Whale tail
3776540
225486970
2008-07-13T23:14:59Z
Lezchik
7471207
/* Fashion phenomenon */
{{wiktionary}}
'''Whale tail''' is the waistband of a [[thong]] or [[g-string]] when visible above the waistline of [[low-rise jeans]], [[shorts]], or a [[skirt]] creating a shape resembling a [[whale]]'s [[tail]].<ref name=Dict01>[http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/whale_tail/ Double-Tongued Dictionary]</ref><ref name=Dict02>[[wikt:whale tail|Wiktionary]]</ref><ref name=Dict03>[http://www.celebratetoday.com/reduplicatives.html Reduplicatives] on Celebrate Today</ref> A closely related exposure of underwear is when it is seen ''through'' the clothing, which is called a [[visible panty line]] (VPL).<ref name=DressD>[http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=r_pUDOWOB7MC&pg=PT117&dq=%22whale+tail%22+underwear&ei=SKC2R-vYCJ3stAOZ9d2TBQ&sig=hcWMO2DhyuGJvdN2P6_eGWWUkfg#PPT117,M1 Underwear exposed over trousers], ''Art of Dress Designing'', Global Media, ISBN 8190457578</ref>
==Fashion phenomenon==
[[Image:Whaletail oc.jpg|thumb|170px|right|Whale tail, [[thong]] exposed from top of [[low-rise jeans]]]]
The whale tail is exposed above the trousers mostly when sitting or bending, or even permanently, depending on the style of trousers the style of underwear, and the way they are worn. The appearance of this Y-shaped fabric termed a whale tail may be deliberate or unintentional. Specially designed trousers like [[low-rise jeans]] or [[hip-huggers]] and higher cut thongs lead to greater exposure of the whale tail.<ref name=Dict01/><ref name=Dict02/><ref name=Dict03/><ref name=DressD/><ref>Leah Garchik, ''Daily Datebook'', [[San Francisco Chronicle]], page F8, 23 August 2004: A Hollister spy says the thong visible from the back of low-rise jeans is called a "whale tail."</ref> The increased popularity of low-rise jeans has led to increased exposure of the whale tails in the late 1990s. The phenomenon has been compared to the phenomenon of visible [[brassiere|bra]] straps.<ref>[http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/features/3316/gross-anatomy Gross anatomy: Girls], TimeOut NewYork</ref><ref>[http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/style/11464496.html Fairwell to fashion faux pas of summer], Star Tribune</ref> The rise in popularity of the whale tail began in the late 1990s, when a [[Gucci]] model revealed one on the catwalk, [[Melanie Blatt]] of [[All Saints (band)|All Saints]] was photographed flashing her thong as she got out of a taxi and [[Victoria Beckham]] suggested that her husband enjoyed wearing her G-strings around the home.<ref name=DMail>Liz Hull, [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=512321&in_page_id=1879&ito=1490 So long to the thong as women reject the chav look for big pants], The Daily Mail, 5th February 2008</ref>
The layered clothing trend of the early 2000s is led by the whale tail style that incorporates hip-hugger jeans, [[crop top]]s and high riding [[Thong (clothing)|thongs]] popularized by [[Britney Spears]] and [[Anna Kournikova]].<ref>[http://en.allexperts.com/e/0/2000s.htm 2000s Encyclopedia], AllExperts.com</ref> [[The Oregonian]], a [[Portland, Oregon]] newspaper, wrote in 2004 that whale tails had become a distraction in the campus.<ref>Tom Quinn, ''Updated Dress Code Addresses New Styles'', [[The Oregonian]], page 1, 24 June 2004:"Another distraction occurs when pants ride low in the back and expose thong underwear, a phenomenon students have dubbed whales' tails... If you a 16-year-old boy in an English class, and you’ve got three whales' tails in front of you, it’s pretty hard to concentrate on verbs."</ref>
Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion writer of ''[[The Guardian]]'', claimed that following [[pop star]]s in the hipster trousers gave rise to the "low-slung jeans, whale-tail G-string era".<ref>Jess Cartner-Morley, [http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/fashion/story/0,,2256765,00.html#article_continue One-piece in our time], Guardian</ref> She quoted Louise Hunn, editor of the British edition of ''[[InStyle]]'', as saying — "When a look goes too mainstream, people start wearing it badly. And then the really fashionable people run a mile" — while discussing the rising trend of exposing [[muffin top]]s and whale tails led by the popularity of hipster jeans.