Cultural views on the midriff and navel

The public exposure of the male and female midriff and bare navel has been taboo at times in Western cultures, being considered immodest or indecent.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} It was banned in some jurisdictions.{{cite news|title=New code may reveal navel |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eLtPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gFMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3939,2026891&dq=navel+reveal&hl=en |access-date=20 April 2012|newspaper=Mohave Daily Miner|date=24 March 1985}}{{better source needed|date=April 2024}} Eventually, only female navel exposure was banned and not male because, it was argued, the simulation or upward displacement from vagina to navel was commonplace and obvious in women.{{cite journal |author=Elaine Perez Zickler |title=Elizabeth Bronfen, The Knotted Subject: Hysteria and Its Discontents |url=http://www.brynmawr.edu/bmrcl/Spring2001/Bronfen.html |volume=2 |number=2 |date=Spring 2001 |journal=Bryn Mawr Review of Comparative Literature |access-date=16 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116053623/http://www.brynmawr.edu/bmrcl/Spring2001/Bronfen.html |archive-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}{{better source needed|date=April 2024}}

Community perceptions have changed and exposure of female midriff and navel is more accepted today and in some societies or contexts it is both fashionable and common, though not without its critics.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Although American teenage girls are more likely to wear shirts that reveal their midriffs, this kind of clothing is often banned in high schools and stores.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} It is also inappropriate to wear clothing that reveals the midriff in professional settings like places of work.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} The exposure of the male navel has not been as controversial nor as common, and is usually in the context of barechestedness.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} Exposure of the navel by females is commonly associated with the popularity of the bikini, the crop top, and low-rise clothing.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

In the United States, the Motion Picture Production Code, or Hays Code, enforced after 1934, banned the exposure of the female navel in Hollywood films.*{{cite book |last1=Moseley |first1=Rachel |title=Fashioning Film Stars: Dress, Culture, Identity |date=2005 |publisher=British Film Institute |isbn=978-1-8445-7067-6 |page=136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dVkAAAAMAAJ&q=navel }}

• {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__DqAAAAMAAJ&q=navel |title=The bikini book |author=Kelly Killoren Bensimon |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2006 |isbn=9780500513163 |page=22 }}
• {{cite news|author=Ian Lendler|title=A timeline of TV censorship|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2007-07-31/living/censorship_1_tweety-bird-elvis-tea?_s=PM:LIVING|access-date=16 March 2012|publisher=CNN|date=31 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420210441/http://articles.cnn.com/2007-07-31/living/censorship_1_tweety-bird-elvis-tea?_s=PM:LIVING|archive-date=20 April 2012|url-status=dead}} The National Legion of Decency, a Roman Catholic body guarding over American media content, also pressured Hollywood to keep clothing that exposed certain parts of the female body, such as bikinis and low-cut dresses, from being featured in Hollywood movies.{{cite book|first=Frank A. |last=Salamone|title=Popular Culture in the Fifties|page=76|publisher=University Press of America|year= 2001 |isbn=0-7618-2103-1}}{{better source needed|date=April 2024}}

File:Beach Party Annette Funicello Frankie Avalon Mid-1960s.jpg and Annette Funicello in publicity photo for the series of Beach Party films, 1963]]

During the 1950s, Joan Collins was prohibited by the censors from exposing her navel in Land of the Pharaohs (1955).{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} To get around the censors' guidelines, she wore a jewel, a ruby, in her navel.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZU3j3M8MAssC&q=navel+ |title=Three complete books |author=Joan Collins |publisher=Random House Value Publishing |year=1994 |isbn=9780517100745}}{{cite book|author=Elisabeth Bronfen|title=The knotted subject: hysteria and its discontents|year=1998|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn= 9780691012308|page=469|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LNaakruoSJgC}}{{better source needed|date=April 2024}} Kim Novak wore a ruby jewel in her navel for the film Jeanne Eagels (1957); saying in an interview, "they had to glue it in every time. I got a terrible infection from it."{{cite news|title=Kim Novak: The Curves are Gem-studded|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qbUyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MuoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1978,1544100&dq=actress+navel&hl=en|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718081938/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qbUyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MuoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1978,1544100&dq=actress+navel&hl=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 July 2012|access-date=17 March 2012|newspaper=The Miami News|date=20 May 1964}}{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} Marilyn Monroe, for a scene from Some Like It Hot (1959), wore a dress that revealed skin everywhere but had a small piece of fabric to hide her navel.{{cite web|title=The World's Belly Button|url=http://www.vogue.it/en/beauty/beauty-in-vogue/01/06/stars-and-belly-button|work=Vogue Italia|access-date=19 February 2012|archive-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918170042/https://www.vogue.it/en/beauty/beauty-in-vogue/01/06/stars-and-belly-button|url-status=dead}} (The film was condemned by the National Legion of Decency, but for other reasons.{{cite book|last1=Phillips|first1=Gene|title=Some Like it Wilder|publisher=University of Kentucky Press|pages=223|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5uohNoRFkwIC&pg=PT270|isbn=978-0813173672|date=5 February 2010}}[http://www.listal.com/list/films-condemned-legion-decency Films Condemned by the Legion of Decency])

By the 1960s, community standards had changed. Marilyn Monroe was allowed to expose her navel in Something's Got to Give (1962) and later commented, "I guess the censors are willing to recognize that everybody has a navel."{{cite news|author=Bob Thomas|title=Mystique endears 30 years after death|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cSdZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CUcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5273,3224419&dq=navel+reveal&hl=en|access-date=20 April 2012|newspaper=The Union Democrat|date=24 July 1992}} Ursula Andress, appearing as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film, Dr. No, wore her iconic white bikini, which exposed her midriff and navel. However, when Annette Funicello was cast in her first beach movie Beach Party (1963), Walt Disney, who held her contract, insisted that she only wear modest bathing suits and keep her navel covered, to preserve her wholesome persona, though she was the only one of the ample number of young women in the film not bikini-clad.{{cite web | title=The Myth of the Hidden Navel | url=http://www.beachpartymoviemusic.com/TheMythoftheHiddenNavel.html | access-date=20 February 2012 | publisher=Beachpartymoviemusic.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103012357/http://www.beachpartymoviemusic.com/themythofthehiddennavel.html | archive-date=3 January 2014 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}{{better source needed|date=April 2024}} In the 1967 film Follow That Camel, actress Anita Harris wore a jewel on her navel for a belly-dancing sequence.{{cite news|author=Lenika Cruz|title=Taylor Swift and the Fraught History of Navel-Gazing|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/01/taylor-swift-and-the-fraught-history-of-navel-gazing/384811/|access-date=7 February 2015|work=The Atlantic|date=26 January 2015}}{{cite web|title=Should You Believe?|url=http://www.shira.net/costuming/costuming-fact-or-fiction.htm|website=Shira.net|access-date=7 February 2015}}

The Hays Code was abandoned soon after, with it the prohibition of female navel exposure and other restrictions. The influence of the National Legion of Decency had also waned by the 1960s. With the withdrawal of the Code and the change to a classification regime, the ban on the exposure of parts of the human body that had previously been regarded as immodest or indecent was withdrawn; and with it, there was an increasing level of body exposure over time. The exposure of the navel ceased to be controversial in the context of a general increase in nudity.

In the 2000s, Devon Aoki's bad girl character Suki in 2 Fast 2 Furious wore low rise pants and a cut off crop-top exposing her midriff and belly button was a popular iconic style.{{cite web | url=https://cools.com/devon-aoki-2-fast-2-furious | title=My Adult Wardrobe Has Been Defined by Devon Aoki in "2 Fast 2 Furious" | work=COOLS | date=7 June 2019 }} During the audition for Transformers, Megan Fox was once told from Michael Bay about the looks of her stomach for the role.{{cite web | url=https://www.koimoi.com/hollywood-news/when-megan-fox-was-told-just-be-sxy-asked-do-you-have-a-nice-stomach-during-transformers-auditions-leaving-her-fumed/ | title=When Megan Fox Was Told, "Just be S*xy" & Asked, "Do You Have a Nice Stomach?" During Transformers Auditions Leaving Her Fumed! | date=12 August 2023 }}

File:I dream of jeannie hagman eden.JPG in a publicity photo of 1960s TV show I Dream of Jeannie]]

In 1951, the United States Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters came into force, which, besides other things, prohibited female navel exposure on American television.{{cite book|author=Jerry Della Femina|title=From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor: Front-Line Dispatches from the Advertising War|date=2010|publisher=Canongate Books|isbn=978-1847679680|page=201|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQOh5UnMwZUC&pg=PA201}} During the 1960s, Barbara Eden was not allowed to show her navel on the NBC TV show I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70).{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/iwatchthereforei0000berg|url-access=registration|title=I Watch, Therefore I Am: From Socrates to Sartre, the Great Mysteries of Life as Explained Through Howdy Doody, Marcia Brady, Homer Simpson, Don Draper, and Other TV Icons |author=Gregory Bergman |author2=Peter Archer |year=2011 |publisher=Adams Media |page=[https://archive.org/details/iwatchthereforei0000berg/page/80 80] |isbn=9781440512414 |quote=Network executives got around the censors on the first issue by pointing out that Jeannie slept in a bottle and not on Tony's bed. On the second issue, they had to agree never to show Barbara Eden's navel during the show.}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29NFXftXwI8C&pg=PA201|title=Censoring sex: a historical journey through American media |author=John E. Semonche |year=2007 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=201 |isbn=9780742551329 |quote=In 1965 when the situation comedy I Dream of Jeannie premiered, the network censor barred showing of Barbara Eden's navel in her genie costume.}} Her pants had to be worn above the navel, which became ineffective. After a few frames of her navel exposure went unnoticed, they decided to use fabric and skin-colored makeup to conceal her navel.{{cite web|title=11 Great Milestones in Televised Nudity|url=http://www.nerve.com/entertainment/great-moments-in-televised-nudity?page=2|publisher=Nerve.com|access-date=22 May 2013}} Her costume became low-rise (without censorship) in 1985{{cite book |author=David Hofstede |title=What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History |publisher=Back Stage Books |year=2004 |isbn=9780823084418 |page=100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3i1HGbyT85MC&pg=PA100}} and in 2013, 81-year-old Eden attended the Life Ball event in Vienna dressed in the same costume of I Dream of Jeannie but revealing her navel.{{cite news|author=Ellie Krupnick|title='I Dream of Jeannie' Costume Re-Worn By Barbara Eden, 78|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/27/i-dream-of-jeannie-costume_n_3341519.html|access-date=11 August 2013|work=The Huffington Post|date=29 May 2013}}{{cite news|author=Adam Edelman|title=Barbara Eden, 78, dons iconic 'I Dream of Jeannie' costume onstage at Life Ball in Vienna|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/dream-jeannie-actress-plays-fight-aids-wink-nod-article-1.1355087|access-date=11 August 2013|newspaper=Daily News|date=26 May 2013|location=New York}}{{cite news|author=Alison Schwartz|title=Barbara Eden Digs Up Jeannie Costume, Hangs with Bill Clinton|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20703758,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608022841/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20703758,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 June 2013|access-date=11 August 2013|newspaper=People|date=26 May 2013}} In February 1964, Scandinavian Airlines placed an advertisement in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. It featured a blonde-haired, bikini-clad model exposing her belly button posing on a rock above the caption "What to show your wife in Scandinavia". The image that appeared in most publications had the belly button removed.{{cite web|title=The Vanishing Belly Button, 1964|url=http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/photo_database/image/the_vanishing_belly_button|publisher=The Museum of Hoaxes|access-date=19 October 2013}}{{cite news |title=Censorship: Out, Damned Spot! |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938469,00.html |access-date=19 October 2013 |newspaper=Time |date=6 March 1964}}

File:Raffaella Carrà 1971.jpg in Canzonissima, 1970]]

File:Sonny & Cher Show 1977.JPG exposing her navel for a scene from an Egyptian soap opera skit on The Sonny and Cher Show, 1977]]

The first exposure of a navel in a TV series occurred in 1961 on the Dr. Kildare series.{{cite book|last1=Marcel Danesi|title=Dictionary of Media and Communications|url=http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/iif_kgpm_Dictionary_of_Media.pdf|access-date=24 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517003727/http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/iif_kgpm_Dictionary_of_Media.pdf|archive-date=17 May 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last1=Marcel Danesi|title=Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things: An Introduction to Semiotics|date=30 April 2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0230612785|page=205|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFwYDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA205}} Dawn Wells and Tina Louise were not allowed to expose their navels in Gilligan's Island (1964–67).{{cite web|author=Brian Wallace|title=The Liberalization of Television Programming [Infographic]|work=Business 2 Community |date=18 May 2013 |url=http://www.business2community.com/infographics/the-liberalization-of-television-programming-infographic-0497321|publisher=Business2Community.com|access-date=22 May 2013}} Wells was required to wear high-waisted shorts that covered her navel.{{cite web|author=Nojan Aminosharei|title=Televisionaries|url=http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/reviews/televisionaries-521457#slide-1|work=Elle|access-date=22 May 2013|date=20 January 2011}}{{cite web|title=11 Great Milestones in Televised Nudity|url=http://www.nerve.com/entertainment/great-moments-in-televised-nudity|publisher=Nerve.com|access-date=22 May 2013}}

Raffaella Carrà was the first Italian woman and first TV personality to show her belly button on TV in 1970 garnering her criticisms from the Vatican.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1013453483|title=Raffaella Carrà, Glittery Queen Of Italian TV, Has Died At 78|publisher=NPR|access-date=August 22, 2023|date=July 6, 2021}}{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2021-07-05/world-news/Italian-entertainment-icon-Raffaella-Carra-dies-aged-78-6736234957|title=Italian entertainment icon Raffaella Carra' dies, aged 78|work=The Malta Independent|access-date=August 22, 2023|date=July 5, 2021}} In The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971–74),{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9feBCLNhcFQC&pg=PA200|title=The 1970s |author=Kelly Boyer Sagert |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2007 |page=200 |isbn=9780313339196}} network censors feared Cher's navel exposure would become a cause célèbre at CBS.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRUKAQAAMAAJ|title=Lillian Roxon's Rock encyclopedia |author=Lillian Roxon |publisher=Grosset & Grosset & Dunlap |year=1978 |page=466 |isbn=9780448145723}} Cher once commented, "There were so many things that were censored—ideas and words. All I know is I got in trouble for showing my belly button, and every time I turned around after I went off the air, all you saw were Cheryl Ladd's boobs" (referring to Ladd's bikini scenes on Charlie's Angels).{{cite web|title=The many mutations of The Sonny and Cher shows|url=http://www.tvparty.com/sonnycher3.html|publisher=TVparty|access-date=12 March 2012}} People magazine dubbed Cher "Pioneer of the Belly Beautiful".{{cite news |title=Bare navels back in fashion |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ygYqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2326,5459060&dq=actress+navel&hl=en |newspaper=The Milwaukee Sentinel |date=14 April 1986 |page=2 |access-date=17 March 2012 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222171916/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ygYqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2326,5459060&dq=actress+navel&hl=en |url-status=dead }}

The U.S. code of practice was suspended in 1983.Associated Press. "Broadcasters Decide to Dissolve Their Radio-TV Advertising Codes". The Miami Herald, 6 January 1983, 19A. NewsBank. Web. 22 February 2013.Collins, Bill. "Changes Are Few in TV Ads". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 24 February 1983: C08. NewsBank. Web. 22 February 2013.

