Oye Migente, being that yall Latinas, for the most part, are avid supporters of thongs here in America, I decided to put y�all on to some little known facts about thongs. Hopefully not only will Latinas find this article informative, but due to the title of this article alone, I'm know a whole bunch of y�all fellas are reading along too, so, maybe this will even make you think a little something.
Let me start this off by making one thing very clear, thongs were originally for MEN!!! No, your eyes aren�t messed up, that's right, I said men. The first " thongs " ever to be recorded in history were worn by Japanese Sumo Wrestlers way back in 1603. They have since become part of the traditional Sumo Wrestler wardrobe, but other than Sumo Wrestlers, thongs were not worn by other people until after World War II. It was at that time that thongs again became useful, only this time they were being used for a different purpose, and in a continent other than Asia.
The continent to which thongs had resurfaced was the good old U.S.A. However, it was STILL MEN wearing these thongs. Only thing was they weren�t called thongs, they were called "posing straps" at this point at in time. The reason they were given that name in particular is because men would wear these little �posing straps� while being painted or photographed nude for money. Due to the influx of men coming home from the war, and being that the job market had been under chaos since women were now working, the men posed in the nude for colleges, private artists, etc. so they could get some quick cash to feed their families. The reason behind using this �posing strap� was simply that the straps going around the gentleman�s leg and wedged in between his rear were so thin they could hardly be seen by the painter of photographer, yet the mans genitalia would be covered. The front of the "posing strap", which actually did the covering of the genitalia was commonly called the "flopper". In the USA a close cousin to the thong which has a couple of slight modifications is still commonly worn today by men. It�s called a �jock strap�, but is maily used by sports players.
Thongs, as we commonly refer to them today (underwear or bathing suit bottoms), actually didn�t start taking shape until the late 1940�s. They followed suit with brassieres, and became acceptable beach wear for women in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after stylish designer Jacques Helm introduced the world to his first pair of �bikini� (read: thong) bottoms for the beach. Thongs were then brought over the USA by Rudi Gernreich almost 20 years later in 1973.
Once introduced to the USA, this sparked a crazed war on beaches across the US, and even resulted in some places actually outlawing thong wearing in public altogether. The lawmakers really didn�t realize that they were not really pushing thongs out by doing this, but rather keeping thongs in. What I mean by this is that thongs still maintained a home here in the US. This time not as outerwear, but as underwear. Ever since then, thongs have flourished like nobody would have believed.
In today�s society of youthful styles and increasingly casual clothing, thongs are commonly used by American woman as underwear more so than as a bathing suit. These woman wear them for many reasons. Reasons such as:
1. Comfort (only if a thong is too small is it uncomfortable, so make sure you get your correct size)
2. Practicality
3. The feeling of sexiness
& THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL
4. �The flattering effect it has on any pair of pants,� or in other words, they wear them to reduce Visible Panty Lines (VPL�s) when wearing tight clothing.
Initially thongs were associated by the general public with strippers and the such, being that they used them to enhance their natural curves, but after the Starr Report indicated that Monica Lewinsky made the presidents temperature climb by showing him a glimpse of her thong, it seems that American women of all shapes, sizes, ages, colors, and creeds have come around to supporting or at least accepting thongs. I guess knowing that Monica was wearing a thong helped a couple of insecure women become secure instantaneously (lol). Granted your never going to please everyone (and there are still staunch thong haters I�m sure) but since 1996 alone (after the Starr Report), Victoria Secret�s thong sales have doubled, while all other panty lines have only gone up about 10%. Frederick�s of Hollywood, another household name, which has been open since 1981, and sells only thongs, sells about 40,000 thongs per week.
Furthermore, here in the USA thongs seem to be more than just underwear, but a craze. Last year there was a chart topping song by an artist named Sisqo was titled �The Thong Song� and both the music video and the song itself were pretty much based on a thongs sexiness. Also, as they say, �sex sells�, and lots of girls can be seen on TV, the Internet, magazines, etc. wearing thongs appearing to be �sexy�! In today�s market there are fancy thongs and thong jewelry that is available to the general public. Thongs are being made in almost every fabric, everything from candy to hemp is thongable. (lol) They can range in prices from $5 to $100, and are now available almost anywhere, no longer only at specialty stores. Thongs can be found just as easily in a Target Store as they can be found in a Saks Fifth Avenue. There are even specialty thongs like maternity thongs for pregnant women even exist.
Latinas have long since been thong wearers, so we get the props for getting the ball rolling, but in today�s world, thong wearers are not specifically confined to any specific race of people. Age would be a better classification of thong wearers as 90% of women 20 to 30 years old own and wear at least one pair of thongs. Thongs have since, like everything else, evolved from their initial �bikini� look, and now come in seven (7) different basic types. These types are:
1. THONG(Traditional) -provides slight back coverage, with a strip of fabric that is usually one-half-inch to one-inch thick.
2. G-STRING-very string-like, and is the skimpiest, offering bare minimum fabric coverage in the back.
3. T-BACK-has a �T� shape in the back of underwear.
4. RIO-more material in the back, and it is the opposite of a T-back, but still exposes a portion of the buttocks.
5. V-STRING-more coverage than a G-string, but has a V in the back. 6. 2/3 TONGA-most coverage of all thongs.
7. 1/3 TONGA-same as 2/3 Tonga, but with a little less coverage.
Webster�s Dictionary still does not have the word �thong� defined as underwear, despite it�s general acceptance here in the USA as such. In Webster�s opinion, a thong is only 1) �a strip, especially of leather or hide�, or 2) �a sandal held on the foot by a thong fitting between the toes and connected to a strap across the top or around the sides of the foot�. Likewise, Encyclopedia Britannica also makes no mention of thongs being anything worn as underwear or as a bottom. The only source which defines thongs as we commonly refer to them today is Encyclopedia Encarta. Encarta states thongs as �bikini or underwear bottom: a narrow piece of cloth or leather that goes between the legs and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as a bikini or as underwear.� Basically, two of the top three general information sources do not list thongs as what we use them for, pretty weird right? (lol)
Now that you know the history and past of our beloved �thongs� you can see just how far they have come in both usefulness and style. All you Latinas out there who supported thongs in it�s early days should give yourselves a pat on the back for helping with this sensation. I hope you were not only informed, but entertained during the course of this article and that you encourage someone you know to come read this article for themselves.