I don’t know, I don’t care and I don’t want to figure it out.
I do not see the relation between sexual orientation and type of swimwear.
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Being straight myself, I have a gay friend who was quite surprised when he learned that I wear thongs. He never seen a guy in thongs before, being gay or straight and he has a lot of friends in both camps. He said they mainly wear speedos or square cut as swimwear and jocks as underwear. I don’t think wearing thongs asignes our orientation, it may be more that gay guys are more prone to showing/taking photos of what they are wearing than straight guys, who are (from reading here) more looking for secluded beaches/parks/places to thong in.
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@TxMicro … same for me. If I’m in an area where it’s a little more conservative I’ll google the “gay beaches” in the area as those who are there are much more open minded and less judgmental when it comes to beach attire … at least outwardly.
I’ve also found that I don’t usually know if a guy is gay or straight in a thong unless there is a tell like being with another man and it’s obvious or on a gay beach.
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Agree! Being gay though, I’m very impressed with this forum and the large number of straight guys who are thongers (I’m surprised and encouraged). I agree with your point that sexual orientation and type of swimwear is not related. What is important is a person’s ability to freely wear what they wish and respectfully enjoy themselves and their bodies (regardless of shape and size).
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I’d respectfully push back on those numbers based on my own experience. I’m a straight married man who has worn thongs and g-strings as both underwear and swimwear for years. My wife is fully aware and supportive. For me it has nothing to do with sexuality — it’s about comfort, confidence, and personal style.
I wear thongs and g-strings daily under my work clothes because there are zero lines under fitted dress pants and no bunching during long drives. I also wear bulge enhancing swimwear from brands like Cocksox and Cut4Men — not because of any sexual statement but because the engineering on these pieces is genuinely superior. The anatomical pouches are more comfortable, better supported, and frankly just better designed than anything you’d find in a standard department store.
I wear minimal swimwear at the beach and in my swim spa because I enjoy tanning, appreciate quality construction, and simply prefer the fit over board shorts. The thong tan line is something I actively maintain and I’m proud of it.
Honestly at this point I don’t really care about anyone’s orientation in this community. Straight, gay, bi, curious — we’re all here for the same reason. We appreciate quality swimwear, we like wearing what makes us feel confident, and we just want to hang out. Literally hang out. 
I think the perception that most male thongers are gay comes from visibility bias — gay men may be more openly expressive in public settings and online communities, while straight men like me tend to be quieter about it. That doesn’t mean we aren’t out here in significant numbers.
European straight men have worn minimal swimwear and paid attention to fit and enhancement for decades without it being any kind of sexuality statement. America is just behind the curve. What you wear has nothing to do with who you’re attracted to — it’s about knowing what you like, wearing it confidently, and not apologizing for it
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Amen. Well written. I also appreciate the Cocksox swim briefs and swim thongs. I have over 50 suits.
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I´m gay and i have been wearing thongs for over 25 years. Up until recently, maybe the past 2-3 years, no one in the gay community would wear a thong. There were only a couple of gay guys, a very small circle, that would wear thongs and find it hot. Most gays would be into jocks or other gear. Like said before, I guess many considered thongs a bit to feminine. But I have the feeling that has changed in the last couple of years. More and more clothing brands targeted at gays are offering thongs and on Instagram you can see a lot of - also beefy, muscle guys - wear thongs.
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I’m straight, and was first attracted to thongs when I saw a shot of Elle McPherson lifting herself out of a pool in a yellow thong. Thought I’d died and gone to Heaven..it definitely made me want to wear one instantly. I had always loved small briefs before that. Opportunities were limited to do so when you grow up in a masculine tribal culture such as surfing like I did. Now I am thong/G 99.9% of the time.
One observation about the gay culture generally liking briefs over thongs…
Gay men like…MEN! Thongs and G-strings have long been viewed as feminine in many cultures, so it makes sense to me that gay men want something masculine! They generally (I’m stereotyping) want a hot man showing his stuff in a manly way. I think that makes a lot of sense. Just because someone isn’t straight doesn’t mean they are immune from some social conditioning (we all have some in there, somewhere). Briefs are generally considered manly, and thongs and Gs are not, like it or not.
I too feel allegiance with all of the females sunning happily in public in a thong or G. I have also been witness and a party to their relaxed attitude towards me in my thong. It seems they don’t feel threatened by me. Maybe they think I’m gay and won’t hit on them..? I know a few definitely did not think I was gay ;). My closest friends are female, so maybe I give out that vibe. Who knows..?
Regardless of my uneducated ramblings, I continue to represent male thong wearers every day (hopefully in a positive way) and hope I can always continue to do so.
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Straight male. Got into thongs because of a girl I like in high school said “always wear the sexiest underwear”. Thong swimwear followed. It’s been over 30 years of wearing thongs and it used to be a bit of nervousness being seen in gym locker rooms. Eventually it didn’t matter what others thought.
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As a gay guy, I think you’re spot on in your observation. Traditional masculinity is social currency among gay men; it’s one of those things we don’t like to admit, but it often plays out that way in subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways.
Even as someone who enjoys wearing thongs myself, I still perceive a swim brief as more masculine and prefer to see a buff dude in a speedo vs a thong. If I had to guess why, I think a swim brief evokes an element of sportiness that a thong does not. This might be why jockstraps are popular with us gay guys but thongs are not, despite both basically exposing the glutes. Cultural conditioning can be really hard to break!
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As a Straight guy i dont really connect my underwear choice with sexuality. I simply choose to wear what makes me feel good about myself and my body as well as what i find comfortable. I think there maybe some associated taboo or lgbt association with thongs but i also think those views are slowly dissapating in society. I like the look of thong and how they accentuate my frame. But at the end of the day my underweat and swimwear choice really has nothing to do with sexuality. Everyone should wear what makes them happy
I want to thank sam for having this platform and I want to thank everyone who volunteered their individual position.
There’s been several great points and viewpoints. At the end of the day we’re all thong brothers regardless of orientation and I love wearing thongs, feeling the warmth of the sun kiss my ass cheeks!
This is a really interesting take, thanks for sharing it.
It makes me wonder who the target audience is for the ads for men’s thong swimsuits and underwear. You’re saying it’s not for gay men who apparently prefer briefs. It’s not for women, who don’t buy them anyway. And it’s not clear to me that they’re targeted at straight guys either. Ha ha, maybe that’s why guys are so slow to switch over – the ads are targetted to nobody.
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Having developed an interest in thongs in my mid-late teenage years I wondered for many years the root of its appeal to me. I’ve never questioned my orientation and I’m very OK with everyone else having theirs. Even their attraction to me has never bothered me, even when it has been sort of creepy or inappropriate. Still I wondered well into my college years the apparent arbitrary nature to what societies assign as masculine, feminine, manly, or sissy/gay for a lack of a more concrete example. Pink, as it turns out, is a masculine color in countries such as Vietnam, or so I’ve been told. Makeup and high heels were first used my men. Scots wear a skirt which they have adamantly renamed a kilt. The bulk of cross dressers are heterosexual men, married, with kids, with no interest in “exploring” or “question” anything. But even if they were, what business is that to me? In fact, I quite admire these men for being true to themselves and taking the heat, the ridicule, even the violence, to live their lives as they see fit. We’re all a product of our environments but it ought not to be restrictive. If someone is very comfortable living within those boundaries, more power to them. I only ask them not to project their norms unto me, us, who only want to live within our comfort zone, especially when we’re not bothering anyone. As we near in a decade or two the mid century mark I am confident that we’re heading in that general direction!