Discover

Styles of stringed waistwear

Back		Sides
		Strap	Tie
G-string	T, string	Underwear - string back strap sides.png	Underwear - string back
Thong	triangle	Underwear - triangle back	Underwear - triangle back
	V	Underwear - V back

A 'G-string' (alternatively 'gee-string' or 'gee string') is a type of 'thong' is 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 both men and women.
The two terms ''G-string'' and ''thong'' are often used interchangeably; however, they can refer to distinct pieces of clothing: The primary difference between the two garments is that a g-string has less material between the legs and buttocks, hence a string-like appearance. Variants of the G-string include the ''V-string'', a thong with a triangle "v" of cloth at the top of the rear, and the ''T-string'', where a single string passes around the waist and between the legs, forming a T between the buttocks. See also the general article on thongs.

Contents

Origin

Etymology

Commercialization

Popularization in the Western culture

C-string

Male wear

Attitudes

In other languages

See also

Sources and external links

Origin

G-string or thong is probably the earliest form of clothing known to 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 2000-plus-year-old Japanese fundoshi, these early garments were made with the male genitalia in mind.
Although developed for the male anatomy by primitive peoples, in the modern West thongs are more often worn by females. They first gained mainstream popularity as swimwear in South America, particularly in Brazil in the 1970s. In Brazil, where the buttocks ("bunda" in Brazilian Portuguese slang) are especially admired and emphasized; it was originally a style of thong swimsuit whose rear area became so narrow that it would disappear between the wearer's buttocks. Female strippers and erotic dancers in the west have been wearing G-strings and thongs during their routines since the mid-1920s.

Etymology

The origin of the term "G-string" is obscure. The term is first attested in writings by Americans in the late 1800s describing the loincloth of Philippines natives. In the "Philippines Islands" entry in the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, the term "geestring" is used. Others say the term is derived from the G-string on a musical instrument, but it may just be an abbreviation of "groin-string".^[1] The origin of the word "thong" is from the Old English ''thwong'',a flexible leather cord.
There are a number of intermediate styles between full rear coverage and a string rear. Like the tanga, the g-sting is essentially a bottom covering that covers the pubis and leaves the buttocks bared; The term g-string is generally used when the vertical strap in the rear of a thong is no wider than a string^[1]. Other similar styles include the brazilian, rio, and t-back. The naming of the intermediate cuts is debatable, and different vendors use the words somewhat interchangeably.

Commercialization

Popularization in the Western culture

Attitudes to wearing G-strings vary, as is usual with highly revealing clothing. By the late 1980s, the design (for females) had made its way into most of the Western world, thong and G-string underwear became more and more popular through the 1990s. As of 2002, thong underwear was one of the fastest-selling styles among women. One advantage attributed to the wearing of thong underwear is that no visible panty line can be seen even under a thin, light-colored or skin-tight garment. Although the popularity of wearing thong underwear in America has taken off only in the last decade, in Europe it has been commonplace for many more years.

C-string

There are many variations of G-strings. An example of one variation is the C-string; as narrow as a thong 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. ^[3] 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 lines that would have been left by the side straps of even a g-string.

Male wear

In the USA and Europe, the wear of G-strings or thongs by men, was once mainly limited to the dance belt, the posing pouch and the realm of male strippers. 4% of men polled prefer thongs.^[4] They are also used by men who don't want visible brief lines, the popular male wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Kurt Angle don't want visible brief lines under their wrestling suits.

Attitudes

G-string underwear is not without its own controversies. In 2002 American clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, known for their racy catalogues, launched a line of thong underwear marketed specifically at girls aged 13 to 16 years.^[5] Several consumer advocacy groups objected to marketing of the thong, claiming they are too sexually suggestive.
Some people in the State of Virginia attempted to pass a law forbidding the exposure of underwear.^[6] But it did not become law.
Some county and municipal governments in the United States have passed legislation forbidding G-string swimsuits in public, but most others do not have a problem with sunbathers in thongs, so long as they don't engage in unsavory activities.

In other languages

In Australia only the terms ''G-string'' and ''G-banger'' are used for both G-strings and thongs, for ''thongs'' are a type of rubber footwear.
Many languages borrow the English word ''string'' to refer to this kind of underwear, usually without the ''G''. Another common name is ''tanga''. A frequent metaphor, especially in South America, is dental floss as in Spanish ''hilo dental'' or Portuguese ''fio dental''; a Puerto-Rican Spanish slang term, used by Reggaeton artists, is ''gistro''.
Sometimes the bareness of the bottocks is emphasised as in Spanish ''colaless'', sometimes the T-like shape of the back. In Eastern Asia the G-string is widely known as T-back. The sound has been causing some confusion among Japanese speakers with a tea bag, which is also common in today's Japanese dictionaries. 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''). In other dialects of the Chinese language, the G-string is commonly called ''dingziku'' (丁字褲) which literally means "丁 character pants" (or roughly, "T-letter pants").
In Lithuanian it is "siaurikės", Italian "perizoma", in Turkish "ipli külot" ("stringed underpants"), in colloquial Dutch it is jocularly known as "reetveter" ("ass-lace"), in Bulgarian as "prashka" (slingshot).
In Israel the G-string is called "Khutini" (חוטיני), from the word Khut, which means String .

See also

★ Thong

★ Jockstrap

★ Loincloth

★ Girdle

★ Whale tail

Sources and external links

1. http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/culotte_SS/g-string_S/g-string.html
2. http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/culotte_SS/g-string_S/g-string.html
3. Newspaper articles about the C-string: The Sun [1], Daily Mail
[2]
4. FreshPair news release
5. Abercrombie's sexy undies 'slip'

6. Tighten Your Belts, Virginia