The thing I always found ironic about this is that for some of the glute/ thigh poses you need to pull your suit into a thong anyway. It does seem like you should just skip the process altogether and wear a thong or string.

I reckon this "rio suit-wedgie" is nothing but the icing on the cake of hypocrisy, of this controversial and at the same time beautiful sport.

We shouldn't be surprised about it;  just look at how do they condone and at the same time promote the use of heavy and customised performance enhancing drugs on their athletes.  Then they want us to believe that these athletes achieved their awesome bodies by following these routines, and buying those protein powders (chicken soup) from those companies, advertised on their magazines.    The abuse of enhancing performance drugs in bodybuilding is at its peak, ever.  

Another side of their hypocrisy, are those "natural" bodybuilding competitions, where 90% of the competitors are former heavy anabolic steroids users, who stopped abusing them one year ago, therefore they are "clean" now  but 80% of their body mass was achieved when they were not "natural".

The day the public opinion opens their eyes, and realises that the use of performance enhancing drugs should be legal, as long as supervised by a general practitioner who could monitor its use, then we would see more normal Mr John Citizens walking down the beach with awesome bodies as well, and some of these sacred "gods" of modern bodybuilding would stop being the "geneticallly gifted" ones.  It would also stop the drug dealers selling fake and dangerous products, and the mafias who are making milliions publishing magazines and manufacturing supplements fooling young men to believe they could ever become like Dorian Yates.

If cosmetic surgery, liposuction, and all the like are legal, and they do really imply some danger,  I don't understand why aren't performance enhancing drugs be considered the same and become legal with medical supervision.

Sorry if I turned away from the topic.      But I definitely agree that bodybuilding is not doing a favour at all to the thong cause by not allowing competitors to pose wearing thongs.  If they are into showing off bodies and muscles, it doesn't make sense to cover the glutes, which are just another set of muscles.   It's like if they are saying that glutes or thongs are something to be ashamed of.

John Howard

I think thongs became taboo in the 60's when men's bodybuilding tried take away the eroticism and gain more respectability.  Joe Weider at one time banned from competition any female bodybuilder who posed topless or nude.  He has since rescinded that rule.

Gentleman Jim Corbett, the Heavyweight Boxing Champion at the beginning of the 20th century wore a pair of boxing trunks that showed a lot of butt cheeks.

I think bodybuilders wanted to show their muscles. So, why be scared to show the glutes?. It? something to be praud of it.

I love bodybuilding almost I love thongs. I? working to develop a bodybuilder (I still need much work) so now I? just a muscled thonger, and very happy to show my glutes!!

Keep thonging

   Many have assumed or asked if I was a bodybuilder, and I always say no. I'm just a guy who likes to stay in shape, so I say I'm a "fitness enthusiast" but thanks for asking. 

   Like Sun4Bare, I'd like to think I'm doing my part to help the cause, and I'm willing to bet that the individual competitors would embrace thong posing suits in a second. You already see a few them in Magazines. However wide-spread acceptance by those who are competition organizers will be slow to happen. In the Mid 90's thongs were very common on fitness competitors/models (different from bodybuilders) but alas, many fitness competitions and magazines deteriorated into little more than T&A shows. (don't get me wrong, I LUV T&A ) but the overall message of health and fitness was lost. Perhaps bodybuilder event organizers (and more importantly, their sponsors) have the same fear of losing legitamacy by allowing thongs. They already have enough trouble with performance enhancing substances.