I would be willing to bet any amount of money that June Clever, mother of "Leave it to Beaver" wouldn't be caught dead wearing a thong. She would probably feel like a shameless hussy wearing such a sexy undergarment. It would not only cause embarrassment, it would be completely unacceptable. But today's woman -- that's a whole different story. Women today are more open about their sexuality. Wearing a thong makes us feel 'sexy' underneath our everyday clothes. It's that feeling of freedom that comes with wearing a thong, that has made it a "must" wear undergarment of the modern woman.
A thong is a very small piece of material worn by both men and women. A thong for women is designed differently, obviously. Men's thongs are made with a pouch in the front to accommodate covering the male genitalia. The basic design of a thong is a front piece for women, the pouch for men, that is attached to a strand of material that goes up between your butt cheeks and connects to a strand that goes around your waist.
Thongs have been around as early as the 1940's. But if you consider the clothing that the Sumo Wrestlers wear a thong, then the thong goes back about 1000 years.
In the 1940's thongs were worn strictly by models and were called posing straps. The models, who were mostly men, posed in art classes and were shy about displaying their manhood. Magazine publishers also had male models use them so they could sell semi-nude pictures without the fear of being arrested for distribution of obscene material.
Thongs really came out in 1945, when Bob Mizer, creator, and founder of the "Athletic Model Guild" began taking pictures of men in what looked like earlier styles of thongs. He had all kinds of male models -- some were college students and athletes who posed for art classes on their campuses. Some were soldiers coming home from World War II looking for quick way to make money while looking for steady work, as well as street wise men looking for a quick buck. Bob posed his models wearing these 'pouches' at various outdoor locations as well as rented studio sets. He had them pose as warriors, wrestlers, and in resting naturally positions. In many of the older photos, some of the models had broad brief like tan lines that contradicted with the look of the 'pouch.' Most of Bob's work was in black and white and was distributed as a monthly magazine, sold at art stores or distributed through the mail.
Mr. Mizer took chances with the style of his photography. The U.S. Post Office had him arrested in 1947 for distribution of obscene material and he was sentenced to prison. When he got out after six months on appeal, he resumed his art and it became popular among collectors, early body builders, and young wrestlers. Because of his diligence and determination, Mr. Mizer's actions opened the door for other artists and photographers of the male form. A colleague, Bruce of LA was another acknowledged photographer who worked with and studied the male form. Like Bob's models, Bruce's were innocent fresh faced country boys and well seasoned discharged soldiers from the wars. These young men needed money and Bob and Bruce needed models - it was a perfect fit.
Research shows that supply and demand was good in those days. Both Bob and Bruce kept their private lives free from public scrutiny which during those times had crusaders against activities considered un-American, un-Christian, and un-Manly.
One of Mizer's admirers took the posing strap design further. From 1958 to 1969, fishnet posing straps were developed as a solution for male models who wanted to be more daring. Rip Colt, of COLT Studios, began using fishnet straps in their earlier works to allow for more artistic freedom. In the past, thongs were also called Posing Straps, G-Strings, T-Backs, Au Naturel Tan Suit, Micro Suit and the Pouch. In fact, the thong has some fashionable ancestors.
One such relative is the loincloth, worn by some Native American tribes. Like all their other clothing, the loincloth was made out of buffalo skin leather. In African culture, many tribes used various materials for different uses. Some loincloths were made out of weaved cloth. If a tribe lived in a more arid location, then the loincloth was usually made of leaves. It should be noted, that Johnny Wisemuller, of Tarzan movies fame of the late 1930's, made this type of loincloth very popular.
Hawaiians and other Polynesian people are responsible for putting the color in loincloths. Some of the loincloths worn are part of traditional costumes. Some of the loincloths took on the broad string back look similar to the thong.
