Why the butt? (1 Viewer)

[EugeneR]

Okay, I wonder about some strange things sometimes so this occurred to me a couple of days ago when looking at pictures of statues... How, or rather why, did human buttocks evolve? Apes don't have them, so what was the evolutionary advantage to our ancestors of being able to sit comfortably? How did pre-historic man with the big booty benefit? Was a Neanderthal Jennifer Lopez just more attractive to the opposite sex? That doesn't seem all that likely, I imagine our attraction to that part of the anatomy evolved after the anatomy itself did. I haven't been able to come up with a plausible explanation.
So my question remains--why the butt?

 

[Christopher P]

God am I actually bored enough to respond to this?
I have thought about this myself (ok, even more sad) I've never really been attracted to the female posterior, and have always responded with shrugs to "Wow, check out the ass on her." and the like.
Obviously padding in an issue, especially for those of us stuck at a desk for 8 hours a day. As far as the aesthetics go, I can't offer any insight.
Chris

 

[Todd Hochard]

I, too, am bored enough to provide a response.
Well, the Gluteus Maximus is one of the key muscles used when sprinting away from danger. The general shape comes from this (men and women).
Regarding women, I can't say. Perhaps evolution decided that this should be one of the preferred locations of fat stores, as a means of easily distinguishing male from female, and to provide a stimulus for the innate desire to procreate. I'm guessing here.
The penultimate execution of this can be seen on Charlize Theron in the Cider House Rules. The female shape is really something to be marveled at, IMO- and I don't mean that in a sexist way- strictly admiration of beauty. Why do I think that way? Who knows? See above.
Todd

 

[Julian Reville]

There's butts, and then there's BIG butts.

Apes don't actually walk upright and especialy don't RUN the way we do. The gluteus muscle is very well adapted for running, as it contracts, the femur is pulled backwards. Look at the butts on some sprinters.

Now the butts you see on some habitues of all-you-can eat buffets, that's another matter.

 

[Brad Porter]

I imagine that the muscular development of the ass is, as the others say, a key enabling element in the transition to an upright walking stance (i.e., the human ancestors developed the upright walking ability because of their genetic predisposition to having big glutes). The fat deposits are probably a by-product of that adopted posture in that they balance the body by putting weight in the back. The other notable advantage is that thongs tend to stay in place, however uncomfortable that may be.
Brad

 

[AllanN]

however uncomfortable that may be

A significant percentage of females I have talked to about thongs

agree that they are indeed comfortable but not when sleeping. This by no means is a absolute statement that apply to all women. Or men EEEK

 

[Max Leung]

Butts: Help you sprint faster. Optimized for bipedal walking, running, and butt chasing.

Butts: Display of sexual and natural fitness. People with nicely proportioned butts (ie. "That man has a nice butt") tend to be healthier. They are more sexually desirable because either their genes are superior (s/he can eat Western food like a glutton and doesn't get fat, because his/her genes just happen to deal with the oils and fats more efficiently than the average person) or they live in a more desirable environment where western food isn't as abundant, thus less likely to add fat to the aforementioned butt.

Butts: Easier to hang on to during an emergency. "Hang on to your butts".

Butts: Butts are smoking hot! "Cigarette butts."

 

[Ron-P]

Peace Out~

 

[Dana Fillhart]

Because If's and And's are not allowed?

Oh, *that* kind of ... :b

 

[BrianW]

And all this time, I thought the Gluteus Maximus was used to turn the head!

 

[Mike Voigt]

Anatomically, it has to be a fairly large muscle to work and it also has to stretch around the bones we all have in that area. The bones form a basin-like structure, fairly extensive really, to which the femora are attached at the bottom sides and the spine at the back. Thus any musculature that needs to get around that (and for standing up, it does!) will stand out - and possibly bulky, it has to maneuver somewhere around 100+ lbs with a very small moment arm.

 

[Kevin M]

If these facts are true then Jennifer Lopez must be the fastest human being on the planet.

 

[Julian Reville]

then Jennifer Lopez must be the fastest human being on the planet

I think she used to be faster than she is now.

 

[Holadem]

I like fast women
--
Holadem

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I dimly recall a claim in anthropology class decades ago that men were attracted to large breasted women because they reminded them of large buttocks. But why that was so fascinating was never covered.
That said, a fine well-rounded posterior is always welcome in my eyes. I once walked behind a woman with the most fabulous rear end....she had a little rabbit appliqued on her back pocket, and I was mesmerized watching the bunny bounce up and down.....

 

[Tim Markley]

There's nothing better than a woman with a fine butt!

 

[KyleS]

That was a great one Ron.
KyleS

 

[teapot2001]

On Fear Factor on Monday, one of the contestants wanted to use the winning money to get butt implants. He won.

~T

 

[andrew markworthy]

The generally accepted answer is that buttocks developed because we needed a larger muscle in that region to maintain balance when walking upright. [Why there were natural selection advantages in walking upright as opposed to shambling along like our ape ancestors is a *long* story].

I'm afraid all talk about buttocks being sexually attractive is rather ethnocentric. They are considered a point of especial attraction in some cultures but not others. E.g. non-western cultures have settled on different areas of the female body such as the lips, or the nape of the neck. Likewise there is no fixed ideal body size across nations or time (think of the radically different body shapes of Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy, and Victoria Principal, who were all considered ideals in their time). This rather scotches the belief that there is an inherent biological drive to find certain features attractive (if this were so then every culture would have the same list).

 

[Scott Dautel]

I find myself strangely fascinated by the evolutionary aspects of this discussion ....
I also get a charge out of J.Lo's baby picture:

Scott