Starting around 1990, roughly concurrent with the release of Spike Lee's seminal motion picture "MALCOLM X" and the dizzying successes of rap music stars, a t-shirt slogan started to appear which said; IT'S A BLACK THANG, Y'ALL, YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND.
The word "thang", used in this context, was an Ebonicism used to refer specifically to a cultural meme or norm, which those who belonged to the special group-- in this case, African-Americans, would immediately recognize and understand... whilst those not belonging to this group (whites or non-blacks) would fail to understand, appreciate, or even recognize.
Thus, by extension, a "thang" is a folkway, meme, norm, predilection, code, shibboleth, artifact or behaviour exclusive to, or closely allied with, a particular sub-group of the larger populace.
The word "thang", used in this context, was an Ebonicism used to refer specifically to a cultural meme or norm, which those who belonged to the special group-- in this case, African-Americans, would immediately recognize and understand... whilst those not belonging to this group (whites or non-blacks) would fail to understand, appreciate, or even recognize.
Thus, by extension, a "thang" is a folkway, meme, norm, predilection, code, shibboleth, artifact or behaviour exclusive to, or closely allied with, a particular sub-group of the larger populace.
Upon entering a neighborhood bar traditionally frequented by the African-American community:
White wannabe-rapper: "Yo, what is up widdis? One jar at the end of the bar filled with pickled eggs and another one filled with pickled pig's feet? Yo, dass nasty!""
His Black buddy: "Man, it's a Black thang, you wouldn't understand."
Or, during a moment of treasured understanding:
Straight guy: "Would you mind please telling me what IS it with you gays and Barbra Streisand?
Gay guy: "Oh, I guess it's a Queer thang, you wouldn't understand."
Or, at a typical American High school:
High School Teacher A: "One of my students actually has a tattoo of a tiny black teardrop under his left eye! It's kinda creepy... What is THAT all about??"
High School Teacher B: "Yeah, well that's a Latino gang-banger thang. Supposedly it means they've offed someone."
White wannabe-rapper: "Yo, what is up widdis? One jar at the end of the bar filled with pickled eggs and another one filled with pickled pig's feet? Yo, dass nasty!""
His Black buddy: "Man, it's a Black thang, you wouldn't understand."
Or, during a moment of treasured understanding:
Straight guy: "Would you mind please telling me what IS it with you gays and Barbra Streisand?
Gay guy: "Oh, I guess it's a Queer thang, you wouldn't understand."
Or, at a typical American High school:
High School Teacher A: "One of my students actually has a tattoo of a tiny black teardrop under his left eye! It's kinda creepy... What is THAT all about??"
High School Teacher B: "Yeah, well that's a Latino gang-banger thang. Supposedly it means they've offed someone."
by david lincoln brooks August 11, 2007
an attraction so strong that it is unable to be expressed, above and beyond swagger; you are unable to keep your eyes and/or hands off this person whenever they are around.
by fat tae June 01, 2009
I do my thang, I love myself
by ntshakhzmn December 03, 2018
by fshdfhdfhfghfghf December 23, 2010
by Hiporcyte25 March 25, 2010
"Now I'm gonna make you dance, get your chance. Yeah boy, shake that thang." (clean version) -Eminem, "Just Lose It"
by Michael Burmeister December 09, 2005
The universal word for genitals regardless of gender.
It is unknown exactly how the word developed, although most scholars agree it grew out of the word "thing", often used by women as a delicate way of describing male genitalita.
Male genitalia has 2,469 words to describe it, while only a few words are used for the equivalent female body part, most of them old Anglo-Saxon words, or words bordering on the obscene. The word "genitalia" itself is rarely used, since it sounds too doctor-ish.
It is unknown exactly how the word developed, although most scholars agree it grew out of the word "thing", often used by women as a delicate way of describing male genitalita.
Male genitalia has 2,469 words to describe it, while only a few words are used for the equivalent female body part, most of them old Anglo-Saxon words, or words bordering on the obscene. The word "genitalia" itself is rarely used, since it sounds too doctor-ish.
"I need me some thang tonight".
Him: "I put my thang in her thang."
Her: "I LET him put his thang in my thang."
Him: "I put my thang in her thang."
Her: "I LET him put his thang in my thang."
by SabraCat November 15, 2016