''Showtoons'' were a trademark of unisex

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

that were manufactured by

Hanes Hanes (founded in 1900) and Hanes Her Way (founded in 1985) is a brand of clothing. History Hanes was founded in 1900 by John Wesley Hanes (one of Winston-Salem's wealthiest and most influential business men) at Winston, North Carolina under th ...

, established in 1989, and disestablished in 2009. Its competitor,

Fruit of the Loom Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002 it has been a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Products manu ...

, manufactured the gender-specific ''

Funpals Funpals is a children's underwear name brand that was established in 1985 in order to compete with Underoos. Its trademark was renewed on March 17, 2005, by William R. Hansen, trademark correspondent. Funpals were advertised on television and in ...

'' (for boys) and ''

FunGals ''FunGals'' are a brand name of children's underwear; manufactured by their parent company Fruit of the Loom. The trademark for the brand name was registered on May 29, 1987. Summary Mostly worn by young girls under the age of 12, these underga ...

'' (for girls) brands. The reasoning behind the brand segregation is for marketing purposes.

Summary

Each individual undergarment started out as a pair of either plain white briefs or plain white panties until the desired prints are added in the manufacturing process. Differences found between the male and female undergarments included the

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

in the boys' underwear (for easier urination) and the feminine waistband in the girls' underwear (emulating that of women's full cut panties). The softness of the

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

fabric used could have also determined whether the undergarment was to be worn by a male child or a female child when outside of its original packaging box. Examples of

Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

s and

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

s that appeared on a pair of Showtoons underwear included

Tinkerbell Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play '' Peter Pan'' and its 1911 novelisation ''Peter and Wendy''. She has appeared in a variety of film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 ...

Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American live-action/animated children's television series, created by Angela C. Santomero, Todd Kessler, and Traci Paige Johnson, that premiered on Nickelodeon as part of its Nick Jr. block on September 8, 1996, and co ...

, and the

PBS Kids GO! PBS Kids Go! was an educational television brand used by PBS for programs aimed at early elementary-age children, in contrast to the younger, preschool target demographic of PBS Kids. Most PBS member stations aired the PBS Kids Go! block on we ...

television show

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

. Characters that were considered to be "retro" and "vintage" on Showtoons underwear (and no longer sold in most retail stores) included

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...

Jonny Quest ''Jonny Quest'' is a science fiction-adventure media franchise that revolves around the titular boy named Jonny Quest, who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964–1965 television serie ...

, and

TaleSpin ''TaleSpin'' is an American animated television series first aired in 1990 as a preview on Disney Channel and later that year as part of '' The Disney Afternoon''. It features characters adapted from Disney's 1967 animated feature ''The Jungle Bo ...

. The word "showtoons" was considered to be a pun on the phrase ''

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...

s'' (which happened to be music played at

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

s) and a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsshow business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...

" and "cartoons." The Showtoons name by itself does not determine whether the product was suitable for boys or girls. Girls' underwear were always packaged as

panties Panties (in American English; also called pants, undies, or knickers in British English) are a form of women's underwear. Panties can be form-fitting or loose. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genita ...

; the equivalent for juvenile males were always packaged as

briefs Briefs (or a brief) are a type of short, form-fitting Undergarment, underwear and swimsuit, swimwear, as opposed to styles where material extends down the thighs. Briefs have various different styles, usually with a waistband attached to fabric ...

. Unlike Funpals which had a large cartoon graphic at the center of the undergarment, Showtoons uses a small but plentiful amount of cartoon graphics throughout the undergarment. In the Americas, Showtoons were made in either

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

in manufacturing plants similar to adult underwear.

References

Products introduced in 1989 Products and services discontinued in 2009 Children's underwear Underwear brands {{fashion-stub

Summary

See also

References