Cultural history of the buttocks
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Sexualization of the buttocks has occurred throughout history, especially of the female buttocks.
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Evolutionary significance
Sexologist Alfred Kind suggested that the buttocks is the primary sexual presentation site in primates.
Some anthropologists and sociobiologists believe that breast fetishism derives from the breasts' similarity to buttocks, but instead provide sexual attraction from the front of the body.
In humans, females generally have more round and voluptuous buttocks, caused by estrogen that encourages the body to store fat in the buttocks, hips, and thighs. Testosterone discourages fat storage in these areas. The buttocks in human females thus contain more adipose tissue than in males, especially after puberty. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that rounded buttocks may have evolved to be desirable trait because they provide a visual indication of the woman's youth and fertility. They signal the presence of estrogen and the presence of sufficient fat stores for pregnancy and lactation. Additionally, the buttocks give an indication of the shape and size of the pelvis, which impacts reproductive capability. Since development and pronunciation of the buttocks begins at menarche and declines with age, full buttocks are also a symbol of youth.
History
The female buttocks have been a symbol of fertility and beauty since early human history. Statues created as early as 24,000 BCE, such as the Venus of Willendorf, have exaggerated buttocks, hips, and thighs.
The erotic beauty of the female buttocks was important to the ancient Greeks, thought to have built such statues as Venus Kallipygos (although only a possible Roman copy survives), that emphasize the buttocks. Bare buttocks were also considered erotic in Ming China, where they were often compared to the bright full moon. The buttocks have been considered an erogenous zone in Western thought for centuries, and the eroticization of the female buttocks was heteronormative and due to their association and closeness to the female reproductive organs.
Erotic spanking was popular in Victorian Britain, perhaps due to the buttocks' fetishization and eroticization. Spanking was prominent in pornography during this time, with erotica such as Lady Bumtickler's Revels and Exhibition of Female Flagellants being consumed.
In Studies in the Psychology of Sex, published in 1927 and written by British physician and sexual psychologist Havelock Ellis, he describes cultural sexual characteristics of the buttocks.
He says:
- Thus we find, among most of the peoples of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the chief continents of the world, that the large hips and buttocks of women are commonly regarded as an important feature of beauty. This secondary sexual character represents the most decided structural deviation of the feminine type from the masculine, a deviation demanded by the reproductive function of women, and in the admiration it arouses sexual selection is thus working in a line with natural selection.
He adds that
- The European artist frequently seeks to attenuate rather than accentuate the protuberant lines of the feminine hips, and it is noteworthy that the Japanese also regard small hips as beautiful. Nearly everywhere else large hips and buttocks are regarded as a mark of beauty, and the average man is of this opinion even in the most æsthetic countries.
Havelock also claims that corsets and bustles are meant to emphasize the buttocks.
Emphasis on the female buttocks as a sexual characteristic has increased in recent times according to Ray B. Browne, who attributes the change to the popularization of denim jeans:
- [E]mphasis on the upper female torso has recently given way to the lower area of the body, specifically the buttocks. Such a change happened quite recently when denim jeans became fashionable. In order to emphasize fit, jeans manufacturers accentuated hips. And after brand name jeans became so popular with the designer's name on the hip pocket, even more accentuation was given to the posterior. The more jeans sales increases, the more ads were used which emphasized the derrier, to such an extent, in fact, that this particular area may eventually surpass breasts as the number one sexual image of the female body.
Contemporary views
Buttocks are erotic zones for both genders. Along with breasts, the buttocks is a sex symbol across cultures. In Brazil, "bubble-shaped" buttocks are considered attractive. In Japan, large buttocks are considered vulgar. Buttocks fetishism is considered socially acceptable in the West.
While female buttocks are often eroticized in heterosexual erotica, men's buttocks are eroticized in gay male circles. Much of gay male sexuality centres around anal intercourse and penetration, so the buttocks are eroticized due to their proximity to the anus and the genitals.
The buttocks are often taboo due to their proximity to the anus and association with the excretory system. The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud theorized that psychosexual development occurred in three stages—oral, anal, and genital—and that fixation in the anal stage caused anal retentiveness and a lasting focus on eroticization of the anus.
Many artists pose models to emphasize the buttocks.
Popular culture
Many celebrities have become famous for their buttocks, such as Beyoncé Knowles, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, and Kim Kardashian.
Many songs have also been about the desirability of buttocks:
- "Thong Song"
- "Fat Bottomed Girls"
- "Da Butt"
- "Baby Got Back"
- "Bootylicious"
- "My Humps"
- "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk"
- "Shake That"
- "Check On It"
Since the early 2000s, songs about the female buttocks have proliferated, especially in the hip-hop, reggae/dancehall, and R&B genres.
Pornography
Buttocks, especially those of black women, are often emphasized in pornography, where they are often referred to as "booty". Patricia Hill Collins, an African-American writer, theorizes that this is due to stereotypes that black women are promiscuous, and that their buttocks are objectified by porn as a result.
Fetishism
A buttocks fetish or buttocks partialism refers to a condition wherein the buttocks becomes a focus of sexual attention. It may be associated with coprophilia, panty fetishism, and sadomasochistic corporal punishment involving the buttocks. Pygophilia refers to sexual arousal caused by the buttocks.
See also
- History of erotic depictions
- Anal eroticism
- Partialism
- Body worship
- Erotic spanking
- Coprophilia
- Panty fetishism
- In Praise of the Backside
