Buttock cleavage
Encyclopedia
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
and the gluteal cleft
Gluteal cleft
The intergluteal cleft, also known as the natal cleft, the vertical gluteal crease, and the gluteal cleft, is the groove between the buttocks that runs from just below the sacrum to the perineum, so named because it forms the visible border between the external rounded protrusions of the gluteus...
between them, often because of low-slung or loose trousers
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
. The crena is another formal term for the cleft between the buttocks.
History
When faced with indecency issues back in the 1930s, W.G. Cassidy explained in an essay titled Private Parts: A Judicial View that it may come under "other private parts" in Australian Law, though indecency generally covers the genital area.Social scientist Ariel Levy
Ariel Levy
Ariel Levy is a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and author of the book Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Vogue, Slate, Men's Journal and Blender...
described the culture of low cut jeans that revealed buttock cleavage, along with miniature tops that revealed breast implants and navel piercing, as examples of the rise of the "raunch culture" among women in her book Female Chauvinist Pigs
Female Chauvinist Pigs
Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture is a book by Ariel Levy which critiques modern feminist culture in the United States and elsewhere....
: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture.
In the early 2000s
2000s in fashion
The 2000s are often described as a "mash-up" decade, where trends saw the fusion of previous styles, global and ethnic clothing, as well as the fashions of numerous subcultures, such as hipsters. For the most part, the decade did not have one particular style but recycled styles from the...
it became fashionable for young women and men to expose their buttocks in this way, often in tandem with low rise jeans
Low-rise jeans
Low-rise jeans, worn by both men and women, are jeans intended to sit low on, or below, the hips. They are also called lowcut jeans, hipsters, hip-huggers and lowriders. Usually they sit at least 8 centimetres lower than the belly button...
. The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily morning newspaper, is the highest-circulation print publication in Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky. The...
called it the "new cleavage", and expressed views that "It's virtually impossible to find jeans to cover your hipbone". In August 2001, The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
celebrated a "bum cleavage week" claiming that "bums are the new tits". In reaction to this trend, Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
aired a parody advertisement
Parody advertisement
A parody advertisement is a fictional advertisement for a non-existent product, either done within another advertisement for an actual product, or done simply as parody of advertisements—used either as a way of ridiculing or drawing negative attention towards a real advertisement or such an...
in their April 16, 2006 episode for a product called Neutrogena Coin Slot Cream, in which host Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
appeared.
British designer Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
was particularly mentioned as the originator of buttock cleavage-revealing jeans, known as the "bumster", in cultural critique Sheila Jeffreys
Sheila Jeffreys
Sheila Jeffreys is a lesbian feminist scholar and political activist, known for her analysis of the history and politics of sexuality in Britain. She is a professor in Political Science at the University of Melbourne in Australia...
' Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful Cultural Practices in the West. United States Patent 6473908 registers a design for buttock cleavage-revealing trouser designs. In the mid-2000s, Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
reported on a rise of popularity of the buttock cleavage among celebrities.
Lexicon
In the Netherlands the term bouwvakkersdecolleté is used, which can be translated as "builder's cleavage
Cleavage (breasts)
Cleavage, anatomically known as the intramammary cleft, is the space between a woman's breasts lying over the sternum. Cleavage is exposed by a garment with a low neckline, such as ball gowns, evening gowns, swimwear, casual tops and other garments....
".