We have quite a fondness for butts. They come in all shapes and sizes. We use them for sitting, pushing open doors when our arms are full, we use them to lure in our prey, and they even come in handy on the basketball court (booties and elbows out ladies).
But where do these magnificent assets come from? Fingers and toes make sense as needed appendages and you can see the similarities across species. But what about the butt?
Yes, we are talking about human butt evolution.
Here are some cheeky facts about where your cute booty comes from:
- While other primates have butts too, ours is much larger relative to the rest of the body.
- This basically started millions of years ago when an early human species started lifting up those knuckles and walking on two feet (or in technical terms, became bipedal).
- Walking on two feet was world-shattering since it freed up our hands, but it created some issues in our reproductive area, namely for women. That’s because at the same time, the human head was getting bigger so things were getting a bit squished. To make room for our melon-sized noggins, the hips began widening and deepening.
- The gluteal muscles that make up the butt developed in size as a result, in part to help keep our bipedal body stay balanced.
- With wider hips for childbearing and higher fat percentages on average (estrogen plays a role too), these facts explain why women tend to have bigger booties than men.
Is there more than biology?
While there’s biological reasons for the butt, it’s also assumed that our fascination with butts across cultures and throughout history has aided in the butt’s growth.
Bigger and more voluptuous booties are often considered attractive and “mate-able.” Big booties breed big-bootied children and so on — and eventually you come to the modern, curvy rump we admire and embrace today.