Sometimes, dealing with unusual sexualities requires a sociological or ethnographic approach, or at least a feel for the pulse of the trends surrounding us. This week, for example, was marked by a series of rather peculiar news. Let’s quickly review them…

Here in Italy Renzo Rosso, owner of the Diesel brand, bought the Lanerossi Vicenza soccer team. His first order was to assign it an underage ball girls squad chosen among the under-16 volley team and wearing a… let’s say particular attire.

Japan saw the launch of a show entirely devoted to the search for the woman who can best represent the nation through her perfection – or at least of one of her body parts.

I discovered an acronym that escaped even my dictionary of unusual sex: ‘PAWG’. It stands for ‘phat-ass white girl’, opposed to…

…colored women, who in various North American cultures have long been obsessed already by aiming for gigantic ass cheeks which, as taught by the Kardashians cult, are considered especially sexy even when they mercilessly disregard any sense of proportions.

Now. This may well be just a coincidence, but I sense a very strong trend of attention to everything ass. Such fad reminds me of a number of science facts, starting with how – until thirty years ago – preferring the bottom to the breast was considered an indicator of wealth. The theory was that the children of underprivileged areas are often breastfed, thus developing a latent fetishism for tits.

Assmania is also curious because, from an ethology standpoint, too athletic and narrow hips are perceived as unfit for reproduction since our reptilian brain thinks they offer “not enough space” to comfortably hold a child and for a safe delivery. A Devendra Singh study found how it is actually the waist-to-hips ratio to determine the appeal of a female body: the ideal number apparently is a waistline 30% slimmer than the hips – but standards constantly change through time and in various cultures.

Bottoms are notorious liars, indeed. Science has proven how swaying the hips makes women appear over 50% more desirable. A 2007 research, however, revealed how the sway is actually at its minimum during ovulation – probably to avoid attracting the attention of undesired mates, who instinctively value potential bed partners from afar via wide gestures such as their gait. This forces the candidates to come closer, allowing the women of the pre-Tinder dark ages to better choose the most promising ones. Research has also confirmed the role played by high heels for sex appeal, precisely due to how the influence the walk.

Genetics enters this picture too. For example, for decades the callipygian ideal was incarnated in the notorious “Brazilian butt” shaped by lots of exercises and a fanaticism for samba. Today it is celebrated in a specific beauty contest called Miss BumBum, which however reaches untold depths of squalor. But what about those born with the wrong DNA?
Not to worry: yet another ass-o-metric 2015 research indicated how the shape and size of the butt cheeks are not important factors for female attraction anyway. The key parameter is a different one: hyperlordosis, or how arched you keep your back. The closer your angle is to 45°, the more desirable you appear.

So, no matter how it sounds like an idea pulled out of someone’s ass, the truth is that there is a lot of science behind the sexual explorers’ evolved approach to sex…