File:InThisLifeUnderGround.jpg baring her midriff performing in 1993]]

Navel exposure became common in the culture of 20th-century music, with an establishing foothold during the mid-1970s, then becoming more prominent by the following decade, with many successful female popstars{{cite web|author=Erin Mayer|title=Can You Guess Which '90s Pop Star These Belly Button Rings Belong To?|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/35110-can-you-guess-which-90s-pop-star-these-belly-button-rings-belong-to|website=Bustle.com|date=13 August 2014 |access-date=14 August 2014}} having appeared on and offstage and in music videos with their midriff exposed, usually wearing a crop top, including Madonna, during 1983, she caused controversy when she wore a mesh crop top in her video for the song "Lucky Star". People magazine wrote that Madonna made the bare navel her trademark.

Singer/actress Cher wore an Indian princess outfit with feathers and beads around her navel for the 58th Annual Academy Awards event in 1986. California-based fashion designer Christine Albers commented, "the look is good for anyone who has a great body but especially for women who do a lot of stomach exercises."{{cite news|title=Bellybutton comeback|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6tU0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=7VEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6269,1303369&dq=actress+navel&hl=en|access-date=17 March 2012|newspaper=The Bryan Times|date=14 April 1986}}

File:Britney Spears.jpg wearing a cropped top exposing her midriff and belly button piercing while performing in 2003]]

During the early 1990s, Canadian country singer Shania Twain appeared in low-rise jeans baring her midriff and navel in her music videos and performances.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sh-levpCt-IC&pg=PA164|title=Shania Twain – The Biography |author=Robin Eggar |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2010 |page=262 |isbn=9781451604542}}{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOdLAAAAYAAJ|title=Grammy Magazine|year=1999|volume=17 |issue=1 |publisher=National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (U.S.) |page=21}}{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/westwardexpansio0000quay|url-access=registration|title=Westward expansion |author=Sara E. Quay |page=[https://archive.org/details/westwardexpansio0000quay/page/188 188] |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2002 |isbn=9780313312359}} It became both the most widely discussed body part in country music and her trademark.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingpop0000shuk|url-access=registration|title=Understanding popular music |author=Roy Shuker |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=9780415235099|page=[https://archive.org/details/understandingpop0000shuk/page/133 133]}}{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/onherwaylifemusi0000hage|url-access=registration|title=On Her Way – The Life and Music of Shania Twain |author=Barbara Hager |publisher=Berkley Boulevard |year=1998 |isbn=9780425164518 |page=[https://archive.org/details/onherwaylifemusi0000hage/page/64 64]}} Shania once commented, "Someone said to me once, 'Well, if I had your belly-button I'd sell 8 million albums too.' But it takes a lot more than a belly-button to sell more than 8 million albums."{{cite book|author=Dallas Williams|title=Shania Twain: On My Way|date=1997|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=155022297X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/shaniatwainonmyw0000will/page/232 232]|url=https://archive.org/details/shaniatwainonmyw0000will|url-access=registration}} Jennifer Lopez is believed to have started the trend of exposing the navel on stage and red carpets.{{cite news |author=Sheryl McCarthy |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mDRUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tY4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2879,3803902&dq=navel+sexuality&hl=en |newspaper=Boca Raton News |title=Actresses show more than we need to know |agency=Newsday |date=24 September 2003}} People magazine stated, "The 19-year-old hotshot chanteuse behind 'What a Girl Wants', once a Mouseketeer alongside Britney Spears, can't quite pull off pop star flash without belly-flopping."{{cite news |title=Christina Aguilera|work=People|date=18 September 2000|volume=54|issue=12|page=132|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20132339,00.html|access-date=1 February 2015}}

In 2001, the editors of Britannica commissioned an article on Britney Spears that deconstructs her bare midriff. The article describes Miss Spears's navel as "a heated boundary between baby and babe".Uhlig, Robert. (10 February 2001) [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1321953/Britannica-Spears-at-No-1-as-internet-encyclopaedia-goes-for-pop.html "Britannica Spears at No 1 as internet encyclopaedia goes for pop"]. The Daily Telegraph. She had been a major inspiration for the navel piercing trend.{{cite news|last1=Hannah Orenstein|title=I Hated My Stomach Until I Pierced My Belly Button|url=http://www.seventeen.com/beauty/a42344/i-hated-my-stomach-until-i-pierced-my-belly-button/|access-date=24 March 2017|work=Seventeen|date=18 August 2016}} Spin magazine chose Madonna's navel as its "most incredible" rock star body part for a September 2005 feature.[https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-08-23-spin-list_x.htm Madonna's navel tops 'Spin' list]. USA Today. (23 August 2005).[http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2005/08/23/Spin-cites-Madonnas-navel/UPI-36601124842263/ "Spin cites Madonna's navel"]. UPI. (23 August 2005).[https://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0824People0824.html?&wired "'Spin' picks star parts, loves Madonna's navel the most"]. The Arizona Republic.{{dead link|date=December 2015}} Gregorio Luke, former director of the Museum of Latin American Art who conducted lectures about belly buttons, said, "The belly button has been a sign of beauty in goddesses as different as Astarte, Venus or Aphrodite. We ask which is more beautiful, the perfectly round belly button of Jane Fonda or Raquel Welch's grain of coffee navel? Every star from Madonna to Shakira proudly displays their belly button."{{cite web|title=Long Beach Playhouse Presents "Belly Buttons," A new show by Gregorio Luke|url=http://www.everythinglongbeach.com/long-beach-playhouse-presents-belly-buttons/|publisher=Everything Long Beach|access-date=9 April 2012|archive-date=25 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925035159/http://www.everythinglongbeach.com/long-beach-playhouse-presents-belly-buttons/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|author=Amanda Parsons|title=The Bellybutton|url=http://www.ocweekly.com/2012-03-15/calendar/the-bellybutton/|access-date=9 April 2012|newspaper=OC Weekly|date=15 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404031236/http://www.ocweekly.com/2012-03-15/calendar/the-bellybutton/|archive-date=4 April 2012|url-status=dead}}

On the contrary, American columnist Kathleen Parker in an article about Katharine Hepburn once commented, "Young movie-going girls today don't have access to many in the mold of Katharine Hepburn. Instead by mall observations most are Britney wannabes—hip-hugged, tattooed, pierced and out there. The female navel has become the refrigerator man's continental divide. I hate to break it to you, oh future daughters-in-law, but everybody's got a belly button. Your inney- or outey-ness is not the stuff either of revelation or revolution."{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PRdSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZTUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3392,36303&dq=navel+sexuality&hl=en |newspaper=Times-Union |location=Warsaw, Indiana |date=1 July 2003 |author=Kathleen Parker |title=Hepburn Was A Classic Feminist |agency=Scripps Howard News Service}}

File:Gigi Hadid Stuart Weitzman.jpg wearing a midriff baring crop top which exposes her outie belly button]]

Exposed midriff is associated with the crop top, often in association with low-rise clothing. Another way that the navel may be exposed is via a deep plunging neckline dress or top that drops below the natural waist line.

Low-rise clothing began in the early 1990s, when the British magazine The Face featured Kate Moss in low-rise jeans on its March 1993 issue cover.{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ziUAAAAAMBAJ|title=Navel Mauvers |work=New York |date=10 May 1993 |page=26}} Models such as Gisele Bündchen frequently flash their midriffs.{{cite news |url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2000-05-07/entertainment/18136533_1_tops-midriff-navel |title=Cropped tops = midriff mania = abs-olutely erotic |author=Esther Gross Kremer |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York |date=7 May 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616074613/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2000-05-07/entertainment/18136533_1_tops-midriff-navel |archive-date=16 June 2012}} In 1994, Art Cooper, editor-in-chief of GQ magazine said that his big seller in 1994 was the February issue with Geena Davis on the cover, on which she wore an Armani suit opened at the hips to reveal her navel.{{cn|date=June 2025}} It sold about 400,000 copies. He stated, "Part of the success is the navel factor. I think the belly button is really an erogenous zone."{{cite news|title=Varga Girls back in the pages of Esquire|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iUEgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N38EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2297,8008621&dq=navel+reveal&hl=en|access-date=20 April 2012|newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal|date=14 December 1994|archive-date=19 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119081312/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iUEgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N38EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2297,8008621&dq=navel+reveal&hl=en|url-status=dead}}

File:Ivet Lalova by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg in a sports bikini with her navel tattoo]]

{{see also|History of the bikini}}

Displays of the female navel commenced with the introduction of the bikini in 1946, designed by Louis Réard,{{cite web |url=http://www.glamoursurf.com/articles/article/4918259/114188.htm |title=The Evolution of the Two Piece Swimsuit |date=1 December 2008 |publisher=Glamoursurf Vintage Swimwear and Lingerie}} though two-piece swimsuits that exposed the midriff but covered the navel appeared in the 1930s. Réard could not find a model who would dare wear his brief design, so he hired Micheline Bernardini, a 19-year-old nude dancer from the Casino de Paris, as his model.{{cite web |url = http://www.bikiniscience.com/chronology/1945-1950_SS/LR4601_S/LR4601.html |title = Michele Bernadini: The First Bikini |first = Judson |last = Rosebush |work = Bikini Science |access-date = 17 September 2008 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927084552/http://www.bikiniscience.com/chronology/1945-1950_SS/LR4601_S/LR4601.html |archive-date = 27 September 2007 }}Emily Mitchell, [https://web.archive.org/web/20000817061755/http://www.time.com/time/international/1996/960701/fashion.html "The Bikini Turns 50"], 1 July 1996, Volume 148, No. 1, Time Acceptance of the new-style swimsuit was very slow, and the bikini was not regarded as suitable clothing beyond the beach or pool. During the 1960s, Mary Quant's designs featured exposed navels and bare midriffs.{{cite news|author=Nadeane Walker|title=Quant Fashions Don't Reveal Everything|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1hwrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6p8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2095,4915935&dq=navel+reveal&hl=en|access-date=20 April 2012|newspaper=Reading Eagle|date=21 October 1969}} Exposure of the male navel was limited well into the 1960s. Swimwear covered the lower abdomen and usually the navel. Occasionally the swimwear would be worn immediately below the navel. The swimwear evolved to longer legs and lower waistline. Male swimwear could neither be worn above the navel nor below the knee in events of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).{{cite web |author=Michael Popke |date=November 2009 |url=http://www.athleticbusiness.com/high-school/high-school-swimming-moves-forward-after-suit-ban.html |title=High School Swimming Moves Forward After Suit Ban |publisher=AthleticBusiness}}

Bikinis have become a major component of marketing of various women's sports,Laura Grae Kilborn, "[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DP&p_theme=dp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF44E9A0508C03&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Marketing Of Female Athletes]", The Denver Post, 11 August 1998 and female athletes often wear sports bikinis that expose the navel. Bulgarian athlete Ivet Lalova is known for her "tribal sun" tattoo around her navel.

• {{cite news |title=Olympic fashion in Beijing |url=https://www.ajc.com/sports/olympic-fashion-beijing/xUfV0cNI6G0Fs1vOTIqWxK/#2 |access-date=11 February 2015|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution}}
• {{cite news|title=Latest revealing sporting ink|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/image-gallery/d4f73dcfe3c30ac093178236db1c558a?page=2&nk=d30fd7a9cf490726f685b0255dca2c41|access-date=11 February 2015|work=Daily Telegraph}}
• {{cite news |author=Paul Martella|title=Olympic crush: Ivet Lalova|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fourth-place-medal/olympic-crush-ivet-lalova-214140503--oly.html|website=Yahoo.com|access-date=11 February 2015}}
• {{cite web |author1=Sam Quinn |title=Ivet Lalova: Everything You Need to Know About 28-Year-Old Bulgarian Olympian |url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1286117-ivet-lalova-everything-you-need-to-know-about-28-year-old-bulgarian-olympian |website=Bleacher Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808234309/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1286117-ivet-lalova-everything-you-need-to-know-about-28-year-old-bulgarian-olympian |archive-date=8 August 2012 |date=5 August 2012}} Croatian athlete Blanka Vlašić is famous for her navel piercing.{{cite news|title=Beauties of Olympics|url=http://www.esteticamagazine.co.uk/ukolympics/item/468-beauties-of-olympics|access-date=15 May 2015|publisher=Estetica Magazine|date=24 July 2012}}{{cite news|title=How female high-jumpers raised the fashion bar|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/02/high-jump-fashion|access-date=15 May 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 August 2010}}

File:Paula Creamer (8697640640).jpg of Paula Creamer after she takes a swing]]

In Golf, dress codes prohibits shirts from exposing the midriff.{{cite web | url=https://www.golfthevillages.com/golf-in-the-villages/howtodress.asp | title=Golf the Villages }}{{cite web | url=https://www.wilson.com/en-us/blog/sportswear/how-tos/etiquette-made-easy-what-wear-golf-course | title=Etiquette Made Easy: What to Wear on the Golf Course | date=June 2022 }}

Modern Olympics uniforms began with simple cotton tank tops for women beginning in 1900, when they started competing.{{cite web | url=https://nuunlife.com/blogs/news/a-timeline-of-women-in-the-olympics | title=A Timeline of Women in the Olympics | work=Nuun Hydration }} In the 1990s, track and field athletes started to wear midriff-baring uniforms.{{cite web | url=https://www.romper.com/life/olympic-track-and-field-uniforms-photos | title=From Footwear to Flo-Jo, Here's How Olympic Track & Field Uniforms Have Evolved | date=3 August 2021 }}{{cite journal | url=https://slate.com/culture/2012/08/olympic-uniforms-from-loose-and-heavy-to-tight-and-dimpled-a-visual-history-of-olympic-sprinting-attire.html | title=When Sprinters Wore Baggy Shorts | journal=Slate | date=4 August 2012 | last1=Murphy | first1=Heather }}

File:Beach handball Euro 2019 Quarter Final Women DEN-NOR 03.jpg

Woman athletes' uniforms often include bikini bottoms. By comparison, men wear polo shirts instead of being bare-chested. This became controversial in 2021, when the Norwegian Beach Handball team refused to wear bikini bottoms and was fined 150 euros (about $175) per player. In beach volleyball, many players do not mind wearing skimpy uniforms because of the conditions.{{cite journal | url=https://slate.com/culture/2012/07/beach-volleyball-bikinis-american-beach-volleyball-players-explain-why-theyll-continue-to-wear-skimpy-attire.html | title=American Beach Volleyball Players Explain Why They'll Continue to Wear Bikinis | journal=Slate | date=27 July 2012 | last1=Waldman | first1=Katy }}{{cite web | url=https://rtfsportsmedia.wordpress.com/2018/11/04/sexualization-of-womens-bodies-in-sports/ | title=Sexualization of Women's Bodies in Sports | date=4 November 2018 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.inquirer.com/life/norway-beach-handball-shorts-bikini-bottoms-sexist-federation-fines-20210725.html | title=Can't stop, won't stop | date=25 July 2021 }}{{Cite web |title=A Women's Beach Handball Team Is Fined For Not Wanting To Wear Bikini Bottoms |website=NPR |date=21 July 2021 |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/07/21/1018768633/a-womens-beach-handball-team-is-fined-for-not-wanting-to-wear-bikini-bottoms |access-date=2023-06-22 |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill }}

File:Dallas-001216-N-1110A-513.jpg outfits of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders]]

The fashion later became increasingly popular through wearing styles, with tops comprising modified sports bras without additional outergarments, sports bikinis, and cheerleading style fashions. These developed largely from the styles originating with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the early 1970s.{{cite book|author=Tim Delaney |author2=Tim Madigan|title=Sports: Why People Love Them!|year=2009|publisher=University Press of America|isbn= 9780761844891|page=248|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_leJMTGB3OoC&pg=PA148}}

File:Leylah Fernandez (2023 DC Open) 03.jpg wearing a two piece midriff baring outfit during the 2023 DC Open]]

Female tennis players are known for exposing their navels or navel piercings on court.

