Panties
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Panties are undergarments specifically made for females, however some men have been known to wear them as well. The term 'panties' was widely spread through American culture in the 1950's after women's underwear became more flashier and more colorful then traditional white cotton hygiene undergarments. In Europe, they are called Knickers.
Contents |
[edit] Uses
Today, the primary use of panties are for personal hygiene, the same as underwear. Some panties contain taller control tops, which act as a slight girdle for women wearing tapered shirts or high cut skirts.
Today, a wide variety of types of panties exist. High-cut, or control top, are cut higher on the hip to slightly pull in and shape the stomach. Bikini cut are cut traditionally, only the hip grips are small, like on those of beachwear. String Bikini are similar to bikini cut panties, but instead of a thin hip grip, they have a small string, which sometimes ties around the waist rather then being pulled up over them. Boyshorts describe a type of panty that has a lower, thicker cut of material around the hips, making them appear as shorts.
Thongs, a type of women's undergarment, generally does not fall into the panty category, but one of their own. Normal panties are sometimes called 'full back' due to having material covering the behind of the wearer.
[edit] History
Before recent times, women's underwear were made with the primary function of body contortion, helping a woman to maintain a shapely figure. In the 1940's, Fredericks of Hollywood opened shop in Hollywood and began selling corsets and lingerie with a much more fashionable appeal to them. These new styles of women's undergarments possessed a greater sexual feel, made even more glamorized by models such as Bettie Page.
Colorful, bright and flashier fashions of women's lingerie were becoming available. More fabrics such as satin, lace and silk began to be incorporated into the makeup of women's lingerie, making them more desired by females and more sensual to males.
[edit] Cultural Impact
During the 1960's, there was a stir among the old, traditional views of women's undergarments. Female anatomy was largely misunderstood due to censorship of the subject. Some feminist women were burning bras and proclaiming how traditional women's undergarments were created to impose control and implied order to the fairer sex. This movement caused many female to have a new outlook on how they viewed their undergarments.
Not long after, in the 1970's, a new chapter in women's taste opened up. In the 70's, women's undergarments became even more sexualized due to the sexual revolution going on at that time.
In today's society, panties have become an entity in themselves. Considered by some to be taboo, the lingerie industry has boomed. Lingerie chains such as Victoria's Secret hold annual modeling shows to showcase new varieties of panties and other assorted lingerie. Several non-nude, non-sexual websites survive off selling photo sets of women posing in panties and other lingerie.
In most modern cultures, panties have become a bit of a cultural icon describing sexual mischief. In Japan, panties (pantsu) are commonly depicted as being a highly flirtatious, naughty element to a female's persona. In fact, Japanese cellular phones with photo taking capabilities are required to make a loud 'clicking' noise to avoid candid photos being taken up girl's skirts, which are referred to as upskirts.
When a girl's skirt comes up high enough for a good, visible view of her panties to be seen, it is called a 'panty shot'. Many websites on the internet make profits from selling the aforementioned kind of pictures.
When a male or female wear clothes without undergarments, it is often referred to as 'going commando'.
[edit] References
- Probably the most famous panty shot in history, in 1954 Marilyn Monroe stood over a vent and had her skirt blow up for the film, The 7 Year Itch.
- In the 1980's movie 16 Candles, lead character Samantha loans her panties to her prom date so he can win a bet he has with his high school peers.
- In the Anime series, Ranma 1/2, the old letcher Happosai, is obsessed with panties and commonly looks up women's skirt and steals their panties.
- In Japan, the term fanservice is used to describe an incident where an attractive female (and occasionally male) show off their panties or other elements in a provocative manner.
