# Crotch

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{{Short description|Part of the human body where the legs join the torso}}{{Distinguish|Crutch}}{{other uses|Crotch (disambiguation)}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2013}}
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| footer            = [Underpants](/source/Underpants) covering the crotch (front view)
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{{Wiktionary|crotch}}
In humans, the '''crotch''' is the bottom of the [pelvis](/source/human_pelvis) (the region of the [body](/source/human_body) where the [leg](/source/human_leg)s join the [torso](/source/torso)) and is the part of the body that includes the [groin](/source/groin) and [genitals](/source/Sex_organ).

==Etymology==
''Crotch'' is derived from ''crutch''; it was first used in 1539 to refer to a forked stick used as a farm implement.<ref>Hodgson, Charles. 2007. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IAzfurRydecC&dq=crotch+anatomy&pg=PA175  Carnal Knowledge: A Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia], New York: St. Martin's Press. page 175.</ref> This region of the body is also described with other terms such as ''groin'' or the lower ventral area.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Stavros|first1=A. Thomas|first2=Cindy|last2=Rapp|title=Dynamic ultrasound of hernias of the groin and anterior abdominal wall|journal=Ultrasound Quarterly|volume=26|issue=3|date=September 2010|pages=135–169|doi=10.1097/RUQ.0b013e3181f0b23f|pmid=20823750 |s2cid=31835133 }}</ref>

== In clothing ==
In clothing, the crotch is the area of [trousers](/source/trousers), [shorts](/source/shorts), [leggings](/source/leggings) etc. where the legs join. The bottom of the crotch is an end of the [inseam](/source/inseam). The crotch-region on smaller garments such as underwear are sometimes referred to as the ''pouch''.<ref>Davis, Sheena, and Alistair Furnell. Personal Equipment and Clothing Correction Factors for the Australian Army: A Pilot Survey. No. DSTO-TR-3044. Defence Science and Technology Organisation Fishermans Bend (Australia) Land Div., 2014.</ref> Loosely-fitted or bagginess in the crotch-region is sometimes associated with a lax, casual and easy-going approach to attires or garbs.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Newcomb|last1=Elizabeth|first2=Cynthia|last2=Istook|title=Confronting stereotypes: apparel fit preferences of Mexican-American women|journal=Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management|volume=15|issue=4|date=September 2011|pages=389–411|doi=10.1108/13612021111169915}}</ref>

Clothing that is [tight-fitting](/source/Form-fitting_garment) in the crotch produces an effect that is sometimes referred to by informal terms such as a ''man-bulge''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Michael|title=If Clement isn't fit for caucus, why is he fit to be anyone's MP?|work=[IPolitics](/source/IPolitics)|url=https://ipolitics.ca/2018/11/08/if-clement-isnt-fit-for-caucus-why-is-he-fit-to-be-anyones-mp/|quote=It took Weiner a full 20 days to realize he had to resign after a photo of “his man bulge in boxer briefs” hit Twitter on May 27, 2011.|access-date=January 19, 2019|archive-date=April 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417232635/https://ipolitics.ca/2018/11/08/if-clement-isnt-fit-for-caucus-why-is-he-fit-to-be-anyones-mp/|url-status=live}}</ref> or ''moose-knuckle''<ref>Schlosser, Bethanee J., and Ginat W. Mirowski. "Approach to the patient with vulvovaginal complaints." Dermatologic therapy 23.5 (2010): 438–448.</ref> on men, and a ''[camel toe](/source/camel_toe)'' on women, especially if the woman's [labia majora](/source/labia_majora) are conspicuous.<ref>Alapack, Richard J. "The epiphany of female flesh: A phenomenological hermeneutic of popular fashion." The Journal of Popular Culture 42.6 (2009): 977–1003</ref> Prolonged constrictive pressure of the crotch on the male genitals may increase the likelihood of [detumescing](/source/Tumescence).<ref>Dunlap, Knight. "The development and function of clothing." The Journal of General Psychology 1.1 (1928): 64–78</ref>

== Scope ==
The semantic field of the term ''crotch'' is sometimes expanded to include objects which have shapes similar to that of the anatomical human crotch.<ref>Widdowson, Henry G. "Aspects of the relationship between culture and language." Communication interculturelle et apprentissage des langues. Triangle 7 (1988).</ref> This may include botanical structures such as the area where tree branches are joined together<ref>Shigo, Alex L. "How tree branches are attached to trunks." Canadian Journal of Botany 63.8 (1985): 1391–1401.</ref> or mechanical structures which fork or branch or where ramification takes place.<ref>Zhang, L. "Thermal Deformation Modelling Attempt Of A Storage Ring Vacuum Vessel." Proceedings of EPAC, Vienna, Austria (2000): 2486–2488.</ref> The term had also been expanded to include the joining together of asymmetrical surfaces in cue sports equipment or the corners of  flat surfaces usually made of quarried slate.<ref>Byrne, Robert. Byrne's new standard book of pool and billiards. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998.</ref>

== Depictions in artwork ==
{{expand section|date=January 2013}}
The human crotch has been depicted in artwork. In Paleolithic art, forms called [tectiforms](/source/tectiforms) or [quadrilaterals](/source/quadrilaterals) have sometimes been interpreted to be "quick visual guides, reminders to the imagination" of the female crotch, and typically do not represent the crotch hairs.<ref>Guthrie, R. Dale. 2006. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3u6JNwMyMCEC&dq=crotch+art&pg=PA358 ''The Nature of Paleolithic Art''], University of Chicago Press, pp. 357–358. {{ISBN|9780226311265}}</ref>

Classical marble statues depict females without pubic hair; in contrast, statues of males "show curly pubic hair".<ref>[Morris, Desmond](/source/Morris%2C_Desmond). 2007. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wa9zntiEKeAC&dq=crotch+art&pg=PA196 ''The Naked Woman: a study of the female body'']. Macmillan. page 196. {{ISBN|9780312338534}}</ref>

For much of the history of European art – "until the late seventeenth century" – references to the female crotch were approached from above: "Art usually expressed the sense of the vulva as a point at the bottom of the belly rather than as the meeting place at the top of the thighs."<ref>Hollander, Anne. 1993. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CSItqzbG9nIC&dq=crotch+art&pg=PA220 ''Seeing Through Clothes''], University of California Press. p. 220. {{ISBN|9780520082311}}</ref>

[Art therapists](/source/Art_therapy) have noted "a triangular or vaginal shaped area in drawings by rape/sexual abuse victims".<ref>Coleman, Victoria D. and Phoebe M. Farris-Dufrene. 1996. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UKM16MTitEEC&dq=crotch+art+-%22dr.+crotch%22&pg=PA39 ''Art Therapy and Psychotherapy: Blending Two Therapeutic Approaches''], Taylor & Francis. p. 39. {{ISBN|9781560324898}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Parts of clothing
Category:Sexual anatomy

[nl:Schaamstreek](/source/nl%3ASchaamstreek)
[ne:जाङ्घ](/source/ne%3A%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%99%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%98)
[tl:Pundya](/source/tl%3APundya)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Crotch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotch) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotch?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.