# Should I let my 14-year old daughter get thong underwear? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 17, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436 "2010-04-17T05:15:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/21 "2010-04-17T09:38:44Z")
> [@ajb867](#): > > Do I even want to ask what VPL stands for? Visible Panty Line would be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/22 "2010-04-17T09:40:19Z")
VPL=Visible panty lines. I am old (40) and didn’t know this. My older co-worker knows, because her daughters (4) range in age between 15-23. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/23 "2010-04-17T10:38:23Z")
ignore ajb867, boyshorts are where it’s at. Especially black with the frilly. oooooh mmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/24 "2010-04-17T10:42:45Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > At age 14, she is trying to look sexy because that’s well into dating age. “Well into”?? The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/25 "2010-04-17T12:35:11Z")
The only reason I wear thongs is to make sure I have no VPL. If that’s her reasoning, and you can see that it’s an issue, then there’s no problem with it. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/26 "2010-04-17T12:53:19Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > “Well into”?? The mind boggles. I had a girlfriend at 9. My best friend did too. We weren’t particularly exceptional and that was 20 years ago. [http://www.teenhut.net/dating-relationships/13597-what-age-did-you-get-your-first-real-boyfriend-girlfriend-2.html](http://www.teenhut.net/dating-relationships/13597-what-age-did-you-get-your-first-real-boyfriend-girlfriend-2.html) Having sex and having a romantic partner are separate things. But even still the average age for ending your virginity is around 15 if I remember correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/27 "2010-04-17T13:12:24Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > But even still the average age for ending your virginity is around 15 if I remember correctly. Careful. Their heads might explode. I don’t think letting her buy herself a thong is any big deal. But I think they’re tacky as hell hanging out the back of someone’s pants. Boyshorts would definitely be the better option. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/28 "2010-04-17T14:09:07Z")
Get her a couple of pairs of thongs, and maybe a few other styles of underwear in her size-- at this age, it’s pretty harmless and she’s old enough to make decisions about what kind of underwear she likes. I had started wearing thongs around this age, and it stemmed from curiosity. Wasn’t really a sexual thing, and it didn’t make me any more sexually precocious than I may have been without them. She’s at an age that’s prime for exploring her own self image and sexuality, and a lot of the time, kids who are allowed these small acts of expression will forgo the larger, more problematic behaviors you may be worried about. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/29 "2010-04-17T15:57:17Z")
FWIW, for all ladies who wear thongs to prevent visible panty lines: if your pants are tight enough that panty lines are an issue, then be aware that what is visible from behind when you wear a thong is probably worse. Whether or not the whale tale is showing. You’re better off wearing no-seam, skin-tone panties. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/30 "2010-04-17T16:19:48Z")
No, the sexualization of the mass culture and populace must be prevented even if it’s one small personal battle like this. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/31 "2010-04-17T16:25:31Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > No, the sexualization of the mass culture and populace must be prevented even if it’s one small personal battle like this. Oh, honey, I think you took a wrong turn somewhere around 1972. It’s way too late. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/32 "2010-04-17T16:28:20Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Oh, honey, I think you took a wrong turn somewhere around 1972. It’s way too late. Heck, it’s been all downhill since 1910. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/33 "2010-04-17T16:28:50Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > No, the sexualization of the mass culture and populace must be prevented even if it’s one small personal battle like this. Think that ship sailed during the Summer of Love if not before. If my hypothetical daughter wanted to wear thong panties, I tell her Hell No. Fortunately for her, I generally delegate all clothing questions to her hypothetical mother. In the event they disagree, I will break the tie, but Daughter will know that her mother is way more permissive than I am. If such an issue is appealed to me, I am quite likely to require several layers of clothing that covers her from the tops of her shoes to the bottom of her chinny-chin-chin, + no less than 2 adult chaperones for any and all social activities. Daughter will be far happier trusting her mother’s discretion. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/34 "2010-04-17T16:30:45Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Oh, honey, I think you took a wrong turn somewhere around 1972. It’s way too late. Unfortunately quite true. Spengler foresaw in 1918 that Western civilization would gradually degenerate into more primitive attitudes on sex in the next few centuries. Observe how the moral decency of the Roman Republic degenerated into the notorious hedonism of the later Principate. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/35 "2010-04-17T16:36:07Z")
Thong’s advocate here. I wear thongs EVERY DAY because I find them more comfortable, and I challenge anyone to provide a cite that they promote UTIs or yeast infections or whatever. (I was plagued with both in my early 20s \*before \*I discovered thongs, BTW, but have rarely had them since.) They don’t slide around if they fit and you don’t tug on 'em. Nor do they have to show as a whale’s tail if you get a low-rider style in a size that fits. They don’t have to be particularly sexy, either. Mine are plain cotton. I’d recommend a) asking why your daughter wants them; then, if the answer satisfies you, b) getting her – or giving her permission to get – a single one (or two, in different sizes) to try. She might hate them, and it’s not like you can try them on in the store first. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/36 "2010-04-17T16:43:25Z")
No. Absolutely no. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/37 "2010-04-17T16:44:55Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > The nasty thing about thongs… is that they constantly slide back and forth between anus and vagina… That could mean a lot of costly trips to the doctor, as that causes some urinary tract infections.. Nitpick: One’s vagina is not involved, AFAIK, in [\*\*urinary \*\*tract](http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/urinary-tract-infections-in-teens-and-adults-topic-overview) infections. I think you’re thinking of \*\*vaginal \*\*yeast infections ([candidiasis](http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/candidiasis-yeast-infection)), which, while no barrel of monkeys, are usually solved with a $10-15 trip to the drugstore. Which is beside the point that I don’t believe thongs promote either UTIs or candidiasis. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/38 "2010-04-17T17:02:42Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Unfortunately quite true. Spengler foresaw in 1918 that Western civilization would gradually degenerate into more primitive attitudes on sex in the next few centuries. Observe how the moral decency of the Roman Republic degenerated into the notorious hedonism of the later Principate. By primitive, do you mean “less stick up your ass”? Because for all the searching i do, i can’t find a stick up mine, but it seems to me that there’s a big giant one wedged up yours. ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/39 "2010-04-17T17:07:04Z")
As the father to four daughters, my first instinct is “Good God, no!” As a disinterested observer, my first instinct is “Meh.” ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436/40 "2010-04-17T17:10:59Z")
> [@emmaliminal](#): > > Nitpick: One’s vagina is not involved, AFAIK, in [\*\*urinary \*\*tract](http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/urinary-tract-infections-in-teens-and-adults-topic-overview) infections. I think you’re thinking of \*\*vaginal \*\*yeast infections ([candidiasis](http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/candidiasis-yeast-infection)), which, while no barrel of monkeys, are usually solved with a $10-15 trip to the drugstore. > > Which is beside the point that I don’t believe thongs promote either UTIs or candidiasis. I guess I should have specified urethra for you. The gynecologist I worked for independently studied the connection between thongs and chronic UTIs and, while there is a dearth of published evidence out there linking the two, gynecologists all over have noticed an increase of UTIs in their patients that wear thongs. But hey, I’m all for wearing whatever you want. I don’t see how having a piece of cloth jammed up between your buttcheeks could be comfortable, but to each their own. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-my-14-year-old-daughter-get-thong-underwear/536436.md?page=3)