The Bottom Drawer Forums

No, I don't even think I knew what an Australian was, much less a budgie smuggler.

But here's another influence, not a small one either. And not specifically about swimwear though you'll get the connection.

When I was a kid, once a year they used to have circus programs on TV. There wasn't all that much programming, and these were "special event" shows. I watched them with my grandparents. Some of those acts were really stripped-down back then. Both guys and girls wore costumes that were meant to show off their bodies. Guys wore bikini style briefs, girls too, or extremely high cut suits. They looked like they were all wearing swimwear, but only with sequins. But at the time, what they were wearing was much smaller and sexier than the swimsuits of the time, especially the girls. You could see more skin in a circus than on the beach. The effect of exposed strong bodies doing dangerous things imprinted on my young mind, and the two different scenarios, circus and swimwear, became somewhat merged. As time went on, the good ol' circus pushed the limits of exposure (as they have since their beginnings), and put their girls in thongs and g-strings, though most likely over flesh-colored tights, but you couldn't tell that on TV. Guys were in tights with huge visible bulges. Not like today where every square inch of flesh is covered completely, as if the sexy outfit would somehow detract from the act. It was actually the reverse. I don't know what happened, but acts were in thongs starting in the 1970s and through the 1980s, and covered head to toe by the end of the 1990s. Somebody probably complained that the outfits were not for a kids show. Point taken.

It was on those programs that I coupled the small bikini and thong, and their emphasis on bodies contours, with strength and daring, both for men and women, and where I saw my first thong in a performance. It was on a woman, and she did a trapeze act high in the air, finishing with a iron-jaw hang (from her teeth) and spin. It was a total knock-out.

What those visuals did for me was, I think, sort of unique. I wanted to experience the feeling of it was like wearing that kind of outfit, but also doing something risky. So, that's where the bikini/thong/jock play came from, though fortunately the risky act part never really got going. As time went on, real swimsuits got smaller and sexier, men and boys (definitely me included) were wearing speedos and smaller. Girls got ahead of us of course, and ended up wearing thongs more often than we did, but we got there too. Then the circus reversed itself, and you could then see more skin on the beach.

The contour of those bikinis and thongs projected a sort of tension to the act, and the sexual part was intentional and undeniable. I've read an account from a guy who was in those acts, and he related that at one point they were all in g-strings, and how incredibly exciting it was. Nice to know they liked it too! But the point was, they knew what they were doing and why. It was a way to get the men and boys running to the show over and over again. But women didn't escape the effect either, the buff man on the trapeze did in fact get them started up too.a So, the reversal in costume must have been the result of pressure, not because it didn't work anymore. For me, it still works every time.

That's where all my experimentation with bikinis and thongs started. I'm not gay, bi, trans, or a CD. I never took the woman's role in any of this. But that influence was pretty strong and has lasted a lifetime. I like the emphasis the bikini and thong put on the body shape, both sexes, the implied strength and self confidence, yes and quite a bit of showing off. It doesn't bother me all that much that thongs and bikinis are not main-stream for men, it just makes those of us who insist on wearing them unique and show-off-ish.

My mother definitely was one influence as a young teenager, but not my father. Perhaps she realised that I was maturing and decided that more modern styles were a better style than the stuff my father wore. It's not like she was into brief styles herself, and men's underwear was not advertised on TV so it cannot have come from there. Anyway, she started me in what I guess passed for a string bikini (the nylon Jockette), though the side strings were the length of a knot as that is how the front and rear panels were joined.

Another influence was certainly similar aged girls, where short sports skirts and tight slacks showed what they were wearing, which was mostly string bikinis or bikini briefs. My thinking must have been that, since most of them looked good in such attire, me in a masculine equivalent would be alright too!

There was probably a third influence as far as g-strings are concerned. There was in the 1970s a now defunct magazine called "The Australasian Post". In the classified ads there was a regular one advertising something called "the ball breaker". This was a g-string that more resembled a tear-drop style. I cannot remember what fabric was used, but for that era most likely cotton or the nylon as used in swimwear. I never tried one, but it always made me wonder what g-strings might be like. They eventually arrived in the clothing chain stores where I was able to try one. They disappeared a few years later, but by then internet purchasing was reliable. The rest is history.

Parents had NO influence on me. My influence came from my addiction to aerobics - I taught as an instructor and quickly discovered the necessity for thongs (and g-strings, which I quickly dropped for the better support of a thong). I wore thongs under long tights and yes, there was a noticeable VPL. Nobody ever commented and I have been wearing thongs for the last 3 decades (wife too).

