{{Short description|Minor exposure of the buttocks}} [[File:Study naked no1906 Villeneuve-164.jpg|thumb|Photograph by Julien Vallou de Villeneuve (1854)]] '''Buttock cleavage''' is minor exposure of the buttocks and the intergluteal cleft between them, often because of low-rise pants.
==History==
When faced with indecency issues back in the 1930s, W. G. Cassidy explained in an essay titled "Private Parts: A judicial view" that exposure of a buttock cleavage may come under "other private parts" in Australian law, though indecency generally involves exposure of the genital area.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Cassidy |first=W.G. |date=September 1974 |title=Private parts: A judicial view |type=law essay |magazine=Southerly |volume=34 |number=3 |pages=315–319 |place=Sydney, AU |url=http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=972822724348847;res=IELLCC |via=informit.com.au}}</ref>
In the early 2000s, it became fashionable for young women and men to expose their buttocks this way, often while wearing low-rise jeans.<ref name=Salon>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Janelle |date=2002-05-28 |df=dmy-all |title=Booty call: Here come the buns |website=Salon.com |url=http://www.salon.com/mwt/style/2002/05/28/booty_call |url-status=dead |access-date=2006-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219202751/http://www.salon.com/mwt/style/2002/05/28/booty_call/ |archive-date=2006-02-19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=d'Angelo |first=Jennifer |date=5 December 2001 |title=Cleavage fashion flips upside down |website=Fox News (FOXNews.com) |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/cleavage-fashion-flips-upside-down |access-date=12 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205053812/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,40105,00.html |archive-date=2011-02-05 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' called it the "new cleavage", and expressed views that "It's virtually impossible to find jeans to cover your hipbone".<ref>{{cite news |last=Daugherty |first=Gina |date=May 29, 2003 |title=Thong spotting gets easier |newspaper=The Cincinnati Enquirer |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/05/29/tem_thurslede29.html |via=enquirer.com |access-date=2008-02-19 |df=dmy-all |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731021246/http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/05/29/tem_thurslede29.html |archive-date=2012-07-31}}</ref> In August 2001, ''The Sun'' celebrated a "bum cleavage week".<ref>{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Anna |date=August 26, 2001 |title=Bum deal: Suddenly, women's bottoms are everywhere. It might seem like jolly, harmless fun, but actually there's nothing innocent about it |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/27/gender.uk |access-date=February 19, 2008 |via=theguardian.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210410124730/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/27/gender.uk |archive-date=April 10, 2021 }}</ref>
Jeffreys (2005) identified British designer Alexander McQueen as the originator of buttock cleavage-revealing jeans, known as the "bumster".<ref name=Jeffreys-2005>{{cite book |last=Jeffreys |first=Sheila |year=2005 |title=Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful cultural practices in the West |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-35183-9 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UAi55tsTffgC&dq=buttock+cleavage&pg=PA98 |via=Google books}}</ref>
In 2013, ''Cosmopolitan'' said that ultra-short miniskirts and shorts exposing the lower buttocks had gained popularity among women, influenced by celebrities such as Lady Gaga.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=High alert: We're all helpless onlookers to 'the Summer of butt cleavage' |date=17 July 2013 |orig-date=16 July 2013 |magazine=Cosmopolitan |url=http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/news/a4583/butt-cleavage-2013/ |access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref>
==Lexicon== The terms ''plumber butt'' or ''plumber's crack'' (Canadian, Australian, and American English) and ''builder's bum'' (English) refer to the exposure of the buttock cleavage. The expression "builder's bum" was first recorded in 1988. The terms are based on the popular impression that work in these professions frequently involves bending over in locations where bystanders are observing from the rear.<ref>''Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable'', by John Ayto, Ian Crofton (2006), {{ISBN|0-304-36809-1}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3DiHy31K30oC&pg=PA121&dq=%22plumber%27s+butt%22+-wikipedia p. 121]</ref> In the Netherlands the term {{lang|nl|bouwvakkersdecolleté}} and in Germany {{lang|de|Maurerdekolleté}} and in Poland {{lang|pl|dekolt hydraulika}} is used, which can be translated as "builder's/mason's/plumber's cleavage". In France, it is usually referred to as {{lang|fr|le sourire du plombier}}, which literally translates to "the plumber's smile".<ref>{{cite web |title=French Expression of the Day |url=https://www.thelocal.fr/20190910/french-expression-of-the-day-sourire-du-plombier/ |website=The Local|date=10 September 2019 }}</ref>
==See also== * Camel toe * Breast cleavage * Wardrobe malfunction * Whale tail
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * Thesaurus:plumber's crack from Wiktionary * {{Commons category inline|Buttock cleavage}}
{{Sexual slang}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttock Cleavage}} Category:2000s fashion Cleavage Category:Human physical appearance