Whale tail: Difference between revisions
The undertow (talk | contribs) →Cultural phenomenon: while this is true, what does it have to do with 'whale tail?' |
Aditya Kabir (talk | contribs) this baby went with the bathwater |
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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 1980's, Ms. [[Monica Lewinsky|Lewinsky]], [[Britney Spears]] and [[Paris Hilton]] transformed women's panties into a provocative garment intended for public display." It also quoted web sites chronicling bad celebrity thong moments, including "Ginger Spice in a fiery red thong with the tag hanging out — CLASSY!" reads a caption on whale-tail.com.<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> |
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 1980's, Ms. [[Monica Lewinsky|Lewinsky]], [[Britney Spears]] and [[Paris Hilton]] transformed women's panties into a provocative garment intended for public display." It also quoted web sites chronicling bad celebrity thong moments, including "Ginger Spice in a fiery red thong with the tag hanging out — CLASSY!" reads a caption on whale-tail.com.<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> |
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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 (beating out "[[muffin top]]", the bulge of flesh hanging over the top of [[low-rise jeans]]).<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> Ever since references to the whale tail as 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> [[Sisqó]], the [[R&B]] artist, rhapsodized about whale tails in his ''[[Thong Song]]''. |
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 (beating out "[[muffin top]]", the bulge of flesh hanging over the top of [[low-rise jeans]]).<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> Ever since references to the whale tail as 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> [[Sisqó]], the [[R&B]] artist, rhapsodized about whale tails in his ''[[Thong Song]]''.<ref name=NYT/> |
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== Other uses == |
== Other uses == |
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Revision as of 15:14, 19 February 2008
An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
Whale tail is the waistband of a thong or g-string when visible above the waistline of low-rise pants, shorts, or a skirt creating a shape resembling a whale's tail.[1][2][3] A closely related exposure of underwear, where the it is exposed through the clothing, is called a visible panty line, or VPL.[4]
Cultural phenomenon
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.[1][2][3][4]
The increased popularity of low-rise jeans has led to increased exposure of the whale tails in the late 2000s. The phenomenon has been compared to the phenomenon of visible bra straps.[5][6] Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion writer of The Guardian, claimed that following pop stars in the hipster trousers gave rise to the "low-slung jeans, whale-tail G-string era".[7] 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 trend of exposing muffin tops and whale tails rising due to popularity of hipster jeans.[8]
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 made bras a public garment in the 1980's, Ms. Lewinsky, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton transformed women's panties into a provocative garment intended for public display." It also quoted web sites chronicling bad celebrity thong moments, including "Ginger Spice in a fiery red thong with the tag hanging out — CLASSY!" reads a caption on whale-tail.com.[9]
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 (beating out "muffin top", the bulge of flesh hanging over the top of low-rise jeans).[10] Ever since references to the whale tail as an underwear phenomenon has shown up in serious mainstream news media.[11][12] Sisqó, the R&B artist, rhapsodized about whale tails in his Thong Song.[9]
Other uses
The term whale tail has been used to refer to large rear spoilers on the trunk lid of a Porsche.[13]
See also
Footnotes and references
- ^ a b Double-Tongued Dictionary
- ^ a b Urban Dictionary
- ^ a b Reduplicatives on Celebrate Today
- ^ a b Underwear exposed over trousers, Art of Dress Designing, Global Media, ISBN 8190457578
- ^ Gross anatomy: Girls, TimeOut NewYork
- ^ Fairwell to fashion faux pas of summer, Star Tribune
- ^ Jess Cartner-Morley, One-piece in our time, Guardian
- ^ Jess Cartner-Morley, No time to waist, FairFax Digital quoting the Guardian
- ^ a b Alex Kczynski, Now You See It, Now You Don't, New York Times
- ^ "Words of the Year 2005" (PDF). American Dialect Society. 2006-01-06.
- ^ CNN Transcripts of Showbiz Tonight
- ^ CNN transcripts of The Situation Room
- ^ "Porsche 911 History". edminds.com.