Gentlemen (and Ladies),

You are enlightened enough to be visiting the best men’s underwear blog out there, so you obviously know plenty about men’s underwear, and if you don’t you are certainly in the right place to learn more. But chances are your underwear drawers look a little “uniform.” You have discovered the brands, styles and cuts you like to wear, and for the most part, you stick with them. Yet, there is probably one style your underwear is lacking, or just doesn’t have.

That’s right, I am talking about thongs. Thongs made for men, “The Man Thong.” Certainly they, nor the concept of you (or your man) wearing one is foreign to you; you’re reading this on a website that routinely reviews them. It is also likely that you frequent your favorite underwear retailing websites often, so you know that thongs (and g-strings) make up a sizeable portion of the men’s underwear real-estate on these websites. Your problem though, is that you are likely too afraid to buy one, for fear you would actually wear it, and potentially open yourself up to judgment. This is understandable, because I went through the exact same thing about a year ago.

Last December, I had an underwear collection that was growing rapidly, and I had every style except one, (you guessed it). Like you, I had visited websites like Freshpair and MensUnderwearStore on an almost daily basis, just browsing aimlessly. Like always, I noticed that both websites sold about 100 different thongs for men. 100! Knowing what I know about markets (which isn’t much past “101” levels) I knew that supply doesn’t drive demand as much as it seeks to meet demand. More surprising was the fact that almost every brand (including all the big ones) made their version of the man thong. So when Calvin Klein had their pre-holiday sale, I snapped up the “Body Thong” for 25% off ($13).

I had to wait for it in the mail, and I was a little bit nervous once I received it and put it on. But once I got it on, and situated, all of that anxiety that was driven by societal stigmas, and the general embarrassment for wearing something that has been synonymous with women’s underwear for years seemed to disappear. After wearing it to work for a day, I was floored by just how much I loved it. It offered unparalleled support, but without the natural compression that so many of the briefs I had (and still love) tend to use to “support.”

I am convinced that my love of the CK thong completely shattered my “caring” about all the various hilarity and judgment that surrounds male thongs. My mind had been opened by the fact that the thong has always been designed with men in mind. There is not better underwear design out there, to support the male anatomy. Sure, the minimal coverage leaves way to sex-appeal and thus, societal discomfort over it, but it’s inherently a part of what makes the thong so outstanding for male wear.

I began my thong collection by “staying safe” (as safe as you can be in the realm of male thongs, I guess) by purchasing very modest cuts, and staying with basic designs and fabrics. Eventually I took a bigger leap by getting into my favorite designer for thongs-Gregg Homme. While Gregg Homme makes all sorts of erotic underwear for men, I have stayed within the designer’s more modest collections, but Gregg Homme’s thongs did open my mind further, with the even more risqué male g-string.

Now obviously, I don’t expect most men who try thongs to get into them as much as I did, which led me to try the g-string in the first place, but I’d be lying if I didn’t think the male g-string mostly belongs on male strippers. The problem is, I love them, too. In fact, I have come to think of the male g-string as preferable to the thong. The reason is simple, it accomplishes the same thing a thong does, but with less material, meaning you get fantastic support while literally feeling like you aren’t wearing underwear at all. I could probably wear the Gregg Homme Boytoy G-String every day, without complaint if I was forced to wear only one design-that’s how much I love it.

Still, I have to concede that two years ago, I’d ever wear a thong made for men, let alone be writing this very article about how much I love them. I also don’t want you to come away from this article thinking that “getting here” was somehow easy. I am straight as the sky is blue, my wife is not the “adventurous type” exactly, and I had to deal with her hang ups about my thongs, (she still thinks it is weird that I like them). Beyond that, I would be petrified if any of my close friends knew that I not only wore them, but really enjoyed wearing them. Both reasons are why I titled this article the way I did.

When it comes to the male thong (and g-strings) I don’t necessarily like the fact that I love them. It’s the fact that I’ve discovered how great they fit and support me that has trumped all of the notions and negative connotations even I had about the man thong for so long. When you boil it down, what you choose to wear under your shorts or pants is only your business, and I think that was the thought that made me finally get up enough courage to try that first thong last December.

So despite all of the societal hang-ups, the fact that indeed, this is a thong that you will be wearing, I’d encourage you to get one for yourself (or your man) because I have the opinion that underwear should not be judged until you’ve tried it on. If you are like I was, and curious about them almost every time you got on one of the underwear store’s websites, you really have nothing to lose and at least something, to gain by getting your first thong. If you try it and don’t like it, you’re out the $15-20, but if you end up having the same feelings I got when I tried them for the first time, I bet you’ll start to lose those naturally occurring inhibitions when it comes to all men’s underwear.

I’m of the opinion that broadening your horizons in all facets of life is essential to living life to the fullest. You’re into underwear enough that you’re reading this article-I think it’s time to do you (or your man) a favor and broaden your horizons. Who knows, you may end up like me, hating the fact that you love them so much you just have to have more…