Yet this rage for shapely butts is nothing new. The ancient Greeks worshipped at the temple of Aphrodite Kallipygos, Goddess of the Beautiful Buttocks, while a womanly rump has always been an object of worship in most of the southern hemisphere.
Having all but disappeared from western culture in the breast-obsessed second half of the 20th century, the fully formed fanny is currently enjoying a massive resurgence, attributed by some to American actress Jennifer Lopez by others to the rise of booty-centric hip hop culture.
"The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets."
A pert posterior causes instant arousal, as Zora Neale Hurston observed in Their Eyes Were Watching God:
butts balance our bodies while running, according to biologists.
Curiously, its primary purpose is functional rather than aesthetic:
Americans are having it cosmetically enhanced at rates approaching breast enlargement surgery. The female butt, tush,culo, or derrière has always inspired awe, fantasy, and slavish devotion.
Contemporary Italians touch it for luck before placing a bet.
The Kama Sutra gives detailed instructions on how to spank it.