Butts: We all have ‘em, but each one is different in its own beautiful way. Like boobs (and nipples), there are a few different factors that affect their appearance and position. Of course, no two booties are *exactly* alike, but there are five common butt shapes — square, A-shaped, inverted, round, and upside-down heart-shaped — and learning about them can help you better understand and celebrate your body.
It’s possible that your butt shape might not precisely fit into one of these categories, and that’s completely normal. In fact, butts can change shape during different stages in life. “Age, weight, and hormone changes can affect butt shape,” Dr. Jennifer Levine, New York City-based double board-certified plastic surgeon, says. Butts go through natural transformations after puberty and, later in life, during pregnancy and menopause.
Its form is affected by your lower body’s bone and muscle placement. “The size of the gluteal (butt) muscles, as well as the position of the hip bones and pelvis, are going to determine butt shape overall,” Dr. Levine explains. “It also has to do with how the butt muscles attach to the thigh bone.”
Ahead, Dr. Levine explains what the bone and muscle positioning looks like for each butt shape. So without further ado, here are the five common butt shapes.
Square
Square, or H-shaped butts, are equal in size from the waist to the hips, Dr. Levine explains. “H- shaped butts hold more volume at the top and then flatten out at the bottom,” she adds.
A-Shaped
These booties are more narrow at the waist and tend to fill out towards the bottom, giving it its A-like build. “People with [an A-shape butt] usually have a tapered waistline and fat distributed in the lower part of [their] butt and thighs,” Dr. Levine explains.
Inverted
Think of an upside-down triangle, or V-shape. “Inverted butts have fullness at the hips and the top part of the butt, but narrow in size and shape at the bottom,” Dr. Levine describes.
Round
You might hear round derrières be categorized as “bubble” butts or “O-shaped” butts. In this shape, “fat is distributed evenly in the lower and upper parts of the butt cheeks,” Dr. Levine explains.
Upside-Down Heart
Upside-down heart-shaped butts are similar to A-shaped booties, in that they are narrow at the top and wider towards the bottom, Dr. Levine explains. However, upside-down heart-shaped butts tend to have more rounded cheeks: “There is more accumulation of fat in the lower portion of the butt and thigh,” she notes.
Leah Campano is an Associate Editor at Seventeen, where she covers pop culture, entertainment news, health, and politics. On the weekends, you can probably find her watching marathons of vintage Real Housewives episodes or searching for New York City’s best almond croissants.
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