Camel Toe Consumption and Production

The phrase “camel toe” has at least two common meanings. One pertains to camel anatomy, as mentioned in this recent study:

“China’s Dongbei Cuisine,” Jacqueline M. Newman, Gastronomica, Spring 2009, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 82–6. Newman reports: “Though the consumption of endangered species is generally frowned upon, Dongbei inhabitants still enjoy bear paw, camel toe, and various tiger parts.”

The newer meaning pertains to human anatomy. Kathleen Fasanella explains, in her study “Anatomy of a Camel Toe“. Fasanella explains [using the photo reproduced here] that camel toe is “a popular culture description of the crotch of a woman’s pants that was inordinately defined due to wearing pants that were too small.” Fasanella corrects what she sees as a popular misconception:

the fitting problem known as camel toe is not caused by women wearing their pants too tight. No, no. Most of the time, camel toe is rarely the extreme you see on certain websites; it’s more subtle than that. Most of the time, camel toe is caused by wearing pants that are too big — in one specific area — making a reciprocal area too small. It’s an engineering problem.

(Thanks to investigator G. Jules for bringing this to our attention. Jules also points to a less scholarly description of the phenomenon, a Consumerist essay called “Smooth Down Your Lady Parts With Camelflage Or Camel Ammo“.)