Gene Weingarten departs from his normal post in the Post today to enter the national fray, writing in to Ask Amy, the new replacement for either Dear Abby or Ann Landers (as if there's much of a difference).

Never one to shy away from the tough issues and the tougher questions, Weingarten uses the nationally syndicated column to weigh in on a scourge facing our country: Visible Panty Lines. You see it all started when the father of a teenager wrote in to say that he thought thongs were slutty, to which Ask Amy and others discussed how they also prevent VPLs. Gene picks up the debate:

Dear Amy:

Hey, kid. I have some intelligence for you regarding the important issue of VPL. Brace yourself: Men have not remained silent on this issue. Men have spoken up volubly, and in statistically significant numbers, as have women.

The subject of VPL is a recurring theme in my weekly online chat with readers nationwide. I have expressed my personal belief that men like Visible Panty Lines. This raises an intriguing paradox: The Panty Paradox.

I put this to a specific test. In a poll accompanying my online chat, I asked men and women (separately) as to whether VPL (on the right person -- an important qualifier!) are a "good" thing or a "bad" thing.

Results were precisely as I had postulated: Men approve of them by 2-to-1. Women disapprove of them by 2-to-1.

Why do women spend so much effort trying to avoid them when men love them?

The reason seems apparent: Women don't care what men think. They do not dress for men. They dress for other women, and they know that other women consider VPL sloppy-looking at best, trashy looking at worst.

Gene Weingarten

Ask Amy's response: "I am delighted to see that you have moved beyond commenting on world events and national politics (ho-hum) and are actually covering Very Important Topics in the hard-hitting online companion to your hilarious "Below the Beltway" column (found at http://www.washingtonpost.com ).

"I'm disappointed to learn that my readers and I weren't the first to discover Visible Panty Lines as the perfect metaphor for the ongoing disconnect between men and women. I disagree with you on this one point, however: Though you say that women don't dress for men, I believe that women do wear thongs for men -- their elaborate explanations about VPL notwithstanding. That tantalizing little thong strap might not be as fetching to men as VPL, but for now, it will just have to do."