‘Nightmare clothing’: Tweet sparks debate over G-string undies

Few things can still divide women like the comfort – or lack thereof – of one particular underwear style – as one viral tweet has proven.

Few things can still divide women like the comfort – or lack thereof – of a thong or G-string.

For some, no other style of underwear will do. Ask other women, however, and the style is akin to a medieval torture device.

“They burrow between ass cheeks, they twist, or they’re tugged to one side over the course of the day,” one reformed wearer declared in a 2017 piece for Cosmopolitan.

“They force you to retreat to the bathroom to readjust, or lurk in a hallway until you think no one’s coming and then plunge your hand into your pants to fish for the offending section until a passer-by with weirdly silent shoes floats past, delivering side-eye.”

One Twitter user, named Emily, proved just how contentious an issue it remains when she deemed thongs “the most sensory nightmare piece of clothing that has ever existed” in a now-viral thread on Saturday.

“Are women ever going to admit that thongs are the most sensory nightmare piece of clothing that has ever existed or are they still going to look me in my eyeballs and say ‘I actually find them more comfortable’,” she wrote.

are women ever going to admit that thongs are the most sensory nightmare piece of clothing that has ever existed or are they still going to look at me in my eyeballs and say “i actually find them more comfortable.”

— emily (@emilykmay) October 7, 2023

“How. How can they be more comfortable. If they were the most comfortable, all of our grandmothers would be wearing them. Not granny panties.

“This is *not* slut shaming idgaf if you wear a thong, granny panties, or go commando, I just do not understand the ‘comfortable thong’ argument.”

A Twitter user has sparked an age-old underwear debate: are thongs comfortable or a ‘sensory nightmare’? Picture: Instagram

The response was, predictably, mixed – and huge, garnering more than 3800 replies and 182.1k likes – with a number of women identifying themselves as kindred spirits.

“I once went a whole day before realising I was wearing my thong sideways. I think that was the last time,” one responded.

“I find it hard to believe as well, and yet many women feel this way and I know they have no reason to lie. Truly irreconcilable perspectives lol,” a second wrote.

To which Emily replied: “I thought as teens it was an unspoken lie!!!! Like we were all pretending together!”

For those who are pro-thong, fit is an important – if not the most important – factor.

Perhaps, a number of respondents suggested, those who loathe the knickers are simply not wearing them properly.

“I think the people who find them uncomfortable jam them into their booty. I think people who find them comfortable have them essentially hover over the crack, so you really don’t feel them,” one woman suggested.

Kim Kardashian is evidently a fan. Picture: kimkardashian/Instagram

Dua Lipa has been a big proponent of the exposed thong trend. Picture: Instagram

“A thong that’s too small feels terrible, if you size up it’s looser it’s very comfortable,” another said.

To which a third agreed: “My mom (sic) told me to always size up one level from your normal size. Gamechanger. I usually wear a medium so I buy larges in thongs and they are soo comfy and still fit perfectly fine.”

Other styles – ala Bridget Jones’s famous granny panties – ‘just feel like a diaper and bunch up’. Picture: Supplied

“Honestly unless they’re too tight, I can’t even tell they’re there … Bikini/cheeky cut [underwear] just feel like a diaper and bunch up,” another commented.

“Look, if you got some significant booty, thongs are often more comfortable. Most other underwear besides girlie boxer briefs have no option but to wedgie.”

While their popularity has ebbed and flowed over the years, British department store M&S reported in May it had seen sales go up since 2021, particularly among younger shoppers, thanks to the return of the low-rise jean, and with it, the exposed thong (or “whale tail”) trend.

Sometimes called a “longhorn”, the sartorial decision involves when the strings of the thong peak out above the waistband of the pants – and this year has been embraced by the likes of Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber and Kim Kardashian.