• {{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Chris |title=Queen of Diamonds Sets a Tummy Trend|url=https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-96251549/queen-of-diamonds-sets-a-tummy-trend |newspaper=The Evening Standard |access-date=11 February 2015}}
• {{cite web|author=Lindsay|title=#NeverForget Dinara Safina: A Modern Fairytale|url=http://www.changeovertennis.com/neverforget-dinara-safina-a-modern-fairytale/|website=changeovertennis.com|date=6 December 2012|access-date=11 February 2015}}
• {{cite news|author=Charles Bricker|title=Capriati Wins on Day 1|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2004/08/31/capriati-wins-on-day-1/|access-date=11 February 2015|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=31 August 2004}}
• {{cite news|author=Steve Wilstein|title=U.S Open features teen revolution|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19970831&id=av0cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GJgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6710,3540509|access-date=11 February 2015|work=Daily News|date=31 August 1997}}{{cite web | url=https://www.insider.com/wimbledon-tennis-players-nike-dress | title=Some female tennis players are furious about having to wear a revealing Nike dress | website=Insider.com | date=28 June 2016 }} American tennis player Serena Williams was noted by the media for exposing her belly button piercing during her matches.{{cite news|author=Nick McCarvel|title=9 of the best Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova matches|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2015/01/30/serena-williams-maria-sharapova-memorable-matches/22561567/|access-date=11 February 2015|work=USA Today|date=30 January 2015}}{{cite news|author=Ron Dicker|title=TENNIS; Williams Advances With Style|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/26/sports/tennis-williams-advances-with-style.html|access-date=11 February 2015|work=The New York Times|date=26 May 2004}}{{cite news|title=Venus and Serena Williams in pictures: their outrageous tennis outfits through the years|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/picturegalleries/8268556/Venus-and-Serena-Williams-in-pictures-their-outrageous-tennis-outfits-through-the-years.html?image=16|access-date=11 February 2015|work=The Telegraph}} Retired Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova was also known for frequent navel exposure during her matches.{{cite news|title=Weeb Ewbank: A Man of His Era(s)|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/1998-12-01/news/weeb-ewbank-a-man-of-his-era-s/full/|access-date=7 February 2015|work=The Village Voice News|date=1 December 1998|archive-date=8 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208014037/http://www.villagevoice.com/1998-12-01/news/weeb-ewbank-a-man-of-his-era-s/full/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|author=Jeff Merron|title=Hey, have you seen Anna?|url=https://www.espn.com/page2/s/merron/030509.html|access-date=7 February 2015|work=ESPN}}{{cite news|author=David Whitley|title=Sex Sells, And Anna Sure Knows How To Make Guys Enjoy Tennis|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2001/12/15/sex-sells-and-anna-sure-knows-how-to-make-guys-enjoy-tennis/|access-date=7 February 2015|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=15 December 2001}} In 2009, in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, she said, "These are men's ravings. Why you should hide it, when it isn't necessary? Female beach volleyball players play in bikinis – does it bother anyone?"{{cite web|title=Interview for German magazine Der Spiegel in New York|url=http://www.anna4ever.com/more_variousinterviews_showvint.php?id=371|website=anna4ever.com|access-date=7 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208012331/http://www.anna4ever.com/more_variousinterviews_showvint.php?id=371|archive-date=8 February 2015|url-status=dead}} American female golfer Laura Diaz, commenting on the Ladies Professional Golf Association for Sports Illustrated, said: "The LPGA needs to acknowledge that a lot of people watch women's sports more for the women than for the sports. Why else would Anna Kournikova, who has never won a singles title, be the most popular player in women's tennis? We have quite a few attractive women, and we should use our looks to our advantage. After all, what's so wrong with seeing an occasional belly button?"{{cite magazine|author=Laura Diaz|title=My Shot To attract new fans, the LPGA should take a lesson from our past and sell sex appeal|url=https://www.si.com/vault/2001/09/03/309785/my-shot-to-attract-new-fans-the-lpga-should-take-a-lesson-from-our-past-and-sell-sex-appeal|access-date=7 February 2015|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=3 September 2001}}{{cite book|author=Elizabeth Beggs|title=Tomboy: Sexuality in Women's Sport|date=2007|isbn=978-0549257028|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lbUIYrrm3aMC&pg=PA18}}

Males often wear no shirt with low-rise shorts during practice in American football. Cropped jerseys were worn during 1980s broadcasts. Cropped jerseys became dormant for 20 years until male athletes returned to midriff exposure{{cite news |author=Marissa Payne |date=29 August 2015 |title=Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott wants to trademark 'hero in a half-shirt' |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/08/29/ohio-states-ezekiel-elliott-wants-to-trademark-hero-in-a-half-shirt/}} for comfort purposes. However, the NCAA placed an official ban on navel exposure in 2015.*{{cite web |author=Emily Van Buskirk |title=The NCAA Bans Belly Buttons, Prompting Players To Cry Foul |date=19 August 2015 |publisher=The Sports Fan Journal |url=http://www.thesportsfanjournal.com/sports/football/ncaa-bans-crop-top-jerseys-belly-buttons-ezekiel-elliott-myles-jack-daniel-lasco/ }}

• {{cite news |author1=Andrew Greif |title=So long, college football 'crop-tops': NCAA bans jerseys with too little and facemasks with too much in 2015 rules changes |url=http://www.sportsmanias.com/news/oregon-ducks/so-long-ncaa-crop-tops-ncaa-bans-jerseys-with-too-little-and-facemasks-with-too/54fe04e5f7ed2f09140000b7 |newspaper=The Oregonian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117082002/http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2015/03/so_long_college_football_crop-.html|archive-date=17 November 2015 |date=9 March 2015 }}
• {{cite news |title=Crop-Top Jerseys Banned |date=11 March 2015 |publisher=College Spots Business News |url=http://collegesportsbusinessnews.com/issue/february-2015/article/crop-top-jerseys-banned |access-date=13 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204215508/http://collegesportsbusinessnews.com/issue/february-2015/article/crop-top-jerseys-banned |archive-date=4 February 2016 |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite news |author=Jasmine Watkins |title=NCAA bans football players from wearing rolled-up jerseys |date=8 March 2015 |publisher=SportingNews |url=http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football-news/4637960-ncaa-crop-top-rolled-up-jersey-ohio-state-ezekiel-elliott |access-date=13 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305142607/http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football-news/4637960-ncaa-crop-top-rolled-up-jersey-ohio-state-ezekiel-elliott |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite news |author=Avery Stone |date=2 April 2015 |title=Ezekiel Elliott says NCAA rule banning crop tops is 'silly' |newspaper=USA Today |url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/04/ezekiel-elliott-says-ncaa-rule-banning-crop-tops-is-silly }}
• {{cite news |agency=SI Wire |date=9 March 2015 |title=NCAA bans players from showing abs in games |publisher=Sports Illustrated |url=https://www.si.com/college-football/2015/03/09/ncaa-bans-players-showing-abs-games }}
• {{cite news |author=Austin Ward |date=2 April 2015 |title=Ezekiel Elliott scoffs at jersey rule |work=ESPN |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/12605826/ezekiel-elliott-ohio-state-buckeyes-says-crop-top-jersey-rule-silly }}
• {{cite news |author=Graham Watson |date=9 March 2015 |title=NCAA rule bans players from wearing cropped jerseys in games |work=Yahoo Sports |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/ncaa-rule-bans-players-from-wearing-cropped-jerseys-during-games-162014010.html }}
• {{cite news |author=Glen Erby |date=8 March 2015 |title=NCAA Bans Ezekiel Elliott Style Tucked Under Jerseys |publisher=Black Sports Online |url=http://blacksportsonline.com/home/2015/03/ncaa-bans-ezekiel-elliott-style-tucked-under-jerseys/ }} The National Football League has long had a ban on navel exposure, requiring jerseys to be tucked in. The NFL banned Ezekiel Elliott's crop top in September 2016.

File:BellyDancerMarrakech.jpgr in Marrakesh in Morocco ]]

In the Hebrew Bible the Song of Songs emphasizes the navel as an important element of a woman's beauty.Murphy Ronald E (1992) "Song of songs, Book of", in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol 6. p. 151Dobbs-Allsopp F. W. (2001) Annotation and commentary on "Song of Solomon" in 'The New Oxford Annotated Bible' (with the Apocrypha. Third Edition (Ed) Coogan, M.D. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. page 966 from pages 959–968 It contains imagery similar to that in the love songs of ancient Egyptian literature. Song of Songs 7:2 states: "Your navel is a rounded bowl."The New Oxford Annotated Bible. New Revised Standard Version. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001. The verse preceding the line mentioning the navel (Song of Songs 7:1) states, "your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand", ) and the verse following states, "Your belly is a heap of wheat." Thus the treatment of the navel appears placed textually in between the description of the curves of a woman through thigh and the stomach or midriff. "Belly" also suggests the womb, and the combination of the imagery of the womb with that of wheat suggests the link between eroticism and fertility through the imagery of the navel and curvaceous thighs. These passages also celebrate a curvaceous stomach and midriff and plumpness as aspects of female physical attractiveness.

The ancient Mediterranean, Hebrew, Israelite and Middle Eastern worldview commonly incorporated beliefs that shrines, important places (such as cities or capitals), or other such places of prominence had a position of centrality to the world and hence equated to the child-bearing, life-giving navel of a mother.{{cite book |last= Sperling |first= D |year= 1976 |chapter= Navel of the earth |title= The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (Supplementary Volume) |editor= Keith Crim |editor2= Victor Paul Furnish |editor3= Lloyd Richard Bailey Sr. |display-editors= 3 |editor4= Emory Stevens Bucke |location= Nashville |publisher= Abingdon Press |pages= [https://archive.org/details/interpretersdict00crim/page/622 622–623] |isbn= 978-0687192694 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/interpretersdict00crim/page/622 }} These domains constituted what contemporaries could regard as important bonds that linked the universe. Thus Nippur, an ancient city of Mesopotatmia, was often described as the "navel" by Mesopotamians. This usage expressed connotations of the prominence of the location and the way it was seen to function as a place of centrality and as a link between earth and the heavens and the Universe. The Ancient Greeks regarded the conical stone Omphalos (meaning "navel") located at Delphi as the center of the earth.

In a similar vein, Jewish Midrashim state: "God created the world like an embryo. Just as the embryo begins at the navel and continues to grow from that point, so too the world. The Holy One, blessed be he, began the world from its navel. From there it was stretched hither and yon. Where is its navel? Jerusalem. And its (Jerusalem's) navel itself? The altar."Jellinek, Beth ha-Midrash, V, 63{{Full citation needed|date= December 2015}} This passage expresses the centrality of the ancient city of Jerusalem and of the altar of the ancient temple of Jerusalem within a cosmic framework equated to the navel of a mother and the source of life. Similar concepts appear in the Book of Jubilees 8:19 and in the Book of Enoch 26:1, which describes Mount Zion as "The center of the navel of the earth". Samaritan tradition sees Mount Gerizim as the navel of the earth, the only place not submerged in the deluge in the account of Noah's Ark. The phrase "navel of the earth" occurs in (Ezek 38:12; Judg 9:37) Aramaic tibbur ("navel") and the concept recurs in Ezek 16:4. According to Samaritan tradition, God made Adam from the dust of Mount Gerizim.{{cite book |author= Gaster T. H. |editor= George Arthur Buttrich |year= 1962 |chapter= Samaritans |title= The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible |volume= 4 |publisher= Abingdon Press |isbn= 978-0687192731 |page= [https://archive.org/details/interpretersdict04geor/page/196 196] |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/interpretersdict04geor/page/196 }}{{request quotation|date=January 2019}} The belly-dancing tradition of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures also celebrates the navel.Hobin, Tina (2003) Belly Dance: The Dance of Mother Earth. Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd. London. New York p. 173-195. {{ISBN|978-0714530918}}. When Pope Urban II called (1095) for the First Crusade, he referred to Jerusalem as "the navel of the world".[http://www1.cbn.com/spirituallife/calling-for-the-first-crusade Pope Urban II's Speech Calling for the First Crusade]: "Jerusalem is the navel of the world; the land is fruitful above others, like another paradise of delights."

