Crotch

For other uses, see Crotch (disambiguation).
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In humans, the crotch is the bottom of the pelvis, the region of the body where the legs join the torso, and is often considered to include the groin and genitals. This definition also applies to clothing, where the crotch includes the area of a pair of trousers or shorts where the legs join together. The bottom of the crotch defines one end of the inseam.

Etymology

Crotch is derived from crutch; it "was first used in 1539 to refer to a forked stick used as a farm implement."[1]

Depictions in artwork

The human crotch has been depicted in artwork in females In Paleolithic art, forms called tectiforms or 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.[2]

Classical marble statues depict females without pubic hair; in contrast statues of males "show curly pubic hair".[3]

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."[4]

Art therapists have noted "a triangular or vaginal shaped area in drawings by rape/sexual abuse victims".[5]

References

  1. ↑ Hodgson, Charles. 2007. Carnal Knowledge: A Navel Gazer's Dictionary of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia, New York: St. Martin's Press. page 175.
  2. ↑ Guthrie, R. Dale. 2006. The Nature of Paleolithic Art, University of Chicago Press pages. 357-358. ISBN 9780226311265
  3. ↑ Morris, Desmond. 2007. The Naked Woman: a study of the female body. Macmillan. page 196. ISBN 9780312338534
  4. ↑ Hollander, Anne. 1993. Seeing Through Clothes, University of California Press. page 220. ISBN 9780520082311
  5. ↑ Coleman, Victoria D. and Phoebe M. Farris-Dufrene. 1996. Art Therapy and Psychotherapy: Blending Two Therapeutic Approaches, Taylor & Francis. page 39. ISBN 9781560324898
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