Why do African-American men prefer women with such big asses?
Context — historical, cultural, and economic — shapes human behavior, especially in so complex a matter as bootyliciousness. Benjamin Bowser, former president of the Association of Black Sociologists and professor of sociology at California State University, notes, “The black aesthetic is coming out of the rural, agricultural South. It’s also a social-class aesthetic. It’s fairly consistent that black men and women in working-class communities prefer people with bigger bodies. In the black middle class, the aesthetic tends to shift toward preferences for the thinner, more athletic look.” Professor Bowser adds, buttockswise, “That’s looking at one particular piece of it. A big behind is not very attractive without the rest of the body.” According to Midge Wilson of DePaul University, who is currently researching cultural differences in body-size preference, simple conditioning may be a factor: “If you’re raised by a large mother, you will continue associating largeness with love.” Wit