In Egypt, dancing in public with an uncovered navel is illegal, so many dancers wear a body stocking or netting to cover their skin.{{Cite web|url=http://www.jasminjahal.com/articles/98_07.html|title=Belly Dance Egyptian Style|website=www.jasminjahal.com|access-date=10 May 2016}} {{dead link|date=August 2018}} An Egyptian singer named Ruby upset members of parliament and the TV authority, resulting in a ban on music videos showing a woman's navel.{{cite web|author=Maria Golia|title=Meditations on the navel ban|url=http://www.nthposition.com/mediationsonthenavel.php|website=nthposition.com|access-date=29 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090450/http://www.nthposition.com/mediationsonthenavel.php|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|author=Maria Golia|title=Culture Briefs|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/jul/20/20040720-115824-2913r/?page=all|access-date=29 March 2015|work=The Washington Times|date=20 July 2004}}{{cite web | url=https://thefierygem.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/rubys-videos-banned-by-national-tv/ | title=Ruby's Videos Banned by National TV | date=15 March 2011 }}

File:Didarganj_Yakshi_statue_in_the_Bihar_Museum.jpg, a sculpture of a woman in navel-exposing attire.]]

While the West was relatively resistant to midriff-baring clothing until the 1980s, it has long been a fashion with Indian women.Banerjee, Mukulika & Miller, Daniel (2003) The Sari. Oxford; New York: Berg {{ISBN|1-85973-732-3}} These women, especially those from Southern India, have traditionally worn saris that bare the midriff.{{cite journal |author1=A. Sahayadoss |author2=A. Saghayamary |title=Traditional Clothing of Dravidians with special reference to Arimuti |url=https://www.academia.edu/28952225 |quote=The author also dwells on the traditional way of wearing sari exposing stomach and the navel for both men and women of south India and its special significance.}}{{cite magazine |title=Dressing the Indian woman through history |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30330693 |magazine=BBC News Magazine |date=6 December 2014 |quote=In southern India, even in colonial times, some women did not cover the upper part of their body.}} Women from Rajasthan leave the midriff exposed while wearing Ghagra cholis.{{cite book |author=Lajpat Rai |edition=Third |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7c8TBQhoAIC&pg=PA148|title=Social Science a Textbook in History for Class IX as per New Syllabus |publisher=VK (India) Enterprises |page=148 }} These women often cover their heads with dupattas,{{cite book |title=India: A Cross-curricular Theme |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lsai4v554d8C|publisher=R.I.C. Publications |pages=42, 43 |isbn=9781741269116}} and may cover their faces in front of strangers with ghoonghats. There is a belief associated with the religious in India that navel-baring has a symbolic, almost mystical, association with birth and life, and that the display is meant to emphasize the centrality of nature in the nurture role.Beck, Brenda (1976) "The Symbolic Merger of Body, Space, and Cosmos in Hindu Tamil Nadu" in Contributions to Indian Sociology; 10(2): 213–43. In ancient Indian tradition, the navel of the god Vishnu is considered to be the center of the universe and the source of life.{{cite book|author1=Jay Weidner|author2=Vincent Bridges|title=The Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye: Alchemy and the End of Time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRVAmMo9in8C&pg=PA297|date=10 December 2003|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co|isbn=978-0-89281-084-0|page=297}} From his navel a new world emerges. This has been depicted in many ancient Indian sculptures as a lotus emerging from the navel on which god Brahma is seated.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/indiansculpturec00losa|url-access=registration|title=Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 B.C.-A.D. 700 |author=Los Angeles County Museum of Art |author2=Pratapaditya Pal |publisher=University of California Press |date=1986 |page=[https://archive.org/details/indiansculpturec00losa/page/40 40]|isbn=9780520059917 }}.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-fvKVDxcJoUC|title=Indian Sculpture: 700–1800 |publisher=University of California Press |year=1988 |author=Los Angeles County Museum of Art |author2=Pratapaditya Pal |isbn=9780520064775 |pages=66, 101, 254}}

Although women in ancient India wore saris that bared the midriff, the Dharmaśāstra writers stated that women should be dressed such that the navel was never visible,{{cite book|author=Anant Sadashiv Altekar|title=The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization, From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day|year=1956|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|isbn= 9788120803244|page=380|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYG4K0yYHQgC&pg=PA282}} and navel exposure became taboo.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DoY-tEMgJ8UC&pg=PA434|title=Folkways: A Study of Mores, Manners, Customs and Morals |author=William Graham Sumner |publisher=Cosimo, Inc. |year=2007 |page=434 |isbn=9781602067585}} The trend of exposing the navel was started by women who were dancers, acrobats, or entertainers, and who developed a technique of wearing the sari like a pair of trousers well below the navel to assist in the free movement of the legs.{{cite book|author=Jyotsna Kamat |title=Social Life in Medieval Karnataka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5CczZrHsc7EC|date=1 February 1980 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-0-8364-0554-5}} Women in this type of attire are very common in many ancient Indian sculptures,{{cite web |author1=Alka Pande |title=Indian woman - an icon of fertility and abundance |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20110613-indian-woman-is-the-symbol-of-fertility-and-abundance-746330-2011-06-03 |publisher=India Today Magazine |date=13 June 2011}} and paintings.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_jRe-U3KiXIC|title=Salabhanjika in Art Philosophy and Literature |publisher=Rajkamal Prakashan Pvt Ltd|year=1979 }}

Indian sculpture emphasised the centrality and sexuality that emanated from the depiction of the woman's navel. One of the most stunning examples would be Didarganj Yakshi, a statue of a woman made during the Mauryan period. Carved out of sandstone, which gives it a natural shine where the navel is deeply embedded within the centre of the torso, drawing the focus of the viewer.{{cite news|author=Alka Pande|title=The Art of the Matter Indian woman – an icon of fertility and abundance|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indian-woman-is-the-symbol-of-fertility-and-abundance/1/140264.html|access-date=8 March 2012|newspaper=IndiaToday|date=3 June 2011}} Before sculpting, the sculptors created an image and indicated the six structural centers, of which the navel is one, as defined by Yoga principles.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09qUXlCkyVIC&pg=PA42|title=The Hindu Temple: Deification of Eroticism |author=Alain Daniélou |page=42 |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=2001 |isbn=9780892818549}} Technically, the typical female representation in ancient Indian art includes an hourglass figure with large hips, breasts, and buttocks, and a deep navel.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujeZuPyMNYEC|title=Medical literature from India, Sri Lanka and Tibet |chapter=The romarājǐ in India Kāvya and Āyurvedic literature |author=Rahul Peter Das |editor=Gerrit Jan Meulenbeld |publisher=E. J. Brill |year=1991 |isbn=9789004095229 |page=2}} According to Indian physiognomy, if a woman's navel is deep, she is popular and loved by her husband. A broad, fleshy, shallow navel indicates a lucky woman. A woman with deep navel with a whirl to the right side is considered auspicious and is expected to lead a comfortable life.[http://www.aryabhatt.com/women/women3.htm Physiognomy Of Women]. Aryabhatt.com.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujeZuPyMNYEC&pg=PA21|title=Medical literature from India, Sri Lanka and Tibet |chapter=The romarājǐ in India Kāvya and Āyurvedic literature |author=Rahul Peter Das |editor=Gerrit Jan Meulenbeld |publisher=E. J. Brill |year=1991 |isbn=9789004095229 |page=6}} Famous Indian painter M. F. Husain once commented, "The belly button has always been in. It has been an intrinsic part of the Indian woman. It has been part of Indian sculptures that go back so many centuries. That is why so many years ago, even in the 50s, all my works had women show their belly buttons."[https://web.archive.org/web/20051105021009/http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/17832.html "Navel-gazing, desi style!"]. Uma Nair, IANS. Indiaglitz.com (3 November 2005).[http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/05/nov/04naval.asp Navel-gazing, desi style!]. Glamsham.com.

With their migration to different countries, many Indian women began to wear the normal sari below the waistline, exposing the navel in a style known as a low-rise or low hip sari.{{cite book|author=Brian M. Du Toit |title=Aging and menopause among Indian South African women |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9ukaQcdV9oC|year=1990 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-0390-7}}[http://www.fancy-indian-saris.com/sari-below-navel.html Sari Below Navel – Enhance Your Beauty and Grace] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228022633/http://www.fancy-indian-saris.com/sari-below-navel.html |date=28 December 2013 }}. Fancy-indian-saris.com.[http://ethnicfashion.bloggersdelight.dk/2019/12/21/look-super-hot-and-sexy-in-saree-navel-dress/ Style and Attraction – Saree Navel Dress]. Ethnic Fashion Blog. The trend started during the 1950s, when saris were worn below the navel, with big pleats that were tightly draped across the curves of the body.{{cite news|author=Aasha Mehreen Amin |author2=Kajalie Shehreen Islam |author3=Srabonti Narmeen Ali |title=Fashion Reincarnated, Recycled, Refined |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2004/06/03/cover.htm|access-date=13 April 2012|newspaper=Star Magazine|date=25 June 2004}} Due to liberalization and changing global markets, saris are re-emerging as erotic apparel.[http://www.fancy-indian-saris.com/sexy-saree.html A Sexy Saree – Get Daring and Trendy!!!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228021711/http://www.fancy-indian-saris.com/sexy-saree.html |date=28 December 2013 }}. Fancy-indian-saris.com.[https://nidhishekhawat475.wixsite.com/loveethnicfashion/post/look-the-hottest-and-the-prettiest-diva-in-saree What makes a saree hot?] Love Ethnic Fashion Blog. As a result, saris began to be designed in innovative ways using different materials, such as transparent and semi-transparent saris made of sheer fabrics like chiffon.{{cite book|author=Margaret Maynard |title=Dress and globalisation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bkWIHaI1mfsC|year=2004 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-6389-3}}{{cite book|author=Jennifer Craik |title=The Face of Fashion: Cultural Studies in Fashion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8m2FwzNSUl8C|date=1 December 1993 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=978-0-203-40942-8}}[https://trendynidhi.blogspot.com/2020/01/transparent-sarees-best-way-to-look.html Transparent Saree – Add Spice to Your Style!!] Trendy Nidhi Blog. These modern saris may be draped in different ways,[http://www.utsavfashion.in/store/style.aspx?cid=1&styleid=83 Informal Saree Draping at Utsav Fashion]. Utsavfashion.in. such as a petticoat being tied about {{convert|10|to|13|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} below the navel, just above the pubic area, and a small blouse ending just below the breasts with a thin pallu exposing some part of the blouse and almost the entire midriff.[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/27/opinion/27iht-eddatta.html Meanwhile: Unraveling the sari]. The New York Times. (28 April 2005). Retrieved 11 June 2011. In September 2012, The New York Times featured a wedding announcement with an image of a woman of Indian heritage displaying her navel in a gagra choli for the first time.{{cite news|author=Patricia Zohn|title=A Tale of Two Brides|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/patricia-zohn/a-tale-of-two-brides_b_1949510.html|access-date=13 October 2012 |work=The Huffington Post|date=9 October 2012}}{{cite news|title=Veni Manickam and Vikram Thomas | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/fashion/weddings/veni-manickam-vikram-thomas-weddings.html | access-date=13 October 2012 | newspaper=The New York Times | date=30 September 2012}} This style was popularised by Bollywood celebrities{{cite news|author=Ziya Us Salam|title=Sargam (1979)|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/blast-from-the-past-column-sargam/article6594777.ece|access-date=1 February 2015|work=The Hindu|date=13 November 2014}} and other popular regional film industries, such as Tamil and Telugu cinema.{{cite web|title=Things heroines do to stay in limelight?|url=http://southie.in/heroines-expose-to-be-in-limelight/|website=southie.in|access-date=3 August 2015}}{{cite web|title=Kona Cutting Samantha's Dresses|url=http://www.gulte.com/movienews/19088/Kona-Cutting-Samanthas-Dresses|website=Gulte.com|access-date=3 August 2015}}{{cite web|title=Kona behind Samantha Navel show|url=http://telugustop.com/kona-behind-samantha-navel-show/|website=Telugustop.com|date=21 July 2013 |access-date=3 August 2015}}[https://newfashionfactory.wordpress.com/2019/12/20/look-gorgeous-in-the-hot-navel-sarees/ Hot Navel Saree]. New Fashion Factory Blog.

In ancient Indian tradition, the navel of Lord Vishnu is considered to be the source of life and creativity. It is considered to be a symbol of birth and life. That means in ancient India, women would wear sari that bared their midriffs.[http://www.bharatsthali.com/blog Saree Draping Culture at BharatSthali]. BharatSthali.

Indian television actors have followed suit, wearing saris that expose more skin, including the navel, with viewers mimicking the styles.{{cite news|author=Kavita Awaasthi|title=TV girls take it up a notch|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Television/TV-girls-take-it-up-a-notch/Article1-907558.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804042700/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Television/TV-girls-take-it-up-a-notch/Article1-907558.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 August 2012|access-date=11 August 2012|newspaper=Hindustan Times|date=3 August 2012}}

Some women wear navel jewels or navel piercings to emphasize the navel and enhance its appeal.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110709125928/http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/ENT-navel-piercing-%E2%80%93-the-new-style-mantra-in-bollywood-2240524.html Navel piercing – the new style mantra in Bollywood!]. Daily.bhaskar.com (6 July 2011).{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7lvEN6lzSRMC&pg=PA43|title=Be Your Own Beautician |author=Parvesh Handa |publisher=Pustak Mahal |year=2007 |page=43 |isbn=9788122309737}} Another option is using bindis to decorate the navel.{{cite news|author=Sadhna Shanker|title=Bindi morphs into hip accessory|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/style/06iht-rbindi.html|access-date=18 March 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 October 2005}}{{cite news|author=Wara Karim|title=Bindi- An Unbeatable Fashion Accessory|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/lifestyle/2004/12/01/page01.htm|access-date=18 March 2012|newspaper=Daily Star|date=7 December 2004}}{{cite news|author=Debarati S Sen|title=Flaunt your midriff|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/beauty/Flaunt-your-midriff/articleshow/39545402.cms|access-date=7 February 2015|work=Times of India|date=3 August 2014}} Tattoos near or below the navel were becoming popular in cities such as Pune in early 2012.{{cite news|author=Neha Kaura|title=Tattoo culture picking up in Pune|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-18/trends/31750557_1_tattoo-artist-tattoo-convention-tattoo-culture|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707161130/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-18/trends/31750557_1_tattoo-artist-tattoo-convention-tattoo-culture|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2012|access-date=24 May 2012|newspaper=The Times of India|date=18 May 2012}} Actresses Mandira Bedi and Chhavi Mittal are known for their unique tattoos on their navels.{{cite web|title=Photo Feature – Stars and their Tattoos|url=http://photos.filmibeat.com/photo-feature/stars-their-tattoos/photos-c63-e42479-p310187.html|website=Filmibeat.com|access-date=8 August 2015}}{{cite news|title=Chhavi's love embedded on her navel|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/television/chhavi-s-love-embedded-on-her-navel/article1-374233.aspx|access-date=8 August 2015|work=Hindustan Times|date=3 February 2009}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite web|title=Chhavi's love is embedded on her navel|url=http://www.filmibeat.com/television/news/2009/chhavi-navel-tattoo-200109.html|website=Filmibeat.com|access-date=8 August 2015|date=20 January 2009}}

