G-string 348643 225754564 2008-07-15T06:49:51Z 124.149.57.29 /* In other languages */ {{citations missing|date=May 2008}} {| class="wikitable right" align="right" |+ Styles of stringed waistwear !rowspan="2"| Back !!colspan="2"| Sides |- | align="center"| Strap || align="center"| Tie |- | align="center"| T-String | | [[Image:Underwear - string back, tie sides.png|Underwear - string back]] |- | align="center"| G-string | [[Image:Underwear - triangle back, strap sides.png|Underwear - triangle back]] | |- | align="center"| V-string | [[Image:Underwear - V back, strap sides.png|Underwear - V back]] |} A '''G-string''' (alternatively '''gee-string''' or '''gee string''') is a type of '''underwear''', 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 [[Hip (anatomy)|hips]], worn as [[swimsuit|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'',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. ==Origin== [[Image:g-string-example.jpg|thumb|right|220px|A woman wearing a minimal T-string that causes very few [[tan lines]].]] 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 [[Japan]]ese [[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 G-strings are more often worn by females. Female strippers and erotic dancers in the west have been wearing G-strings and thongs during their routines since the mid-1920s. They first{{fact|date=May 2008}} gained mainstream popularity as swimwear in [[South America]], particularly in [[Brazil]] in the 1970s. It was originally a style of [[Thong (clothing)|thong]] swimsuit whose rear area became so narrow that it would disappear between the wearer's [[buttocks]]. ==Etymology== 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 [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indians]] <ref>[[John Hanson Beadle]] (1877) "Western Wilds, and the Men who Redeem Them: An Authentic Narrative" [http://books.google.com/books?id=W-gTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA249&dq=geestring p. 249], digitized text at [[Google Books]]</ref>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 (music)|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 these times. <ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DF173CF937A3575BC0A967958260 "On Language; Ode on a G-String"], by William Safire, ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[August 4]], [[1991]]</ref> There are a number of intermediate styles between full rear coverage and a string rear. Like the [[Tanga (clothing)|tanga]], the G-string 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 G-string is no wider than a string.<ref name="G">[http://www.bikiniscience.com/costumes/culotte_SS/g-string_S/g-string.html G-string] at [http://www.bikiniscience.com Bikini Science]</ref> Other similar styles include the brazilian, rio, and T-back (T-string). 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]], G-string underwear was one of the fastest-selling [[Fashion|style]]s among women. One advantage attributed to the wearing of G-string underwear is that no visible [[panty line]] can be seen even under a thin, light-colored or skin-tight garment. One disadvantage is the constant wedgie feeling caused by the thong this is known as a thong wedgie. Although the popularity of wearing G-string 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 several variations on the G-string. An example of one variation is the 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.<ref> Newspaper articles about the C-string: The Sun [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007230396,00.html], Daily Mail [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=458818&in_page_id=1879]</ref> 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. Removing the side straps also eases donning and removal. ==In other languages== In [[Australia]] the terms ''G-string'' and ''thongs'' are both used but ''thong'' is also a kind 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 (clothing)|tanga]]''. A frequent metaphor, especially in South America, is [[dental floss]] as in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''hilo dental'' or Portuguese ''fio dental''. A [[Puerto Rico|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 language|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/丁字裤) which literally means "丁 character pants" (or roughly, "T-letter pants"). In [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] it is "siaurikės" ("narrows"), [[Italian language|Italian]] "perizoma", in [[Turkish language|Turkish]] "ipli külot" ("stringed underpants"), in [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] as "prashka" (slingshot), and in [[Korean language|Korean]] "티팬티" ("T panty"). In [[Israel]] the G-string is called "Khutini" ({{lang|he|חוטיני}}), from the word Khut, which means String. ==See also== * [[Thong (clothing)|Thong]] * [[Jockstrap]] * [[Loincloth]] * [[Girdle]] * [[Whale tail]] ==Notes== {{commons|Tanga|Thong}} {{commons|G-string}} {{reflist}} {{lingerie}} {{-}} {{men's undergarments}} [[Category:Lingerie]] [[Category:Swimsuits]] [[als:String (Kleidung)]] [[an:Tanga (ropa)]] [[bg:Стринг (гащета)]] [[ca:Tanga]] [[cs:Tanga]] [[da:G-streng]] [[de:String (Kleidung)]] [[eo:Tangao]] [[es:Tanga]] [[eu:Tanga]] [[fi:Stringit]] [[fr:String (lingerie)]] [[ga:Tiarach]] [[he:חוטיני]] [[io:Tangao]] [[it:Perizoma]] [[ja:Tバック]] [[nl:G-string]] [[no:G-string]] [[pl:Stringi]] [[pt:Tanga]] [[ru:Стринги]] [[sr:Танга]] [[sv:Stringtrosor]] [[th:จี-สตริง]] [[tr:G-string]] [[yi:זשי סטרינג]] [[zh:丁字褲]]