Male Antagonists, Thongs, and Gender Policing

Most North Americans do not think of thongs as ‘men’s’ underwear. Survey data does not recognize thongs for men in its data analytics, where it does so for women (e.g., Mintel Solutions, 2018). Thongs are advertised as a prominent fixture of women’s underwear and lingerie, but not men’s (Mintel Solutions, 2018). Thongs are therefore a clearly gendered form of underwear. In addition, representations of men in thongs typically operate to police gender norms; they ridicule and demean the men they depict. Kimmel and Mahler (2003) argue that crises around successful performances of masculinity can be connected to lethal violence in and between men. The reverence ascribed to maintaining boundaries in men’s dress practices serves to reinforce a hierarchical distinction between behaviors and characteristics perceived as masculine or feminine. This paper examines two films that demonstrate how men’s dress practices are policed through social derision and abuse that is directed toward the male antagonists who wear thongs, which thereby reinforces norms of masculine behaviour. The paper uses hegemonic and hybrid masculinity theories as a lens for discussing how the violent reactions to these characters works to preserve a hegemonic gender politics.