Sometimes the low-rise style is modified, with the navel being covered by the pallu when wearing a low-rise non-transparent sari. In some corporations in India, saris are required to be worn in a manner that avoids navel exposure.{{cite book|author=Saurabh Bhatia |title=Indian Corporate Etiquette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bmnto6wQ-8cC |access-date=11 June 2011 |publisher=Saurabh Bhatia |isbn=978-81-906964-0-1}} Anita Gupta, Senior Vice-president at J. Walter Thompson in Chennai commented that formal wear for woman should not expose the navel.{{cite news|author=Nina Varghese |author2=Raja Simhan T.E.|title=The workplace look|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/article1759121.ece|access-date=18 March 2012|newspaper=The Business Line|date=27 October 2006}}

Indian actresses have expressed comfort with the practice of exposing their navels in film, preferring it to showing cleavage and calling it uncontroversial.{{cite news|title=She who dares to bare | url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080804/jsp/entertainment/story_9640800.jsp | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917160529/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080804/jsp/entertainment/story_9640800.jsp | url-status=dead | archive-date=17 September 2012 | access-date=13 March 2012 | date=4 August 2008 | newspaper=The Telegraph | location=Calcutta, India}}

File:Priyanka on the ramp for Mijwan fashion show.jpg on the ramp for Mijwan fashion show]]

Female dancers of Bollywood have always exposed their navels, since Amrapali (1966),{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLRibC3Q25gC&pg=PA95|title=How Enemies Are Made: Towards a Theory of Ethnic and Religious Conflict |author=Günther Schlee |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2010 |isbn=9781845457792 |page=95 |quote=Musical films produced in Bombay (Mumbai) target family audiences and are completely harmless in most parts of the world. Due to the particularities of Indian women's fashion, however, the navel of the dancers is often visible.}}{{cite news|title=Dance of doom|url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=15564&sid=7261685&con_type=1&d_str=20060401&fc=10|access-date=13 March 2012|newspaper=The Standard|date=1 April 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201141508/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=15564&sid=7261685&con_type=1&d_str=20060401&fc=10|archive-date=1 February 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Top navel shows of Bollywood|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/Top-navel-shows-of-Bollywood/videols/16555441.cms|access-date=3 August 2015|work=Times of India|date=26 September 2012}} with cameras focused on them.{{cite book|author=K. Moti Gokulsing |author2=Wimal Dissanayake|title=Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1136772849|page=188|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djUFmlFbzFkC&pg=PA117}}{{cite news|last1=Piyasree Dasgupta|title=Thank you Mr Bhansali for making Ranveer Singh an 'item boy' in Ram Leela|url=http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/thank-you-mr-bhansali-for-turning-ranveer-into-an-item-boy-in-ram-leela-1235861.html|access-date=7 October 2016|work=FirstPost}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCsXAQAAMAAJ|title=Cinema Today |author=Edward Buscombe |publisher=Phaidon |year=2003 |isbn=9780714840819 |page=388 |quote=Dancing has become increasingly eroticized, with the camera closing in on the female star's erogenous zones, especially the navel, which traditional costume conveniently leaves ...}} In the 1968 Bollywood film Brahmachari, actress Mumtaz was seen in a Sharara sari showing her navel{{cite news |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/gallery/bollywoods-top-10-navels/1/4841.html |title=Bollywood's top 10 navels |work=India Today}}[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bollywood-deepika-padukone-katrina-navel-look-is-new-cleavage-for-sexy-indian-women-and-re-emergence-of-sari/1/140273.html Rise of the Navel – 'Bollywood navel fashion has led to re-emergence of sari']. India Today. (3 June 2011).{{cite web |author=sareez |url=http://sareez.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/the-5-most-trend-setting-saree-scenes-of-bollywood/ |title=The 5 Most Trend Setting Saree Scenes of Bollywood |publisher=Sareez.wordpress.com |date=1 March 2011}} for a song and dance number, "Aaj kal tere mere".{{cite web |author=Sreya Basu |date=30 June 2011 |title=Bollywood's nine-yard seduction |url=http://www.glamsham.com/movies/features/11/jun/30-bollywoods-nine-yard-seduction-061112.asp |publisher=GlamSham |access-date=18 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902113348/http://www.glamsham.com/movies/features/11/jun/30-bollywoods-nine-yard-seduction-061112.asp |archive-date=2 September 2011 |url-status=dead }} A Sharara has a long blouse top with a unique divided skirt bottom, which has less flow than lehenga. It fits like a loose pant until reaching the knee, where it flares out. The particular style of sari became extremely popular and was dubbed the Mumtaz Sari.{{cite web |author=sareez |date=28 February 2011 |url=http://sareez.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/impress-your-man-wear-a-mumtaz-style-sari-tonight/ |title=Impress your man! Wear a 'Mumtaz-Style' Sari tonight! |publisher=Sareez.wordpress.com}}[http://www.bollywoodvogue.com/sharara-saree-and-bollywood/ Sharara saree and Bollywood]. Bollywoodvogue.com (28 July 2010). The 1981 film Ek Duuje Ke Liye, a remake of the 1978 Maro Charitra featured the replication of the "top spinning on the navel" scene with Rati Agnihotri.{{cite news|author=Paromita Vohra|title=10 Most Romantic Moments: Intimate Affairs|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/10++most+romantic+moments+intimate+affairs/1/123572.html|access-date=1 August 2015|work=India Today|date=18 December 2010}}{{cite news|author=Roshmila Bhattacharya|title=Rati Agnihotri on her first hit-Ek Duuje Ke Liye|url=http://fenilandbollywood.com/2013/01/24/rati-agnihotri-on-her-first-hit-ek-duuje-ke-liye/|access-date=1 August 2015|work=Mumbai Mirror|date=24 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208104119/http://fenilandbollywood.com/2013/01/24/rati-agnihotri-on-her-first-hit-ek-duuje-ke-liye/|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Rajiv Vijaykar|title=Timeless LOVE|url=http://prasadgroup.org/press/coverage/prasadgroup/2011/edkl.pdf|website=prasadgroup.com|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006060325/http://prasadgroup.org/press/coverage/prasadgroup/2011/edkl.pdf|archive-date=6 October 2016|url-status=usurped}}{{cite web|title=Raj's Top 100 films!|url=http://www.zulm.net/raj_top100i.htm#num90|website=zulm.net|access-date=5 October 2016}} She had stated in an interview, "Today, when someone asks me how I balanced the top, I don't have an answer.Those days we didn't have monitors, the luxury of too many rehearsals or retakes. I did what was expected of me, telling myself it was like dramatics day in school, only instead of the stage I was facing a camera".{{cite news|last1=Roshmila Bhattacharya|title=Rati Agnihotri: I was a rare North Indian girl doing well down South|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Rati-Agnihotri-I-was-a-rare-North-Indian-girl-doing-well-down-South/articleshow/48155856.cms|access-date=5 October 2016|work=Mumbai Mirror|agency=Times of India|date=21 July 2015}} The film Khalnayak (1993) was famous for the song "Choli ke Peeche" featuring Madhuri Dixit in navel-exposing attire.{{cite news|last=Bhattacharya|first=Roshmila|title=Our heart goes dhak dhak again|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Our-hearts-go-dhak-dhak-again/Article1-629156.aspx|access-date=29 November 2010|newspaper=Hindustan Times|date=21 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129105626/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Our-hearts-go-dhak-dhak-again/Article1-629156.aspx|archive-date=29 November 2010}} In the 2003 film Jism, actress Bipasha Basu appeared in a foreplay scene with an ice cube on her navel.{{cite web|title=Parents Guide for Jism|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348843/parentalguide|website=IMDb|access-date=3 August 2015}} Actress Aishwarya Rai showcased her navel in a brocade choli and dipped ghagra for the hit song "Kajra Re" in the film Bunty Aur Babli (2005).[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bollywood-actress-showing-navel/1/140291.html Top 10 Navels in Cinema – Bollywood top 10 navel showing actresses]. India Today. (3 June 2011).{{cite news |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/gallery/bollywoods-top-10-navels/10/4841.html |title=Bollywood's top 10 navels |work=India Today}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k7LkhFadBIwC&pg=PA32|title=Rampup: The business of Indian fashion |author=Hindol Sengupta |publisher=Pearson Education India |year=2009 |isbn=9788131719749 |page=32 }}[http://www.unp.me/f99/bollywoods-ghagra-moments-112235/ Bollywood's Ghagra moments]. Unp.me (22 October 2010). Katrina Kaif became famous for her dance performance showcasing her navel for the item number Sheila Ki Jawani for the 2010 film Tees Maar Khan.{{cite news|author=Bharathi S. Pradhan|title=Katrina Kaif's navel victory|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101128/jsp/7days/story_13230987.jsp|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203131206/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101128/jsp/7days/story_13230987.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 February 2013|access-date=3 August 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=28 November 2010}} Film critic Baradwaj Rangan stated on his blog in a review for the film, "Katrina Kaif makes her entry in the well-shot, well-scored Sheela ki jawani song sequence, brandishing a belly button that seems to have a life of its own".{{cite web|author=Baradwaj Rangan|title=Review: Tees Maar Khan / Toonpur Ka Superrhero|url=https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2010/12/25/klsdfhjfjsh/|website=baradwajrangan.wordpress.com|date=25 December 2010|access-date=1 February 2015}} For the 2011 film The Dirty Picture, actress Vidya Balan had acted in a scene where an egg put on her navel becomes an omelette.{{cite news|title=The dirty details behind the making of 'The Dirty Picture'|url=http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/dirty-team-talks-about-the-dirty-picture-144967.html|access-date=7 February 2016|work=The First Post|date=30 November 2011}} She stated in an interview, "It was difficult to control laughter and Milan used to wait to get me into the character because all this was part of the song and dance of those times to market the Silk phenomenon".{{cite news|last1=Anuj Kumar|title=As beauty gets dirty…|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/as-beauty-gets-dirty/article2678978.ece|access-date=7 February 2016|work=The Hindu}} Recently, Rakhi Sawant appeared in an item song "Latto Ghuma Re Chora" for the 2012 film Rakhtbeej in which a top is spun on her midriff and navel. She stated in an interview that the filming was painful since the director spun the sharp-pointed top 30 times on her midriff.{{cite news|title='Rakhtbeej' starcast in Delhi along with Rakhi Sawant|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/mumbai/Rakhtbeej-starcast-in-Delhi-along-with-Rakhi-Sawant/articleshow/13483052.cms|access-date=1 August 2015|work=Times of India|date=26 May 2012}}[https://www.youtube.com/user/Samaylivenews/search?query=rakhtbeej Samay Live]{{Full citation needed|date=December 2015}} Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra are the hottest navel and midriff exposing queens of Bollywood. They are also known as 'Fantastic Four' of Bollywood. Actress Richa Chadha had commented in an event that she was asked during a shoot to reveal her navel in high-waisted pants.{{cite news |last1=India Today Web Desk |title=Was asked to show navel in high-waist pants: Richa Chadha on women objectification in Bollywood |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/sahitya-aajtak/story/richa-chadha-metoo-women-objectification-bollywood-vani-tripathi-anubhav-sinha-1391060-2018-11-18|work=IndiaToday |date=18 November 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Dhruv Badola |title=When Richa Chadha Was Asked To Reveal Her Navel in High-waist Pants. Know Here! |url=https://topyaps.com/richa-chadha-asked-reveal-navel/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210152546/https://topyaps.com/richa-chadha-asked-reveal-navel/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=10 February 2019 |website=topyaps.com |access-date=9 February 2019}}

South Indian actresses such as Silk Smitha, Mumaith Khan, Simran, Kiran Rathod, Namitha, Trisha Krishnan, Meena, Rambha, Roja, Sadha, Anushka Shetty, Shriya Saran, Tabu, Ileana D'Cruz, Kajal Aggarwal, Mumtaj, Taapsee Pannu, Shruti Hassan, Tamannaah, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Nayanthara, Shwetha Menon, Mamta Mohandas etc., are known for their navel exposure.{{cite web |title=Sexy actresses' hot navel show in Telugu movies |author=Shekhar |date=8 November 2012 |publisher=Filmibeat |url=http://www.filmibeat.com/telugu/news/2012/tollywood-actresses-hot-navel-show-telugu-movies-101035.html#slidemore-slideshow-1}} Actresses such as Ileana D'Cruz, Tamannaah, Shriya Saran, Pooja Hegde etc., are known for exposing their slimmed-down midriffs in song sequences.{{cite news|author=Vanaja Banagiri|title=Southern sirens|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/article1285656.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025233817/http://newindianexpress.com/magazine/article1285656.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2012|access-date=24 August 2014|newspaper=The Times of India|date=7 October 2012}}{{cite web|title=Hottest Celebrity Midriffs|url=http://photogallery.navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/celebs/celeb-themes/hottest-celebrity-midriffs/articleshow/36292424.cms|website=indiatimes.com|access-date=24 August 2014}}

During the 1990s, scenes focusing on the female protagonist's navel were common in Tamil cinema.{{cite web |title=பம்பரம் விட்டு, தேள் விட்டு, ஆப்பாயில் போட்டு... பாவம்தான் நடிகைகள்! |language=Tamil |author=Sudha |date=9 October 2013 |publisher=Filmibeat |url=http://tamil.filmibeat.com/heroines/kollywood-still-concentrates-on-navel-185060.html}} Actress Sukanya became famous for a scene in the 1992 film Chinna Gounder, where the male protagonist spins a top on the female protagonist's navel.{{cite web|title=Sukanya Profile |url=http://www.veethi.com/india-people/sukanya-profile-215-14.htm |website=veethi.com |access-date=1 August 2015}}{{cite web |title=பம்பரம் விட்டு, தேள் விட்டு, ஆப்பாயில் போட்டு... பாவம்தான் நடிகைகள்! |language=Tamil |author=Sudha |date=9 October 2013 |publisher=Filmibeat |url=http://tamil.filmibeat.com/heroines/kollywood-still-concentrates-on-navel-185060.html#slide10569}}{{cite web |last1=Sowmya Rajendran |title=Sai Pallavi's debut in Telugu and Tamil: Here's some 'real beauty' coming our way |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/sai-pallavis-debut-telugu-and-tamil-heres-some-real-beauty-coming-our-way-63757 |website=TheNewsMinute.com |access-date=15 February 2019|date=16 June 2017 }} The 1993 film Gentleman featured a scene in the song sequence where female protagonist's navel is poked with a sword.{{cite web|title=Random Movies I Like – The Gentleman (1994)|url=http://gasbelly.blogspot.in/2007/07/random-movies-i-like-gentleman-1994.html|website=gasbelly.blogspot.in|access-date=1 August 2015|date=4 July 2007}} In 1996, actress Nagma became known for acting in a food play scene in the Tamil film Love Birds, which involves the male protagonist breaking an egg and cooking it on her navel,[https://archive.today/20120714135309/http://thatstamil.oneindia.in/movies/heroines/2005/07/lakshmirai.html வெத்தலை, வெத்தலை, வெத்தலையோ!][http://masalastuff.net/actress/nagma/sexy-compilation-from-movie-love-birds Nagma – Love Birds] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601054224/http://masalastuff.net/actress/nagma/sexy-compilation-from-movie-love-birds |date=1 June 2013 }}{{cite web |title=பம்பரம் விட்டு, தேள் விட்டு, ஆப்பாயில் போட்டு... பாவம்தான் நடிகைகள்! |language=Tamil |author=Sudha |date=9 October 2013 |publisher=Filmibeat |url=http://tamil.filmibeat.com/heroines/kollywood-still-concentrates-on-navel-185060.html#slide10570}} which was similar to a scene from Hot Shots! (1991) involving Valeria Golino.{{cite news |author=Phoebe Hoban |editor=Chris Smith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E-kCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22|title=Navel Maneuvers |work=New York |date=12 August 1991}} In the early 2000s Simran Bagga was known for her navel exposure in films. Her pierced navel also drew many youths to the cinema for the 2002 film Pammal K. Sambandam. The 2011 film Siruthai has a scene in which Tamannaah shows her navel to Karthi for arousing him because the character of Karthi has a belly fetish.

