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There are 4 butt shapes... which one do you have?
By Rebecca Jane Stokes — Last updated on Jun 26, 2023
Women's butts of all shapes and sizes are wonderful. You laugh, but(t) it's true!
Butt shapes and sizes of all different types are more than just useful and humorous flabby appendages — it turns out that the different types of butts can reveal a lot about the state of their owners' health. (And here you thought all they were good for was looking fine in spandex...)
There are many different types of butts in the world that vary in their shape and size, including the square butt, the V-shape butt, the A-shape butt, the round butt, and the upside-down heart butt.
But butt shapes can mean certain things depending on your body.
The shape of your buttocks means you're either exercising or not exercising, or your butt either has more or less muscle and fat, depending on how your body distributes it.
However, your butt shape is determined by your body's placement of the pelvis and hip bones. You can also tell the size of your buttocks by the way your gluteal muscles attach to the thigh bone.
While there is no perfect bum shape, in the world of plastic surgery, the most desired butt shape is the upside-down heart butt, which is similar to the A-shape butt, as it's considered the best looking to women and is the ideal butt shape.
That is, according to Beverly Hills plastic surgeon J. Timothy Katzen.
Of course, changing the size and shape of your butt is possible with exercise and lifting weights; however, if you want to go from one extreme shape to another, you might need to consider plastic surgery.
For each butt shape, there's a specific surgery to get a more even and desired ratio. For the round shape, the surgical procedure is the Brazilian butt lift; for the square butt, surgery requires liposuction and possible butt implants; the A-shaped butt is enhanced with a Brazilian fat transfer, which moves excess fat from the hips and abdomen into the buttocks; for the V-shaped butt, surgery would require abdominal liposuction with a Brazilian butt lift.
What is the reason for big buttocks? It's the norm in our world today due to celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, and Megan Thee Stallion, a big booty is more desired. It's just seen as more feminine and sexy as well to have a big butt, and some men desire a woman with a bigger butt.
If you were to look at every butt in the world, you would find that there are four common types in women and men that can tell you how healthy the person is.
What do the four most common types of butt shapes — heart-shaped, V-shaped, round, and square — say about your body's overall health?
Here are the 4 most common butt shapes and what each means for your health.
1. V-Shaped or Inverted Butt
V-shaped or inverted butts are most commonly found in older women. Changes in hormone levels and decreased levels of collagen mean the usually thick portion of a backside goes walkabout.
What causes this butt shape is the space between your hips, and women with narrow hips will have a V-shape butt, as well as a woman with broader shoulders.
If your butt looks like this, try working more protein into your diet, along with a multivitamin and exercise.
The underwear that would best flatter a V-shape butt is underwear that cups your bum to make it appear more lifted. You can achieve this by wearing hipsters, bikinis without high-cut leg holes, and boy shorts.
Your butt would also look best in jeans that have bigger pockets on the lower part of your back fading into the bum to make it look like your butt is lifted.
2. Heart-Shaped or A-Shaped Butt
In their prime, women with heart-shaped butts make the rest of us see green with envy.
What causes this butt shape is the fat distribution collecting below the hip bones and around the lower portion of the butt and thighs, which makes your butt widen below the hip bone and results in a more tapered look from the waist to the butt.
But watch out — this shape tends to gain more weight in the midsection as they age, and are more prone to heart disease. Be sure to visit your doctor regularly (and I don't mean Dr. Squats).
Underwear that would best suit a heart-shaped butt would be high-cut leg bikinis, cheeksters, and tangas. Jeans that would look great on you would be mid-rise to slight high-rise jeans, as they would flatter your bum, especially ones with stretchy denim fabric.
3. Round or Circle Shaped Butt
Women with big, full circular butts (aka "bubble butts") tend to be smarter and healthier overall. On the downside, round butts are more prone to develop cellulite deposits.
What causes a round shape butt is having fuller hips and more fat distributions around all areas of the buttcheeks. People with a round butt will look very curvy from behind.
The underwear that best fits a round butt is underwear with good coverage in the front as it can slide backward. Briefs and boyshorts with a lot of stretch are good, and if you want to show more skin, tangas, and thongs with extra fabric are all great options.
The best jeans for this bubble butt are high-rise jeans and bootcut jeans, as these will flatter your butt in so many good ways.
4. Square or H-Shaped Butt
Sometimes it is hip to be square, but that is not the case when you are a butt.
Square butts may indicate a weak core, and a weak core can lead to a low immune system. Square butts can also mean an excess of fat around the love handles, which can lead a person at higher risk for stroke or a heart attack.
What causes this type of butt is having high hip bones so the part of your hip bone to your outer thigh looks like a straight line. "Hip dips,” or love handles, also cause your butt to look more like a square.
The best underwear for square butts is anything that doesn't rise up high as you don't want to highlight your hip dips. A nice bikini, thong, or boy shorts would be best.
Whatever you do, avoid all low-rise jeans as these will not be flattering. Instead, invest in some comfortable high-waisted jeans for a flattering and uplifting look to your bum.
No matter what, of course, all butts of all types and shapes — including yours — are beautiful. What's your butt shape?
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Rebecca Jane Stokes is an editor, freelance writer, former Senior Staff Writer for YourTango, and the former Senior Editor of Pop Culture at Newsweek. Her bylines have appeared in Fatherly, Gizmodo, Yahoo Life, Jezebel, Apartment Therapy, Bustle, Cosmopolitan, SheKnows, and many others.