Who realised bottoms could be such a serious subject? Prof Myra Mendible, of Florida Gulf Coast University, whose book From Bananas to Buttocks charts the growing cultural dominance of the

Latina posterior, explains that historically “a woman’s failure to rein in an unruly butt connoted her lack of self-control, and by association, her inferior moral character. It also marked

her place in the social order: ‘high class’ women did not carry excess baggage in the trunk.” Yet today, a curvaceous rear is “a sign of authenticity,” she says. Coveted by millions of

American women and lusted after by their men, it’s a love affair that has sparked a multi-million dollar industry. Major advertisers, including Nike and Dove soap, have used voluptuous

women don’t have to go under the surgeon’s knife to have a fuller behind. There are several lines of designer jeans that promise to lift their buttocks, including the YMI Wanna Betta Butt,

Hourglass Angel, and Brazilian Butt Lift jeans. You can transform the saggiest buttocks into a curvaceous triumph with Booty Pop padded panties, which have sold more than one million pairs

of the underwear with egg-shaped foam pads to plump up the posterior. “I look better, I feel better, and as a result, I act better,” says Booty Pop devotee Tara Benson, aged 29, a Los

Angeles music industry executive. “Forget about doing endless squats,” says Booty Pop’s TV ad. “And cosmetic surgery – who can afford that?” But many can, and New York plastic surgeon Dr

Shirley Madhere confirms that it is the fastest growing part of her business: “Across the board, regardless of age group and ethnicity, it’s that hourglass shape.” Yet thousands of American

women who cannot afford the £3,000-£10,000 cost of such surgery are risking their lives turning to illegal backstreet procedures, with silicone injected by people with no medical training.

As illicit implant surgery soars, deaths have been reported across America. University student Tamara Blaine, aged 22, died in March after receiving silicon buttock injections in a seedy New

York hotel from beautician and hairstylist Tamira Mobley, aged 28. A coroner found that injected silicon went into Blaine’s veins and asphyxiated her. Sometimes multiple people are injected

in hotel rooms in “pumping parties,” says Dr John Martin, a plastic surgeon in Coral Gables, Florida. Some illegal practitioners use industrial silicone, and in absurdly large amounts that

can cause blood clots and infections. “It can drift,” warns Dr Martin. “If you fill your butt with this huge amount of silicone, it can run down your leg and you have to get your leg

amputated.” Los Angeles hairstylist Apryl Brown, aged 47, who “just didn’t want the pancake booty any more,” had both hands and feet amputated after silicone injected into her bottom in an

illicit procedure left her with a nearly fatal infection. It’s a horribly steep price to pay for a desirable derriere. Yet a well-curved bottom can be yours just with exercise and patience,

assures New York personal trainer Erika Kendall. “It will literally take you eight to 24 months,” she says. “Are you ready?"