In his review of Isai (2015), film critic Baradwaj Rangan stated that "Sulagna brings to mind the heroines of a certain era who were chosen not because they had beautiful eyes or a bewitching smile but because of the quiver-quotient of their navel when confronted by a close-up."{{cite news|author=Baradwaj Rangan|title=Isai: Lots of problems, but the preposterous plot pulls you through|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/isai-lots-of-problems-but-the-preposterous-plot-pulls-you-through/article6839653.ece|access-date=1 February 2015|work=The Hindu|date=30 January 2015}} Film critic Sudhir Srinivasan wrote in a review for the 2016 film Aranmanai 2, "The emphasis is not so much on making a horror story that is novel, than it is on fixating on the heroine's navel."{{cite news|last1=Sudhir Srinivasan|title=Aranmanai-2 : More navel than novel|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/aranmanai2-more-navel-than-novel/article8171574.ece|access-date=7 February 2016|work=The Hindu|date=30 January 2016}}

Of the South Indian film industries, Telugu cinema more frequently has actresses expose their navels.{{cite web|author=Shekhar|title=Sexy actresses' hot navel show in Telugu movies|url=http://www.samachar.com/Sexy-actresses-hot-navel-show-in-Telugu-movies-mlitMxhifbc.html|website=Samachar.com|access-date=24 August 2014|date=8 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826114125/http://www.samachar.com/Sexy-actresses-hot-navel-show-in-Telugu-movies-mlitMxhifbc.html|archive-date=26 August 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Budugu Blah Blah – Kushi|url=http://www.idlebrain.com/trivia/budugu/budugu-kushi.html|website=Idlebrian.com|access-date=24 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303014742/http://www.idlebrain.com/trivia/budugu/budugu-kushi.html|archive-date=3 March 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Richa: 'I See 'Sexy-Navel-Show' Only Here'|url=http://www.greatandhra.com/movies/movie-news/richa-i-see-sexy-navel-show-only-here-24221.html|website=greatandhra.com|access-date=6 July 2014}} Film scholar Mahesh Kathi commented that Telugu cinema has a long history of "fondness for the navel", citing old South Indian temple architecture, which features numerous prominent displays of navels in their carvings, and calling such displays a "South Indian aesthetic sensibility". He continued, "Cinematically, while cleavage is just a peek at the bosom, the navel encompasses the woman's entire sensuality."{{cite news|author=Karthik Pasupulate|title=Tollywood heroines navel fantasy|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/telugu/news-interviews/Tollywood-heroines-navel-fantasy/articleshow/14238675.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116042014/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-19/news-interviews/32300435_1_navel-belly-button-telugu-cinema|url-status=live|archive-date=16 January 2013|access-date=29 July 2012|newspaper=The Times of India|date=19 June 2012}}

The 1978 film Maro Charitra was the first to feature the scene where a top spins on the female protagonist's navel.{{cite news|author=B. Madhu Gopal|title=On 'top' of the world|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/on-top-of-the-world/article3192937.ece|access-date=1 August 2015|work=The Hindu|date=20 May 2006}}

Veteran Telugu film director Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao's movies always have guaranteed navel show of the heroines.*{{cite news|author=Karthik Pasupulate|title=All the sexist things Telugu cinema heroes sing|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/All-the-sexist-things-Telugu-cinema-heroes-sing/articleshow/31608681.cms|access-date=1 August 2015|work=The Times of India|date=7 March 2014}}

• {{cite web|title=Capturing women's navel in a sensual manner is KRR's forte|url=http://www.iluvcinema.in/telugu/capturing-womens-navel-in-a-sensual-manner-is-krrs-forte/|website=iluvcinema.in|access-date=1 August 2015}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• {{cite news |author=Priyanka Pulla |date=September 2005 |url=http://www.fullhyderabad.com/profile/movies/1649/2/allari-bullodu-movie-review?sort=most+helpful&horder=DESC |title=Allari Bullodu Review |publisher=fullyhyd.com }} He used to include the navel of the heroine in every possible frame[http://tejasweemn.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/jhummandi-naadam/ Jhummandi Naadam] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426042139/http://tejasweemn.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/jhummandi-naadam/ |date=26 April 2012 }} and exploit it in song sequences such as dropping of water, flowers, fruits, ice cubes etc., on the navel.
• {{cite news|author=Karthik Pasupulate|title=What if all the sleaze gets censored out of Tollywood?|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/What-if-all-the-sleaze-gets-censored-out-of-Tollywood/articleshow/18575140.cms|access-date=3 August 2015|work=Times of India|date=19 February 2013}}
• {{cite news|author=J Jagannath|title=The needless public discourse on sexism in Bahubali|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/the-needless-public-discourse-on-sexism-in-bahubali-115072000194_1.html|access-date=1 August 2015|work=Business Standard|date=20 July 2015}}
• {{cite web|title=Throwing Fruits Is Not My Mistake: Raghavendra Rao|url=http://www.gulte.com/movienews/37570/Throwing-Fruits-Is-Not-My-Mistake-Raghavendra-Rao|website=gulte.com|access-date=1 August 2015}}
• {{cite web|url=http://andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=40061|title=A Bellyful of dreams|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416200924/http://andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=40061 |archive-date=16 April 2015 }}
• {{cite web|url=http://fridaymoviez.com/celebrity/k--raghavendra-rao/150964|title=K. Raghavendra Rao|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122142858/http://fridaymoviez.com/celebrity/k--raghavendra-rao/150964 |archive-date=22 November 2012 }}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/k_raghavendra_rao/biography.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909140138/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/k_raghavendra_rao/biography.php|url-status=dead|title= K. Raghavendra Rao Biography|website=Rotten Tomatoes |archive-date=9 September 2012}}
• {{cite web |author=deepakkumarsenapati |url=http://ourtimepassblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/raghavendra-rao-even-a-book-cant-say-fully-about-him-and-his-work/ |date= 25 May 2011 |title=Raghavendra Rao- Even a book cant say fully about him and his work. |publisher=Time Pass}}
• {{cite news |author=Venkat |title='Jhummandi Naadam' Review: Old Concoction |date=1 July 2010 |publisher=GreatAndhra.com |url=http://www.greatandhra.com/viewnews.php?id=22006&cat=1&scat=12}} Prominent Telugu actor and director Dasari Narayana Rao had once commented, "When you see a heroine slightly removing her pallu to show her inside assets, you don't feel ashamed of it because of the artistic way in which Ragahvendra Rao projects it on the screen. Especially heroines' navels look most beautiful in his movies."{{cite news |title=Dasari speaks about heroine's 'Navel' |date=31 May 2010 |publisher=Sulekha.com |url=http://movies.sulekha.com/telugu/jhummandi-naadam/news/dasari-speaks-about-heroine-s-navel.htm}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20160329231411/http://www.cinehour.com/celebgossippage.aspx?id=3803 Dasari praises Raghavendra Rao's Navel show]{{cite news |title=Dasari speaks about heroine's 'Navel' |date=29 May 2010 |publisher=Cine Josh |url=http://www.cinejosh.com/telugu-movie-news/8190/dasari-speaks-about-heroines-navel.html}}

Telugu actor and politician Chiranjeevi had commented in a TV show, "If you want to know about fruits, you have to do one film with director K. Raghavendra Rao. He used to put all the fruits around the heroine's navel (boddu)."{{cite news|last1=Suresh Kavirayani|title=Tollywood is a land of misogynistic motormouths!|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/tollywood/260517/tollywood-is-a-land-of-misogynistic-motormouths.html|access-date=4 June 2017|work=Deccan Chronicle|date=26 May 2017}}{{cite web|title=Tollywood fast turning vulgarwood?|url=http://www.andhraheadlines.com/news/movies/175340/tollywood-fast-turning-vulgarwood|website=AndhraHeadlines.com|access-date=4 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602113823/http://www.andhraheadlines.com/news/movies/175340/tollywood-fast-turning-vulgarwood|archive-date=2 June 2017|url-status=dead}}

In 2016, actress Pragya Jaiswal had requested Raghavendra Rao to have a shot with fruits and flowers on her navel as part of a song sequence. She told in an interview, "That's the third day of shooting with KRR sir and we're canning a song. But actually he's not making any flower or fruit thrown at my navel or waist, that's why I took courage to ask him to hit my navel with them."{{cite web|title=Heroine To Director: Hit Me on My Navel|url=http://www.gulte.com/movienews/55944/Heroine-To-Director-Hit-Me-On-My-Navel|website=Gulte.com|access-date=25 March 2017}}{{cite web|title=I Want That Navel Shot| website=YouTube | date=28 January 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcbzfg7g2wQ|access-date=25 March 2017}}

The 2013 Telugu film Action 3D paid tribute to Raghavendra Rao with a song featuring his symbolic acts on the female protagonist's navel.{{cite web|title=Action 3D's tribute to K Raghavendra Rao|url=http://www.idlebrain.com/news/today/action3d-kraghavendrarao.html|website=idlebrain.com|access-date=1 August 2015}}{{cite web|title=Flowers, fruits and pots for Allari Naresh?|url=http://www.telugumirchi.com/en/movies/flowers-fruits-and-pots-for-allari-naresh.html|website=Telugumirchi.com|access-date=1 August 2015|archive-date=11 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211094442/http://www.telugumirchi.com/en/movies/flowers-fruits-and-pots-for-allari-naresh.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Neelam Upadhyaya Hot in Action 3D|url=http://www.e24telugu.com/2013/04/neelam-upadhyaya-hot-in-action-3d.html|website=e24telugu.com|access-date=1 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501064745/http://www.e24telugu.com/2013/04/neelam-upadhyaya-hot-in-action-3d.html|archive-date=1 May 2013|url-status=dead}}

A song sequence in the 2012 Telugu spoof film Sudigadu features the main protagonist dropping a watermelon and a pumpkin on the female protagonist's navel.{{cite web|title=Review: Sudigadu- The trailer is far better than the movie|url=http://www.telugumirchi.com/en/reviews/reviewsudigadu-the-trailer-is-far-better-than-the-movie.html|website=Telugumirchi.com|access-date=1 August 2015|archive-date=29 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429052423/http://www.telugumirchi.com/en/reviews/reviewsudigadu-the-trailer-is-far-better-than-the-movie.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Naresh Not Leaving KRR In 'Action' Too|url=http://www.gulte.com/movienews/10306/Naresh-Not-Leaving-KRR-In-Action-Too|website=Gulte.com|date=9 September 2012|access-date=1 August 2015}}

Actress Monal Gajjar who has acted in the scene had commented on an interview, "When the hero throws it on my tummy I am supposed to scream with a strange sound and they told me they are not real, all are toy fruits."{{cite web|author=Y. Sunitha Chowdhary|title=Interview With Monal Gajjar|url=http://www.cinegoer.net/telugu-cinema/interviews/interview-with-monal-gajjar-230812.html|website=Cinegoer.net|access-date=24 August 2014|date=23 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826133816/http://www.cinegoer.net/telugu-cinema/interviews/interview-with-monal-gajjar-230812.html|archive-date=26 August 2014|url-status=dead}}

The navel culture is moderately popular in Bengali industry. Though during the last decade it has been popularised. During the 1990s, actresses like Rituparna Sengupta, Rachana Banerjee, Indrani Halder, etc. started showing off their navels in sarees mostly. Actress Rituparna Sengupta shows her navel during recent times also. Her navel has been spotted often in her recent films. Actress Koel Mallick kept her navel hidden for a long time, but in the movie Arundhati she bared her tummy completely and showed off her navel which created a storm among the fans. She has not exposed her navel after that movie. Actress Sreelekha Mitra did a bare tummy show in the movie Ashchorjyo Prodeep; in the scene she wore a blouse and petticoat and her stomach was bare. In recent times, actress Raima Sen has shown off her navel twice. In the movie Roga Howar Sohoj Upay, Raima in a scene removes her saree and holds her lower belly in one hand in order to check her lower belly fat, her navel is seen from close up. In the web series Hello Season 1, in an episode, Raima is seen to be lying on her bed removing the pallu of her saree, and her husband is seen to be playing with her tummy. Raima then points to her navel and says that she wants a tattoo below it but her husband objects. Actress Arunima Ghosh has done a couple of navel baring songs in the movies Bonku Babu and Eagoler Chokh. Swastika Mukherjee has shown her navel in the movie Shaheb Bibi Golaam and in the web series Dupur Thakurpo. Actress Subhashree Ganguly has exposed her navel many times during the last eight years. She has bared her navel in the movies like Boss, Romeo, Bachchan, and in the movie Prem Ki Bujhini where the hero often got distracted due to heroine's unintentional navel show. Subhashree is especially known for showing her navel in ultra-low waist dresses where a larger portion of her lower belly is also shown, but after her marriage, she has decreased her expose. Actress Nusrat Jahan is quite regular with her navel show, from the onset of her career, even after her marriage she equally continues to show her navel. In the movie Khiladi the actress teases the hero by intentionally dropping her pallu and showing her navel. Another renowned actress Mimi Chakraborty has also started exposing her bellybutton in the last 2–3 years. Previously she always kept it covered, but in the movie Total Dadagiri she wore belly showing dresses in the songs of the movie. After some time she made a feather tattoo on her lower belly, after this incident she started full-fledged navel showing in her movies and photoshoots mostly to show her tattoo. Her navel can be spotted in most of her recent photographs. Bengali Actress Srabanti Chatterjee has kept her navel hidden till date. Only in one of the songs of the movie Bagh Bandi Khela her pallu flies off and her navel is exposed for a couple of seconds. Actress Madhumita Sarkar showed her navel in the movie Love Aaj Kal Porshu. Madhumita has started full-fledged navel showing in recent times as almost all of her recent posts in social media clearly show her navel. Actress Ritabhari Chakraborty is also known for exposing her navel in her toned abs and mostly ultra-low waist dresses. Actresses like Bibriti Chatterjee and Rii Sen are known for baring their navel piercings in their pics. Besides actresses like Paoli Dam, Sayantika Banerjee, Tanusree Chakraborty, Koushani Mukherjee, Rittika Sen has done occasional navel exposures.

