Over on LiveJournal a poster has started a meme. When she scratches her belly button, she says, her clitoris is stimulated. All around the world, women are playing with their innies, trying to reproduce this effect. It’s actually quite common.
The revelation got me thinking about the good old BB. I knew it was where the umbilical cord connected in to the fetus and that was how nutrients etc. were transferred, but what exactly were the components of the umbilical. I had never given much thought to it, but it seems obvious that parts of the cord should remain in the body after birth, integrated into different organs. All of these useful facts were gleaned from a site set up to investigate the prevalence of belly button fluff (or lint, as it’s American).
Considering its connection to birth and strategic placement, it’s not surprising that the belly button has been eroticised, with a whole BB subculture and pages devoted to navels. (As we’re having a special Willow week here at Spinneyhead, here’s a link to Alyson Hannigan’s innie.) You can even find films ‘starring your favorite bellybutton – baring Superheros…The Bellybutton Hunter and The Tomb Huntress!‘
More scientifically, umbilical cord blood cells could be as good a source of stem cells as fetuses, though this is a controversial claim and most places only harvest the blood for reintroduction to the original owner.
And, finally, I couldn’t end this subject without mentioning piercings.