This is a VERY interesting topic since I can recall my infatuation with underwear going back to grade school. I think for some (including me) it was, and still is a fetish. I have disclosed this to my wife and she is aware of it.

Anyone else want to weigh in on this...

Well let me say hi to everyone, firstly.

Ok, the main influence for wearing skimpy underwear was probably the famous Jockey ad of Jim Palmer and his bikini briefs. I was with my mom at the laundromat and they had these magazines laying on a table. Anyway picked up one these mags and was flipping through and found "the ad", standing in all his glory was Jim Palmer in his bikini briefs. Looked around and slowly tore the picture out and put it in my back pocket. I probably was around 12/13ish. So my journey in to bikini underwear began with that as. Also my journey with my sexuality.

Welcome to the forum. Look forward to hearing more of your experiences. I hope you will enjoy working your way through the topics on here and the main blog.

Since my dad wasnt a bikini guy, nor my brothers, it was my brothers friend that influenced me. I was also his friend (he was a couple years older than me) We were pretty close with their family also and it seemed like almost all the guys in the family wore bikini underwear. Two of my uncles influenced me also as I knew (through my cousins) that they were bikini underwear guys. One of them was pretty fit/muscle bound even which made me want to wear them even more.

I should add that we had a subscription to a magazine called 'islands'...it was a travel magazine featuring tropical islands and I think i remember seeing some pics of guys with their women in speedos. Just that whole 'tropical speedo vibe'. I also liked watching diving (enjoyed swimming from an early age) and that only encouraged me in wanting to wear speedos. I gotta say that it hasnt always been an easy journey being a speedo/bikini underwear guy in Canada as it hasn't always been that well accepted. Going deep here, but society here claims to 'encourage diversity' but it actually feels more like crushing/oppresive conformity The diversity they push is not the kind of 'diversity' I am looking for either. Disapointing to say the least. I guess I have to be fair though because I actually have seen other speedo wearers in my own country. It's just been hard to find out where I fit (with speedos/bikini briefs)

"Incidentally, seeing my cousin in bikini briefs only happened because my parents split up and my brother and I went with my mom to live with her sister. Had my parents not separated and divorced, I may have never seen another male wearing anything but Y-front briefs. Here it is, 37 years later and I could still be trapped in boring, mundane Y-fronts... blissfully oblivious to the fact that men CAN wear underwear that is daring, fun and sexy."
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JustSomeDude71, did your cousin encourage you to buy your own bikinis or?

stringbikinidude wrote: Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:50 am "Incidentally, seeing my cousin in bikini briefs only happened because my parents split up and my brother and I went with my mom to live with her sister. Had my parents not separated and divorced, I may have never seen another male wearing anything but Y-front briefs. Here it is, 37 years later and I could still be trapped in boring, mundane Y-fronts... blissfully oblivious to the fact that men CAN wear underwear that is daring, fun and sexy."

JustSomeDude71, did your cousin encourage you to buy your own bikinis or?
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No, just seeing him wearing bikini briefs sparked my interest in bikini underwear. Also, looking at the store ads in the Sunday paper, I always enjoyed looking at department store ads of the models, both male and female wearing bikini briefs, string bikinis and sexy lingerie, especially the Stripling & Cox department store ads that only had drawings of women in skimpy lingerie and panties... very well detailed and erotic for me.

One day I was at K-Mart with my mom... I was 15 at the time and were were in the menswear section and she asked me if I wanted to try wearing bikini briefs... jumping on the opportunity, I said "yes" That was 36 years ago and I have never went back to boring, mundane Y-front man-e-panties!

When I became a man, i decided that the diaper-like underwear that I wore was no longer anything I wanted to wear. I also decided that less was more, in terms of comfort level and support. To this day, I'm the guy you won't see grabbing his crotch, adjusting things and scratching things, and it's because all is in place and in order. Also, bikinis and thongs tend to dry quickly, and can be easily rinsed out in the shower or sink when you travel.

I've been lucky to spend lots of time in Europe where bikinis for men were never a big deal, or in some places, the obvious and preferred choice, and that mindset continues with me today.

I also never bought into the whole idea that something I wore was necessarily 'gay'. We can't ever under-consider this when we look at how US/Canadian men look at their choices of what to wear, whether it's underwear, swimsuits, jeans, workout clothes, or almost anything else.