Speaking as a man, I have always been a proponent of curves in an attractive woman. The societal pressure today put on women to achieve a waif-thin look, that body style often associated with famous models and the unsupported philosophy of "the thinner, the better," makes no sense to me.
Of course, women with great curves make most guys think of the lovely body contours of waists, breasts, and buttocks. Yet, I think few men who view a set of lovely curves break down the undulating attraction to just one specific area of mass.
So, science has done that for us ...
"A recent study by the University of Texas at Austin, published in Evolution and Human Behavior, revealed that men do find women with curves more attractive, but those curves aren't breasts or big behinds. Instead, the study showed that when researchers presented 100 men photos of women's bodies, each having a different angled spine curvature, the men found the images with a larger angle more attractive."
(Mandy Velez. "Study Proves That Men Really Do Prefer Curves -- But Not The Ones You Think. A Plus: Positive Journalism. March 20, 2015.)
A study of "vertebral wedging" by University of Texas Austin alumnus and Bilkent University psychologist David Lewis found that men love a particular spinal curve.
And, even when Lewis then conducted a second study to see if the men actually preferred bigger booties, or just the 45.5 degree spine curvature, 200 men preferred the images with the optimal spinal curve -- regardless of the butt size. Yep, despite all the purported love for the badonkadonk and the unparalleled popularity of ass-shaking music videos, it appears the back is "where it's at."
These findings enabled the research to state conclusively that men prefer women who exhibit specific angles of spinal curvature over buttock mass. This seems to put a deep crack in bountiful bottom worship.
Why? It's the same old mating preference connection that seems to be the answer in so many studies of human attraction. The researchers agree a biological preference was at play since women with the optimal spine curves were more apt to carry the weight of a baby during pregnancy, and therefore, make more suitable mates.
In a UT press conference, Lewis spoke of evolutionary design ...
"This spinal structure would have enabled pregnant women to balance their weight over the hips. These women would have been more effective at foraging during pregnancy and less likely to suffer spinal injuries. In turn, men who preferred these women would have had mates who were better able to provide for fetus and offspring, and who would have been able to carry out multiple pregnancies without injury."
How about guys who love a woman's bodacious butt? "Men who think they like big bottoms may actually be more into spines. They may be directing their attention to the butt and obtaining information about women's spines, even if they are unaware that that is what their minds are doing," Dr. Lewis said.
The study's co-author David Buss, a University of Texas at Austin psychology professor, says ...
"What's fascinating about this research is that it is yet another scientific illustration of a close fit between a sex-differentiated feature of human morphology -- in this case lumbar curvature -- and an evolved standard of attractiveness. This adds to a growing body of evidence that beauty is not entirely arbitrary, or 'in the eyes of the beholder' as many in mainstream social science believed, but rather has a coherent adaptive logic."
A "coherent adaptive logic" based on a woman's ability to forage and carry out multiple pregnancies without injury. What a babe! What a curvaceous, beautiful creature! What a lovely backbone for babies!
I bet this image of utility in beauty does not sit well with many readers. Yet, modern men in this study have affirmed the overwhelming attractiveness of the 45.5 degree spine curvature, and I would guess that many of those admiring eyes operated with the one-track male propensity to view a lovely lady with "sex in mind."
Who can deny the subtle, suggestive beauty of this flexible, feminine curve? No wonder healthy backs draw particular attention.
It is the back that puts the "rock" in the euphemism "rock and roll." Consider the seminal blues favorite "Rock Me" by Muddy Waters:
"Want you to rock me baby, rock me all night long
Want you to rock me baby, rock me all night long
Well I want you to rock me baby, like my back ain't got no bones"
In a more classical sense, the sensual appeal of "bone deep" beauty in the famous poem "I Knew a Woman" by Theodore Roethke (1908–1963) offers beauty in the image of near-perfect motion:
"I knew a woman, lovely in her bones,
When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them;
Ah, when she moved, she moved more ways than one:
The shapes a bright container can contain!
Of her choice virtues only gods should speak,
Or English poets who grew up on Greek
(I’d have them sing in chorus, cheek to cheek)...
(She moved in circles, and those circles moved)."
The small of the back has always been considered a very sensual spot, and fashion dictates this. In fact, the practice of showing explicitness on the lower back has been performed for centuries. Certain articles of clothing, such as the haltertop and the backless dress, are designed to expose the back in this manner.
The lower back is typically exposed frequently by many types of shirts in woman's fashion, and even the more conservative shirts and blouses will reveal the lower back. This happens for a variety of reasons:
* The lower waist area is a pivot point for the body and lengthens and arches as a woman sits or bends. Woman's fashion typically favors tops that are waist length, allowing the back to be left bare during slight movement, bending or sitting.
* And now, of course, the back also serves as the largest canvas for body art on the human body. Because of its size and the relative lack of hair, the back presents an ideal canvas on the human body for lower back tattoos, mostly among young women.
So, whatever goes through a man's head when he spies his conception of the perfect female curvature, he might want to acknowledge the appeal of a particular tilt at the small of the back. Sir Mix-a-Lot may need to alter the lyrics of his famous hit song "Baby Got Back" to keep up with the research at hand. I'll give him a little help here ...
"I like nice backs and I can not lie
You other brothers can't deny
That when a girl walks in with a springy waist
And a 45 degree curvature in your face
You get sprung, want to pull up tough
'Cause that spine above her duff
Is the perfect curve she's wearing
I'm hooked and I can't stop staring ...
Baby got back!"
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