Thong (clothing) - Design and Variety - Women's Thongs - G-string

G-string

The G-string style consists of an elastic string, as opposed to a strip of fabric, connecting the front/pouch and the waistband at back. Since the mid-1920s, female strippers and exotic dancers in the West have been referring to the style of thongs they wore for their performances as G-strings. 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 American Indians 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 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 the time. The V-string and T-back are common types of G-string.