Social Impact of Thong Underwear - Campus Controversies

Campus Controversies

Thongs in schools and colleges have generated controversies and debates. The responses of various schools have been distinct and varied. The dress code for St. Ambrose Academy, a Roman Catholic middle school and high school in Madison, Wisconsin, specifically addresses swimsuits with "thong-cut legs" as inappropriate. At Dixon High School in Dixon, California, the dress code specifies that all undergarments – specifically listing thongs, along with bras and briefs – must be covered. University of Victoria Law School briefly put the school logo on thongs, but quickly pulled them from sale after controversy sprung up.

In 1999 a Miami University male professor was banned from using the school's recreation center because he refused to stop wearing thong swimwear. The professor challenged the school in court. In 2000 a Salinas High School principal was in the center of a variety of controversies including bans on clothing to the extent that "thong panties were unofficially banned." One student alleged that she was given a dress-code violation note for wearing a thong. This story made national headlines in the United States.

In 2002, a female high school vice principal in San Diego physically checked up to 100 female students' underwear as they entered the school for a dance, with or without student permission, causing an uproar among students and some parents and eliciting an investigation by the school into the vice principal's conduct. In her defense, the vice principal said the checks were for student safety and not specifically because of the wearing of thongs. In 2003, the head teacher of a British primary school voiced her concern after learning that female students as young as 10 were wearing thong underwear to school. This incident led to a media debate about the appropriateness of thong underwear marketed to young girls.