<ref>Jess Cartner-Morley, [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Fashion/No-time-to-waist/2005/04/07/1112815659629.html No time to waist], Sidney Morning Herald</ref> The New York Times claimed that the thong, with straps worn high over the hips, exposed by fashionable low-rise jeans and Juicy Couture sweat pants, became a public icon. It says, "Just as [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] made bras a public garment in the 1980s, Ms. [[Monica Lewinsky|Lewinsky]], Britney Spears and [[Paris Hilton]] transformed women's panties into a provocative garment intended for public display."<ref name=NYT>Alex Kczynski, [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/fashion/12THON.html Now You See It, Now You Don't], New York Times</ref><ref name=WTW>[http://whaletailworld.com/top-13-hottest-celebrity-whaletails/ Celebrity Whale Tail Thongs], Whale Tail World</ref> Early in 2000s, whale tails became common to celebrities, providing opportunities to the [[papparazzi]].<ref>Lindsay Clydesdale, [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/comment/columnists/lifestyle-columnists/lyndsay-clydesdale/2008/02/06/so-thong-and-thanks-for-nothing-86908-20310511/ So Thong, And Thanks For Nothing], Daily Records, 6 Februrary 2008</ref> [[Sisqó]], the [[R&B]] artist, rhapsodized about whale tails in his ''[[Thong Song]]''.<ref name=NYT/> [[Pornography|Pornographic]] film director Mike Metropolis made three films based on whale tails — ''Whale Tail'' (2005), ''Whale Tail I'' (2005) and ''Whale Tail II'' (2006) — with [[Mark Ashley]] in the lead.<ref>{{imdb|1597592|Mike Metropolis}}</ref>
[[Image:Southern right whale10.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tail]] of a [[whale]], the inspiration behind the coinage]]
In 2004, Louisiana State Representative Derrick Shepherd proposed House Bill 1626, also known as the ''Baggy Pants Bill'' that states, "It shall be unlawful for any person to appear in public wearing his pants below his waist and thereby exposing his skin or intimate clothing." Violators, according to the bill, are to be subject to three eight-hour days of community service and up to a fine of $175.<ref name=NBC>Bethany Thomas, [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4963512/ Memo to Britney: Lose the low-slungs], MSNBC, May 13, 2004</ref> In [[Opelousas, Louisiana]], wearing low slung pants that reveals a [[buttock cleavage]] or undergarments is considered a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and up to 6 months in prison.<ref name=NBC/> The trend of wearing whale tail revealing jeans started to dissipate in the late 2000s when American clothing designers started shifting focus from low-slung jeans and exposed midriffs to high-waisted trousers and cardigans.<ref name=NYT/> And while the thong represented 24 percent of the $2.5 billion annual market in women's underwear, it stopped growing since end of 2004.<ref name=NYT/> By 2007, accounted for only 12 per cent of the knicker market.<ref name=DMail/> [[Trinny Woodall]], presenter of BBC1's ''[[What Not to Wear (UK)|What Not to Wear]]'', described women who wore thongs showing above their trousers as "disgusting", while [[Jodie Marsh]], model and reality TV star, said "Showing your thong is a bit old now."<ref name=DMail>Liz Hull, [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=512321&in_page_id=1879&ito=1490 So long to the thong as women reject the chav look for big pants], The Daily Mail, 5th February 2008</ref> Additionally, Cartner-Morley claims that the whale tail and the muffin top, "twin crimes of modern fashion", has also led to a decline in the popularity of hipster jeans.<ref>Jess Cartner-Morley, [http://shopping.guardian.co.uk/clothes/story/0,,1445511,00.html Hang up your hipsters], The Guardian, March 25, 2005</ref> Jessica Kaminsky wrote in ''I Hate the Gym'', a lifestyle commentary, "I hate when girls let their "whale tails" creep out of their pants."<ref>Jessica Kaminsky, ''I Hate the Gym'', page 33, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, ISBN 0689873697</ref>
==Linguistic phenomenon==
