The rising popularity of low-rise jeans led to increased exposure of thong tops in the early 2000s.[6] Britney Spears has been portrayed as a major contributor to the whale tail's popularity.[2][3][4] Her whale tail display has been referred to in such creative literature books as Married to a Rock Star by Shemane Nugent,[10] Thong on Fire by Noire,[11] The Magical Breasts of Britney Spears by Ryan G. Van Cleave,[12] and Off-Color by Janet McDonald.[13] The Oregonian, a Portland, Oregon, newspaper, wrote in 2004 that an abundance of whale tails had become a distraction on the campus.[14] Social commentator Ann C. Hall identified this campus trend as an "apparent intersection between everyday campus fashion and soft porn".[10] The layered clothing trend of the early 2000s was partly led by the whale tail style that incorporates hip-hugger jeans, crop tops and high riding thongs popularized by celebrities.[15][16]