Steatopygia is the state of having substantial levels of tissue on the

buttocks The buttocks (: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed of a lay ...

and thighs. This build is not confined to the gluteal regions, but extends to the outside and front of the

thigh In anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip (pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of bone tissu ...

s, and tapers to the

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

producing a curvilinear figure. The term is from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(), meaning "

tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton suet, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton suet. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, inc ...

", and (), meaning "rump". Tonfigur Kato Chorio 02

Steatopygia, a genetic phenotype leading to increased accumulation of

adipose tissue Adipose tissue (also known as body fat or simply fat) is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. It also contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, Blood vessel, vascular endothel ...

in the buttock region, is most notably (but not solely) found among the

Khoisan Khoisan ( ) or () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for the various Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who traditionally speak non-Bantu languages, combining the Khoekhoen and the San people, Sān peo ...

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. It has also been observed among

Pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a po ...

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

and also the Andamanese people, such as the

Onge The Onge (also Önge, Ongee, and Öñge) are an Andamanese ethnic group, indigenous to the Andaman Islands in Southeast Asia at the Bay of Bengal, India. They are traditionally hunter-gatherers and fishers, but also practice plant cultivatio ...

tribe in the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

. This genetic characteristic is prevalent among women but occurs to a lesser degree in men. Woman_with_Steatopygia

It has been suggested that this feature was once more widespread. Paleolithic

Venus figurines A Venus figurine is any Upper Palaeolithic statue portraying a woman, usually carved in the round.Fagan, Brian M., Beck, Charlotte, "Venus Figurines", beliefs '' The Oxford Companion to Archaeology'', 1996, Oxford University Press, pp. 740– ...

, sometimes referred to as "Steatopygian Venus" figures, discovered from Europe to Asia presenting a remarkable development of the thighs, and even the prolongation of the labia minora, have been used to support this theory. Whether these were intended to be lifelike, exaggeratory, or idealistic is unclear. These figures, however, may not qualify as steatopygian, since they exhibit an angle of approximately 120 degrees between the back and the buttocks, while steatopygia is typically described with an angle of about 90 degrees only. The dynamics of biomechanical movement will differ depending on the pelvic morphology by the same principle. The fascia anatomy of the sides of the sacral diamond area, which regulates its shape and movement, corresponds to the fascial thickenings that are part of the sacral complex of the thoracambular fascia, which surrounds the sacroiliac joints both posterioly and, from the iliolumbar ligaments anteriorly. The biochemical properties of the bands would have repercussions from the inside to the outside and vice-versa. The shape of the posterior muscular and adipose tissues seems to correspond with the general pelvic morphology. The classification is as follows: the gynecoid pelvis corresponds to a round buttocks shape, the platypelloid pelvis to a triangle shape, the anthropoid pelvis to a square shape and the android pelvis to a trapezoidal gluteus region. The trapezoidal shape is what gives steotopygia its specific shape and appearance; if anything, steatopygia is a trapezoidal figure from front, sideways and the back. Steotopygia increases the risk of gigantomastia in females and gynecomastia in males. It is also associated with inflammation to the genital area causing larger labia minora and labia majora in females ("macronympha") and giving males a larger penile girth and length. Steotopygia gives an aggressive athletic pear shape and triangle figure. Also gives a infantile oval and round face to both females and males. In Georgian England, freak shows were known to have exploited women with steatopygia. The most well-known example was a South African Khoekhoe woman named

Sarah Baartman Sarah Baartman (; 1789 – 29 December 1815), also spelled Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoekhoe woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under ...

, who is thought to have had

lipedema Lipedema is a condition that is almost exclusively found in women and results in enlargement of both legs due to deposits of fat under the skin. Women of any weight may be affected and the fat is resistant to traditional weight-loss methods. The ...

Distribution and geography

Steotopygia is found in many people of sub-Saharan African or Austronesian descent.

Causes and genetics

Steatopygia is the relationship between the android auxilla and the femur and various fat genes are included for variation. Steatopygia is found in both male and female people of afrodescent. Steatopygia is a phenotype that African subracial groups kept from ancient humans when they started walking on two feet. Steotopygia forms a default triangle shape body build regardless of the body weight meaning even being severely underweight keep a triangle shape body for both male and female.

Contemporary debates

Modern understanding of steatopygia is not connected solely to genetic markers. Historical perspective on race-influenced steatopygia was used for sexualizing people such as "Hottentot Venus."

References

External links

* {{Medical resources , ICD10 = {{ICD10, Xxx.x , ICD9 = {{ICD9, xxx , ICDO = , OMIM = , DiseasesDB = , MedlinePlus = , eMedicineSubj = , eMedicineTopic = , MeSH = , GeneReviewsNBK = , GeneReviewsName = , Orphanet = , SNOMED CT = 57337005 Anthropology Lower limb anatomy Buttocks

Distribution and geography

Causes and genetics

Contemporary debates

See also

References

External links