The word was selected by the [[American Dialect Society]] (a group of linguists, editors, and academics) in January 2006 as the "most creative word" of 2005, winning by 44 votes. The other nominations for the year were [[muffin top]] (meaning the bulge of flesh hanging over the top of low-rider jeans, 25 votes), flee-ancée (meaning runaway bride [[Jennifer Wilbanks]], 15 votes), and pinosaur (meaning a very old [[Wollemi pine]] tree near Australia’s [[Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains]], 6 votes).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americandialect.org/Words_of_the_Year_2005.pdf|title=Words of the Year 2005|publisher=[[American Dialect Society]]|date=2006-01-06}}</ref> While discussing these new coinages Sali Tagliamonte, associate professor of linguistics at the [[University of Toronto]], observed that young women in [[North America]] were ahead of young men as influencers.<ref>John Harlow, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article786205.ece Hey exogals, girl talk is the future of English], The Sunday Times, January 8, 2006</ref> The use of the word to indicate an underwear phenomenon has shown up in serious mainstream news media,<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0601/16/sbt.01.html CNN Transcripts of Showbiz Tonight]</ref><ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0601/16/sitroom.03.html CNN transcripts of The Situation Room]</ref> sometimes in reference to the popstars who made the fashion trend popular.<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0702/17/cnr.05.html CNN transcripts of The CNN Newsroom]</ref> Wayne Glowka, member of the [[Georgia College and State University]] faculty and head of the New Word Committee of the Dialect Society, said about the happening, "Language is just going on its merry way, creating many new words. It's time for men to win something."<ref>Marsh Mercer, [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/298106_mercer03.html Word of year might be something manly], Seattle Pi, January 3, 2007</ref>
== Alternative meanings ==
[[Image:Trike.3.arp.jpg|thumb|160px|left|Whale tail on a Trike]]
[[Image:CarreraGT.jpg|thumb|170px|Whale tail on a Carrera GT]]
An earlier use of the term whale tail dates back to 1984, when a certain design of rear-end [[Spoiler (automotive)|spoilers]] were introduced to [[Porsche 911|Porsche 911 Carrera]]. Those horizontal tails were immediately dubbed as whale tails.<ref>Wayne R. Dempsey, [http://books.google.com/books?id=j7wq62vJtXoC&pg=PA198&lpg=PA198&dq=spoiler+whale+tail&source=web&ots=11LHhnoA8p&sig=hvXjGHcdKNxnymwrWlj5-gUr_qc 101 Projects for Your Porsche 911], Page 198, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, 2001, ISBN 0760308535]</ref> Since then the term has been used to refer to large rear spoilers on automobiles (including [[Ford Sierra|Ford Sierra RS]] and [[Cosworth]]<ref>Graham Robson, [http://books.google.com/books?id=rWYbYVnybTsC&pg=PA228&dq=spoiler+whale+tail&ei=rrm-R-GbCIHKtAPC0PWTBQ&sig=y2tFh5bo64xwUm2AztCWzfA6R8c The Illustrated Directory of Classic Cars], Page 228, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, 2001, ISBN 0760310491</ref>, [[Porsche Carrera GT]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edmunds.com/porsche/911/history.html|title=Porsche 911 History|publisher=edminds.com}}</ref> and [[Saab 900]]<ref>[http://www.saabce.com/Media/PDF/Whaletail_Restoration.pdf Classic Saab Whale Tail restoration], Saab Commemorative Edition Website</ref>), the rear of a [[Tricycle|trike]],<ref>[http://www.easycart.net/GenesGAllery/Hannigan_Trikes.html Hannigan Trikes], Easycart</ref> as well as other vehicles.
A certain type of [[bicycle]] handle is also known as whale tail, while other types of handle are the regular ''bicycle type'' and handles without a ''belly bar''. A whale tail style guide handle (U.S. Pat. No. 5993109) lacks the free ends that are characteristic of a bicycle style guide handle.<ref>[http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/7065837-description.html Guide handle for a manually steered machine], Patent Storm</ref>
A beach in [[Destin, Florida]] is also known as the Whale's Tail.
==See also==
*[[Buttock cleavage]]
*[[Crop top]]
*[[Hip-huggers]]
*[[Low-rise jeans]]
*[[Sagging (fashion)|Sagging]]
==Footnotes and references==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:2000s fashion]]
[[Category:Slang]]
[[Category:Neologisms]]
[[de:Whale Tail]]
[[es:Cola de ballena]]