It seems to me that as the concept of "appropriate attire" vanishes from the public sphere--pajamas in the supermarket? why not, dude?--and the evidence of excessive caloric intake is ever more visible, our language for describing shameless bodily displays is becoming correspondingly more inventive, elaborate, and body-part-specific. I am naturally thinking of cameltoe (a k a "the other cleavage"), a startlingly apt and vivid metaphor, especially considering that its users are unlikely to be Bedouins or zookeepers. Then there's muffin-top (a k a "belly roll"), which seems to have originated in an Australian sitcom, "Kath and Kim"; it was named Australia's word of the year for 2006 and is now almost as international as "OK."
New to me, but well known to the cool kids for some time now, is FUPA, which I first encountered earlier this week in Kersten's comment on a You Look Fab post. It's an acronym, which allows for some definitional flexibility. Acronym Finder defines it as "Fat Upper Pelvic Area," while the most popular definition on Urban Dictionary is "Fat Upper Pubic Area." Both interpretations suggest gender neutrality. However, the group singing "The FUPA Song" (watch the YouTube video) assigns an unequivocally feminine meaning to the "P" in FUPA. (Read the comments for some alternate glosses.)
If you're still wondering what on earth I'm talking about, you can check out the photos at FUPA Hunter, but don't say I didn't warn you. This is raw, in-your-FUPA documentation. This is muffin-top on steroids, inhuman growth hormones, and a side of fries.
There's also the "whale tail," which is the view you get from behind when a woman wears a thong with low-rise jeans.
Posted by: Karen | June 13, 2008 at 11:01 AM
First, let me deplore the meanness of the FUPA Hunter site.
Next, let me share the medical word for that "apron" of fatty abdominal tissue: panniculus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panniculus
Posted by: Orange | June 13, 2008 at 11:27 AM
@Karen: Thanks (I think) for reminding me about "whale tail."
@Orange: I figured there had to be a medical term--thanks for providing it! Grade 5 panniculus: *shudder.*
Posted by: Nancy Friedman | June 13, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Don't forget "the crack" :the area between the buttocks usually displayed by neighbors working on car engines and persons wearing tight jeans when they bend over at the supermarket to pick up the fifty pound bag of dog food.
Posted by: Nick Tata | June 13, 2008 at 04:19 PM
But that's not all! The LOLcats are in on it too: http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/06/13/funny-pictures-muffin-top/
Posted by: Karen | June 13, 2008 at 05:39 PM
I have also heard the FUPA referred to as a "gunt" - a hybridization of "gut" and the colloquial term for women's sexual organs commonly known as the "c" word.
Posted by: Gus | June 17, 2008 at 01:33 AM
For some reason, learning that "muffin-top" was Australia's word of the year in 2006 fills me with glee. I have long loved the term "muffin-top" (now if only I could learn to love my real, actual, ever-expanding muffin-top). I'm wondering what America's word of the year was in 2006. Oh, Google . . .
Merriam-Webster's was "truthiness" (famously so), and the American Dialect Society's was "plutoed" (also famously so). Ah, 2006. It was a good year.
Posted by: Editrix | July 17, 2008 at 10:51 AM