforms. They were first used in Japan in the late 19th century, replacing the traditional kimono. Today, school uniforms are common in many Japanese public and private schools. The Japanese word for this type of uniform is seifuku (制服).
Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened version of trousers, which cover the entire leg, but not the foot. Shorts are typically worn in warm weather or in an environment where comfort and airflow are more important than the protection of the legs.
A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, women, and children. A swimsuit can be described by various names, some of which are used only in particular locations or for particular types of suit, including swimwear, bathing suit, bathing attire, swimming costume, bathing costume, swimming suit, swimmers, swimming togs, bathers, cossie, or swimming trunks, besides others.
A dress code is a set of rules, often written, with regard to what clothing groups of people must wear. Dress codes are created out of social perceptions and norms, and vary based on purpose, circumstances, and occasions. Different societies and cultures are likely to have different dress codes, Western dress codes being a prominent example.
Áo dài is a modernized Vietnamese national garment consisting of a long split tunic worn over silk trousers. It can serve as formalwear for both men and women. Áo translates as shirt and dài means "long". The term can also be used to describe any clothing attire that consists of a long tunic, such as nhật bình.
Sagging is a manner of wearing trousers that sag so that the top of the trousers or jeans is significantly below the waist, sometimes revealing much of the wearer's underpants.
Whale tail is the Y-shaped rear portion of a thong or G-string when visible above the waistline of low-rise pants, shorts, or skirts that resembles a whale's tail. Popularized by a number of female celebrities including Amy Dumas, Christina Aguilera, Victoria Beckham, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, displaying whale tails became popular in the early 2000s, together with the popularity of low-rise jeans and thong panties; but quickly waned within the decade.
Sexualization is the emphasis of the sexual nature of a behavior or person. Sexualization is linked to sexual objectification, treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. According to the American Psychological Association, sexualization occurs when "individuals are regarded as sex objects and evaluated in terms of their physical characteristics and sexiness." "In study after study, findings have indicated that women more often than men are portrayed in a sexual manner and are objectified. In addition, a narrow standard of physical beauty is heavily emphasized. These are the models of femininity presented for young girls to study and emulate."
Briefs are a type of short, form-fitting underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where material extends down the thighs. Briefs have various different styles, usually with a waistband attached to fabric that runs along the pelvis to the crotch and buttocks, and are worn by both men and women. Swim briefs are a variation used as swimwear.
Trousers are a staple of historical and modern fashion. Throughout history, the role of trousers is a constant change for women. The first appearance of trousers in recorded history is among nomadic steppe-people in Western Europe. Steppe people were a group of nomads of various different ethnic groups that lived in the Eurasian grasslands. Archaeological evidence suggests that men and women alike wore trousers in that cultural context. However, for much of modern history, the use of trousers has been restricted to men. This norm was enforced in many regions due to social customs and laws. There are, however, many historical cases of women wearing trousers in defiance of these norms such as the 1850s women rights movement, comfort, freedom of movement, fashion, disguise, attempts to evade the gender pay gap, and attempts to establish an empowered public identity for women. Especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, the customs and laws restricting this manner of dress have relaxed dramatically, reflecting a growing acceptance and normalisation of the practice.
Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled or damaged by bodily excretions, to lessen the friction of outerwear against the skin, to shape the body, and to provide concealment or support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as undergarments, while others, such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts, are appropriate both as underwear and outerwear. If made of suitable material or textile, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimwear, and some undergarments are intended for sexual attraction or visual appeal.
The thong is a garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions.
Low-rise is a style of clothing designed to sit low on, or below, the hips. The style can also be called lowcut, hipster, or hip-hugger, and can apply to garments worn by males or females. The term can be applied to all garments that cover the wearer's crotch area, including trousers, jeans, shorts, skirts, panties, briefs, bikinis, pantyhose, and tights.
Wearing underwear as outerwear is a fashion trend popularized by celebrities, sports and media. It began as a practical and comfortable variation of clothing, such as the T-shirt and the sleeveless shirt, but later evolved into provocative, controversial fashion statements. 21st century versions include the display of thongs and bras in women's clothing, and the display of underpants under low-slung pants in men. Wearing underwear as outerwear has historical antecedents in the display of undergarments in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
School uniform is a practice that dates to the 16th century in England. Charity schools such Christ's Hospital, founded in 1552 in London, were among the first schools to use a uniform for their students. The earliest documented proof of institutionalised use of a standard academic dress dates back to 1222 when the Archbishop of Canterbury ordered wearing of the cappa clausa.
No Pants Day is an annual event in various countries that became more widely celebrated in the 2000s. It is most often observed on the first Friday in May and involves publicly wearing only undergarments on the lower part of the body, not nudity. Except for making people laugh, the holiday typically serves no other purpose or agenda, but some organizers later used it to raise social issues.
In Western society, since the 1960s, there has been a slow but steady trend towards bralessness among a number of women, especially millennials, who have expressed opposition to and are giving up wearing bras. In 2016, Allure magazine fashion director Rachael Wang wrote, "Going braless is as old as feminism, but it seems to be bubbling to the surface more recently as a direct response to Third Wave moments like #freethenipple hashtag campaign, increased trans-visibility like Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair cover ... and Lena Dunham's show Girls."
A granny dress is a long one-piece gown or dress that was popular with young women in the United States and Britain from the mid-1960s to the 1970s. Granny dresses were loose-fitting and often printed with light or pastel colours, giving them a vaguely Victorian-era feel.