The Censor Board of India for Indian cinema has created some limitations on "vulgar" visuals, such as restricting zoom shots of the navel, kissing the navel, and squeezing the navel and waist. These limitations had been implemented during the 1990s.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WNS7LhIfiv8C|title=Erotic justice: law and the new politics of postcolonialism |author=Ratna Kapur |publisher=Permanent Black |year=2005 |isbn=9788178241326}}{{page needed|date=December 2015}}{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Efv3V7Y9WzsC&pg=PA492|title=Writing the women's movement: a reader |author=Shohini Ghosh |chapter=The Troubled Existence of Sex and Sexuality: Feminists Engage with Censorship |editor=Mala Khullar |publisher=Zubaan |year=2005 |isbn=9788186706992 |pages=491–492}}{{cite news|author=Usha Rai|title=New censorship proposals on anvil|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7IhlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wJ4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1223,2950368&dq=navel+kissing&hl=en|access-date=17 March 2012|newspaper=The Indian Express|date=31 July 1994}}{{cite web|title=Censor Guidelines|url=http://www.chitraloka.com/exclusive/823-censor-guidelines.html|website=Chitraloka.com|access-date=3 August 2015}} Many films have faced censor cuts for navel scenes.{{cite news |title=Does this censor know Telugu, asks Tollywood|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Does-this-censor-know-Telugu-asks-Tollywood/articleshow/16922326.cms|website=The Times of India|access-date=15 August 2014|date=23 October 2012}}{{cite web|title=Censor Board against Shreya's navel Shivaji scene|url=http://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2007/shivaji-censor-board-220507.html|website=Filmibeat.com|date=22 May 2007|access-date=3 August 2015}}{{cite web|title=List of Censor Cuts in Aagadu|url=http://www.gulte.com/movienews/30742/List-of-Censor-Cuts-in-Aagadu|website=Gulte.com|access-date=3 August 2015}}{{cite web|title=Why 'A' Certificate for 'Power'?|url=http://www.iqlikmovies.com/news/article/2014/09/04/reason-behind-ravi-teja-power-getting-a-certificat/5352|website=iqlikmovies.com|access-date=3 August 2015}}

Many actors have expressed mixed views on the display of and emphasis of the navel. Some feel displaying the midriff or navel cannot be considered exposing when compared to Hollywood films.{{cite journal |date=1995 |title=Rashtriya Sahara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SxxuAAAAMAAJ |journal=Rashtriya Sahara |publisher=Sahara India Mass Communication |volume=3 |issue=7–12 |page=170 |access-date=8 November 2015}} Actress Shilpa Shetty argued, "If navel-showing is obscenity, then our traditional Indian outfit{{mdash}}the traditional sari{{mdash}}should be banned in the first place."{{cite news | work=The Times of India | title=If navel is obscene, let's ban saris | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bangalore-times/if-navel-is-obscene-lets-ban-saris/articleshow/1504414.cms | access-date=4 January 2007

| first1=Afsana | last1=Ahmed | first2=Smrity | last2=Sharma | date=25 April 2006}} Actress, BJP member and CBFC member Jeevitha while speaking on item numbers stated, "Dance numbers are okay, but girls don't need to dress vulgarly. They can wear skirts but not too much below the navel."{{cite news|author=Dipti Nagpaul|title=Know Your Censors|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/know-your-censors/|access-date=3 August 2015|work=The Indian Express|date=1 March 2015}}{{cite web|author=Andre Borges|title=22 Things We Know About The Indian Censor Board|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/andreborges/cbfc-facts#.toaxGpkQJ|website=Buzzfeed.com|date=2 March 2015 |access-date=3 August 2015}} Telugu film director Krishna Vamsi commented, "All film-makers have problems with the censors. They sometimes object to showing the navel of a woman when, in other films, it is allowed. We cannot even question them. The censors should give us general rules in writing as to what is allowed and what is not, instead of taking decisions according to their whims and fancies."{{cite web|author1=Sunil Kumar|title=I want to be a free bird|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/nov/17kri.htm|website=rediff.com|access-date=15 August 2014}} Actor R. Madhavan commented, "I have often been embarrassed to see certain films I have done. ... when I see myself kissing a dancing heroine's navel in some films, I feel ashamed."{{cite news|author=Rana Siddiqui Zaman|title=Wisdom of an idiot | url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/12/25/stories/2009122550080100.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116073951/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/12/25/stories/2009122550080100.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=16 January 2013 | access-date=12 April 2012 | date=25 December 2009 |newspaper=The Hindu| location=Chennai, India}} Actress Taapsee Pannu commented, "I believe the navel is overrated. I think sensuality can be expressed in other ways." Bengali actress Swastika Mukherjee said, "I am not very comfortable though I have tried wearing a lehenga choli with a stick-on in my navel." Many actresses have opted to hide their navels by wearing trikinis for beach or pool scenes.{{cite web|title=Heroines hiding their navel in bikini|url=http://www.idleindia.com/2013/03/heroines-hiding-their-navel-in-bikini.html#axzz3AQsDleTt|website=idleindia.com|access-date=24 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826160750/http://www.idleindia.com/2013/03/heroines-hiding-their-navel-in-bikini.html#axzz3AQsDleTt|archive-date=26 August 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|author=Ram Kumar|url=http://www.southdreamz.com/51837/why-taapsee-hides-navel/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812171215/http://www.southdreamz.com/51837/why-taapsee-hides-navel/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=12 August 2013|title=Why Taapsee Hides [Her] Navel|website=southdreamz|access-date=24 August 2014|date=6 March 2013}}

File:Figurine Dogu Jomon Musée Guimet 70608 4.jpg figurine of the late Jōmon period with the navel indicated with a deep indentation.]]

File:Yosakoi Performers at Kochi Yosakoi 2006 17.jpg in navel-exposing attire in the Yosakoi Matsuri 2006 at Kōchi]]

Japan has long had a special regard for the navel. During the early Jōmon period in northern Japan, three small balls indicating the breasts and navel were pasted onto flat clay objects to represent the female body. The navel was exaggerated in size, informed by the belief that the navel symbolizes the center of where life begins. On many middle Jomon figurines, the significance of the navel was emphasized with an indentation or hole. Sometimes, the importance of the navel was further enhanced by connecting with a line from the navel towards the chest.{{cite book |author=Nelly Naumann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yrla4QyhFasC&pg=PA114|title=Japanese prehistory: the material and spiritual culture of the Jōmon period |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=2000 |isbn=9783447043298 |page=199|author-link = Nelly Naumann}} Early Japanese poems feature many references to the female navel. In some, the word navel actually refers to an indentation or hole instead of the belly button.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hI6Ity0NPh4C&pg=PA192|title=The Woman Without a Hole – & Other Risky Themes from Old Japanese Poems |author=Robin D. Gill |publisher=Paraverse Press |year=2007 |chapter=Balls |isbn=9780974261881 |page=192}}{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EDZoEZ4CS3AC&pg=PA192|title=Octopussy, Dry Kidney & Blue Spots, Or, Senryû: Dirty Themes from 18-19c Japanese Poems |author=Robin D. Gill |chapter=Balls |publisher=Paraverse Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780974261850 |page=192}} The shape of the umbilicus of a newborn baby would be discussed at length. If a baby's navel points downward, the parents would brace themselves for a weakling child who will bring them woe. The thunder god Raijin, with his terrifying drums, great horns, and long tusks, was said to have an insatiable appetite for young navels, and mothers had to nag their youngsters constantly to keep themselves well covered up.[http://time-demo.newscred.com/article/6fac8c501d2457ee0ecc55a81e357b88.html/edit JAPAN: Navel Exercise] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424104647/http://time-demo.newscred.com/article/6fac8c501d2457ee0ecc55a81e357b88.html/edit |date=24 April 2012 }} – Time Due to the mythology, navel exposure was not encouraged in the earlier times. The traditional clothing of Japanese women has a wide cloth belt around the midriff to protect the belly and keep it warm. The Japanese believe the belly is the source of person's warmth and that the perfect navel is an innie.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jB5vyH-XmQkC&pg=PA204|title=The Pocket Guide to Girl Stuff |author=Bart King |publisher=Gibbs Smith |year=2008 |isbn=9781423607700 |page=204}}

Although navel exposure has become a recent trend in fashion in Japan, annual Heso Matsuri ("belly button festivals"){{cite book|author=Bruce Roscoe|title=Windows on Japan: a walk through place and perception|year=2007|publisher=Algora Publishing|isbn= 9780875864914|page=308|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzt4R7tGuloC&pg=PA168}} have been held in Japan since the late 1960s. The tradition of the Hokkaido Heso Odori ("belly button dance") began in 1968.{{cite web |url=http://blog.freshpowder.com/?p=572 |title=43rd Hokkaido Belly Button Festival (Hokkai Heso Matsuri) Schedule |date=26 July 2011 |publisher=Japan Fresh Powder |access-date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212094932/http://blog.freshpowder.com/?p=572 |archive-date=12 February 2012 |url-status=dead }} Dancers make their heso ("belly button") into a face, using paint, special costumes, and props. Many variations of the dance have been developed, leading to competitions among dancers, who compete for prizes in various categories.[http://www.furano-kankou.com/english/hyperlinks/F-furano_heso.htm Furano Heso/Belly Button Festival]. Furano-kankou.com {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116053613/http://www.furano-kankou.com/english/hyperlinks/F-furano_heso.htm |date=16 January 2013 }}{{cite web |author=James |url=http://www.japanprobe.com/2009/07/30/hokkaido-belly-button-festival/ |title=Hokkaido Belly Button Festival |publisher=Japan Probe |date=30 July 2009 |access-date=2 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416221944/http://www.japanprobe.com/2009/07/30/hokkaido-belly-button-festival/ |archive-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=dead}}

A similar type festival is held at Shibukawa, north of Tokyo. The idea was formed based on the location of Shibukawa, which is also referred to as the "Belly Button of Japan". The festival is based on a traditional Japanese form of entertainment where revelers paint a face on their torsos and stomachs to appear as a head. A kimono is wrapped around the waist, and the person's real head is hidden by a large cloth hat. The belly button is traditionally painted into a mouth. In recent years, modern motifs and Japanese anime designs have appeared in the festival.Muramoto, Hiroyuki. (28 July 2008) [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-bellybutton-idUSSP29709920080728 Celebrating the navel in Japan's "belly button"]. Reuters.[http://www.japanprobe.com/2008/07/30/shibukawa-belly-button-festival/ Shibukawa belly button festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417070459/http://www.japanprobe.com/2008/07/30/shibukawa-belly-button-festival/ |date=17 April 2014 }}. Japan Probe (30 July 2008).

File:Sigiriya ladies 02.jpg frescoes depicting women in navel-exposed attire]]

File:Sri Lankan dance - Sri Lankan Friendship Association of BC - 02.jpg

Sigiriya frescoes depict royal ladies wearing cloth draped as a dhoti, tied in a knot at the front and pulled down to expose the navel. They wear pleated robes from the waist upwards, as well a necklace, armlets, wristlets, ear and hair ornaments, and display their breasts. The ladies in waiting wear waist clothes, a few ornaments and a firm thanapatiya ("breast bandage").{{cite web |url=http://livingheritage.org/toplessness.htm |title=The Garb of Innocence: A Time of Toplessness |publisher=Living Heritage Trust}} republished from {{cite news |author=Romesh Fernando |work=The Island |title=The Garb of Innocence: A Time of Toplessness |date=15 November 1992}}

In the Sinhalese poetic work Kaviyasekara, a father advises his married daughter as to proper clothing, "Dress your garment above your navel, without exposing the fair bosom, and expose not your teeth in laughing."{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/descriptivecatal00deal|title=A descriptive catalogue of Sanskrit, Pali, & Sinhalese literary works of Ceylon |author=James De Alwis |publisher=W. Skeen, government printer |location=Ceylon |year=1870 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/descriptivecatal00deal/page/201 201]–202}}

In his work Daily Code for the Laity (1898), the Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala wrote that a sari blouse must be long, fully covering a woman's breasts, midriff, navel, and back.{{cite book|author=Kumari Jayawardena |author2=Malathi De Alwis|title=Embodied Violence: Communalising Women's Sexuality in South Asia|year=1996|publisher=Zed Books|isbn= 9781856494489|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781856494489/page/299 299]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781856494489|url-access=registration }}

In the 1980s and 1990s, a visible navel was very rare. By the late 1990s, the Bollywood connection and the media and technological changes that occurred in India had influenced Sri Lanka's fashion outlook, with the navel becoming a focus in the modern Sri Lankan wardrobe.{{cite news|author=Vihanga Perera|title=Navel warfare|url=http://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/6189-navel-warfare.html|access-date=24 May 2012|newspaper=The Nation|date=20 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116053630/http://www.nation.lk/edition/fine/item/6189-navel-warfare.html|archive-date=16 January 2013|url-status=dead}} Sri Lankan films commonly depict the women of the country's earliest history as scantily clad with exposed navels, and the country has become more open to the topic in general. In Nov 2015, Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya stated that a school dress code for students and teachers would be issued requiring that the navel be covered. However, the Ceylon Teachers Union President Joseph Stalin condemned it and commented, "We condemn this statement. It is an anachronistic proposal. We see nothing wrong with teachers wearing sarees below the belly button. It may be that there is something wrong with Mr. Devapriya’s eye sight. We like to ask the Chief Minister whether the belly button is the main concern facing the education sector in the Western Province".{{cite news|last1=Piyumi Fonseka|title=Is navel the education sector's main concern: CTU|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/94737/is-navel-the-education-sector-s-main-concern-ctu-asks|access-date=24 March 2017|work=Daily Mirror|date=10 November 2015}}

File:Agnes at AMI 2004.jpg in navel exposing attire at the 2004 AMI Awards]]

In 2004, the President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono spoke out against exposed navels, saying, "Indonesian women, who are known for their courtesy, should refrain from exposing their midriffs or belly buttons, which now seems to be taken for granted. There are many ways to express beauty, as part of aesthetics, and to express freedom but not by showing things that lead to pornography." He further added that while the state could not dictate dress codes, citizens were expected to respect the country's moral values and courtesy. A week later, a cabinet minister quoted Yudhoyono as saying that he felt "disturbed and uneasy" to see television shows in which women exposed their navels.[http://www.thejakartafpost.com/news/2004/12/22/contemplating-susilo039s-navel-fixation.html "Contemplating Susilo's navel fixation"]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. The Jakarta Post. (22 December 2004).[http://www.glapn.org/sodomylaws/world/indonesia/idnews004.htm "Indonesian President Bellyaches about Exposed Belly Buttons"] – AFP. Glapn.org.

In 2006, Agus Suwage, an Indonesian artist, installed his Pinkswing Park exhibit at Jakarta's international biennale. The exhibit was surrounded by massive panels with multiple pictures of a near-naked man and woman frolicking in a park. Within days of the exhibition's launch, Islamic fundamentalists had descended on the biennale, forcing its closure and demanding prosecutions. At first police claimed his work blasphemed the story of Adam and Eve; a few weeks later they told Suwage he faced five years in jail for producing pornography. The Indonesian parliament decided to introduce a sweeping anti-pornography law. The law imposes a rigid social template; couples who kiss in public will face up to five years' jail, as would anyone flaunting a "sensual body part"—including their navel—and tight clothing will be outlawed.[https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/02/24/1140670261932.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap3 Navel gazing ruled out as Indonesians button up]. The Sydney Morning Herald. (24 February 2006).[http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/miniskirt1.html Miniskirts and hipsters threatened in Indonesia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726041429/http://martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/miniskirt1.html |date=26 July 2014 }}. Martinfrost.ws (28 March 2006).[http://javaliese.livejournal.com/34254.html Ahh, the Indonesian porn bill]. Javaliese.livejournal.com (3 March 2006). Due to this new anti-pornography law, topless bathing and surfing on the beaches of Bali, a common practice among tourists, would also be prohibited. The law would also affect older tribal women, who often still walk topless.{{cite news |author=Amy Chavez |url=http://www.thebalitimes.com/2008/09/26/no-more-surfing-naked/ |title=No More Surfing Naked! |work=The Bali Times|date=26 September 2008}}{{cite news |author=Amy Chavez |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20060311cz.html |title=No more nude surfing in Bali |newspaper=The Japan Times |date=11 March 2006}} The introduction of a bill was attacked by women's rights campaigners in the country, who fear it is the first step towards the implementation of Islamic Sharia law.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5012330.stm | work=BBC News | title=Indonesian fears over porn law | date=25 May 2006}}{{cite journal |author=Pam Allen |journal=Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific |issue=19 |date=February 2009 |url=http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue19/allen.htm |title=Women, Gendered Activism and Indonesia's Anti-Pornography Bill}}

Despite these laws, pop singers such as Inul Daratista, known for her hip swaying moves,{{cite news |author=Bret Stephens |date=3 April 2007 |url=http://www.libforall.org/media/news-stories/WSJ_Hips-Don-t-Lie.pdf |title=Hips don't lie |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=2 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116053613/http://www.libforall.org/media/news-stories/WSJ_Hips-Don-t-Lie.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}[http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2005/04/25/inul-go-ahead-kl-concert.html Inul to go ahead with KL concert] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620064322/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2005/04/25/inul-go-ahead-kl-concert.html |date=20 June 2013 }}. The Jakarta Post. (25 April 2005). and Agnez Mo continue exposing their navels, but undergo some restrictions in advertisements.[http://www.scandasia.com/viewNews.php?coun_code=plus&news_id=7109 Shariah in Aceh: Eroding Secular Freedoms] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116053613/http://www.scandasia.com/viewNews.php?coun_code=plus&news_id=7109 |date=16 January 2013 }}. Scandasia.com (21 August 2010).

Traditionally, Korean women are expected to dress modestly. The traditional wear such as Hanbok cover the entire body.{{cite web|author=Tina Kim Chu|title=Korean Customs and Etiquette Handbook|url=http://www.2id.korea.army.mil/korea/pdf/Korean_Customs_and_Etiquette_Handbook.pdf|access-date=22 March 2015|archive-date=4 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204215509/http://www.2id.korea.army.mil/korea/pdf/Korean_Customs_and_Etiquette_Handbook.pdf|url-status=dead}}

File:Yuri at KBS Hope Concert 2013 01.jpg performing at KBS Hope Concert in January 2013]]

During the 1990s, the fashion trend among young South Korean women for wearing cropped T-shirts that leave the midriff exposed had started, due to the hot climatic conditions. The trend spread to create changes in female fashion such that when a policeman in Gwangju arrested two young women for flaunting their belly buttons in the street, the judge threw the case out, ruling that the flashing of a female navel was not indecent.{{cite news|title=Navel-flashing Ruled Decent|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/10/09/navel-flashing-ruled-decent/|access-date=22 March 2015|agency=The Economist Newspaper Limited|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=9 October 1994}} It further became popular due to Korean pop culture, where K-pop stars started wearing body piercings{{cite web|author=Cara Ribeiro|title=Top 10 Idols with Piercings|url=http://blog.ningin.com/2011/10/07/top-10-idols-with-multiple-piercings/|website=Ningin|access-date=22 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315032310/http://blog.ningin.com/2011/10/07/top-10-idols-with-multiple-piercings/|archive-date=15 March 2015|url-status=dead}} and midriff-exposing shirts.{{cite news|author=Rachel|title=Interview: SPICA talks about their comeback and lip-sync|url=http://www.hellokpop.com/news/interview-spica-talks-about-their-comeback-and-lip-sync/|access-date=22 March 2015|work=HelloKpop|date=10 October 2012}}{{unreliable source?|date=August 2021}} In July 1997, the South Korean broadcaster KBS announced tough new rules for pop stars appearing on TV. One among the many limitations was "no exposing of navels".{{cite book|author=Richard King |author2=Timothy J. Craig|title=Global Goes Local: Popular Culture in Asia|year=2003|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn= 9789622095915|pages=320|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s4LR2X1rIIEC&q=korean+pop+navel}}

During the 2000s, it became common among young women to expose their belly buttons by rolling up their shirts similar to a crop top. During sport events such as football, the female audience apply body paints or temporary tattoos around their belly buttons.{{cite journal |author=Rachael Miyung Joo |title=Consuming Visions: The Crowds of the Korean World Cup |journal=The Journal of Korean Studies |volume=11 |number=1 |date=Fall 2006 |isbn=1442234849|page=53 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGU-AwAAQBAJ}} In 2010, Korean girl group Rainbow's dance routine that involved lifting up their shirts to expose their navels became popular. The band stated in an interview, "We have to keep our abs in shape for the belly button dance."{{cite web|title=Korean idol group Rainbow to debut in Japan this fall!|url=http://www.tokyohive.com/article/2011/06/korean-idol-group-rainbow-to-debut-in-japan-this-fall|website=Tokyohive.com|access-date=3 August 2015}}{{unreliable source?|date=August 2021}} the routine was subsequently banned.{{cite news|title=Korean Girl Bands Bare More Skin in Japan|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/04/13/2013041300346.html|access-date=3 August 2015|work=Chosun|date=13 April 2013}}{{cite web|title=No Belly Dance, Rainbow|url=http://www.asianrice.tv/news/No-Belly-Dance-Rainbow/687|website=asianrice.tv |access-date=3 August 2015}}{{cite news |date=8 September 2010 |author=Syee22 |url=http://www.dkpopnews.net/2010/09/news-rainbow-belly-button-dance-banned.html |title=Rainbow 'Belly button dance', banned from broadcast |publisher=Daily kpop news}}{{unreliable source?|date=August 2021}} The SBS TV show Inkigayo told girl groups to restrain showing their skin too much and about their outfits.{{cite web|title=Rainbow's Fans Disappointed Because They Were "Too Sexy"|url=http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/4292/20120209/rainbow-japan-too-sexy.htm|publisher=KpopStarz|access-date=16 October 2013|date=9 February 2012}}{{unreliable source?|date=August 2021}}[http://news.nate.com/view/20100908n09893 레인보우 '배꼽춤', 방송금지 "선정적, 수정 불가피"]. News.nate.com. In 2013, Yoona, a member of Korean girl band Girls' Generation, caused a minor controversy by revealing an exposed midriff featuring a protruding cantaloupe-like outie navel, which started a spirited discussion and polarized opinions on the Chinese-language internet.{{cite news|title=Korean starlet's belly button causes navel-gazing online|url=http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20130213000015&cid=1103|access-date=16 October 2013|newspaper=WantChinaTimes|date=13 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016063712/http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20130213000015&cid=1103|archive-date=16 October 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=SNSD's Yoona shows off a new look and cute bellybutton |url=https://en.korea.com/blog/enter/k-pop/snsds-yoona-shows-off-a-new-look-and-cute-bellybutton/ |publisher=Korea.com |access-date=16 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106041015/http://en.korea.com/blog/enter/k-pop/snsds-yoona-shows-off-a-new-look-and-cute-bellybutton/ |archive-date=6 January 2013 }}{{unreliable source?|date=August 2021}}

Formal wear is expected to cover the stomach and belly button.{{cite book|author=Un-yŏng Kim|title=A Cross-cultural Reference of Business Practices in a New Korea|date=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=1567200192|pages=157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cj583eSAXP0C&q=korea+bellybutton}}

File:Malay fashions.JPG in attire that covers the navel at a fashion show in Kuala Lumpur in April 2011]]

In 2005, Vivienne, a virtual girlfriend created by software maker Artificial Life Inc. of Hong Kong, was reprogrammed not to bare her navel or display body piercings in conservative Muslim countries including Malaysia to avoid problems.{{cite news |author=Keith Bradsher |date=24 February 2005 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/technology/24girlfriend.html |title=Sad, Lonely? For a Good Time, Call Vivienne*}} In 2006, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat gave his blessings to an Islamic form of dance clubs to serve as entertainment outlets at Kota Bharu. He commented that there must be proper attire for women, including clothes that do not reveal the navel, saying Muslim women must be covered from head to toe except for their face and hands, while Muslim men must be decently dressed when in public.[http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/17/nation/16348816&sec=nation PAS-style dance clubs]. The Star. {{dead link|date=September 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Under Malaysian government rules for stage performances, a female artist must be covered from her shoulders to her knees. This law prevented pop icon Beyoncé Knowles from performing in navel-exposing attire in 2007.{{cite news |author=Sean Yoong |agency=Associated Press |date=23 August 2007 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/22/AR2007082202743.html |title=Pop Stars Learn: When in Malaysia ... |newspaper=The Washington Post}}[http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Malaysian-officials-tell-Beyonce-to-cover-up-1832486.php Malaysian officials tell Beyoncé to cover up]. Houston Chronicle. (23 August 2007). Beyoncé canceled the show amid opposition from local groups, calling the cancellation a result of a "scheduling conflict".[https://archive.today/20120912144903/http://www.singersroom.com/news/4471/Beyonce-To-Put-Clothes-On-It-For-Malaysia- Beyonce To Put 'Clothes On It' For Malaysia ?]

Saint Thomas Aquinas considered the navel as the "bodily metaphor for spiritual things".{{cite news|author=Vithal C Nadkarni|title=The navel's key significance|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2006-05-24/news/27455537_1_navel-belly-button-lotus|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116053606/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2006-05-24/news/27455537_1_navel-belly-button-lotus|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 January 2013|access-date=28 August 2012|newspaper=The Times of India|date=24 May 2006}}

File:Manipura2.svg

In Indian traditional medicine, the Cyperus rotundus tuber is made into a paste and applied around the navel to relieve pain caused by roundworms. Pomegranate plant juice and paste is used to treat snake bites; the juice is dropped into the nostrils, ears, and navel.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/medicinalplantso00ross |url-access=registration |title=Medicinal plants of the world: Chemical Constituents, Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses |author=Ivan A. Ross |publisher=Humana Press |year=2003 |isbn=9781588292810}}{{page needed|date=December 2015}} Applying a little bit of ghee or mustard oil on cotton and keeping it on the navel overnight is considered a remedy for dry lips.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110416090356/http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/74/20110411201104112044377935224586/Why-Rahul-Dravid-puts-ghee-on-his-navel.html Why Rahul Dravid puts ghee on his navel]. Bangaloremirror.com. Castor oil is applied to the navel of infants as a remedy for stomach aches.{{cite news|author=Sheela Rani Chunkath|title=A healthy ritual|url=http://www.hindu.com/mag/2003/01/12/stories/2003011200150700.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090729211841/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2003/01/12/stories/2003011200150700.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 July 2009|access-date=11 April 2012|date=12 January 2003|newspaper=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}} The Gonds, a tribe from central India, apply Gloriosa superba rhizome extract over the navel and vagina to cause labour pain and perform normal delivery.{{cite book|author=R. D. Tribhuwan|title=Body Image, Human Reproduction and Birth Control|year=2009|publisher=Discovery Publishing House|isbn= 9788183563888|page=280|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYYoDoJTwIkC&pg=PA129}}

According to Ayurveda, the navel is an important site in the human body. Nearly 72,000 subtle nerves, or nadis converge in this area.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8ryo-SyO3UC&pg=PA77|title=Ayurvedic massage: traditional Indian techniques for balancing body and mind |author=Harish Johari |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=1996 |isbn=9780892814893 |page=77}} By the principles of Ayurveda and yoga, the human body is made up of six chakras, with the Manipura chakra located at the spine directly behind either the navel or the solar plexus, depending on the system, while its kshetram, or superficial activation point, is located directly on the navel and represents the element fire.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uOeSLZsp7lwC&pg=PA157|title=The Hidden Mysteries of Kundalini |author=R. Venugopalam |publisher=B. Jain Publishers |year=2004 |isbn=9788180560033}}{{page needed|date=December 2015}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99thvrs56AMC|title=Chakras: Energy Centers of Transformation |author=Harish Johari |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=2000 |isbn=9781594779091|page=2}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=atPiE5-3b94Cf |title=The Encyclopedia of Ayurvedic Massage |author=John Douillard |publisher=North Atlantic Books |year=2004 |isbn=9781556434938 |page=33}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hIFqoZY7Uj0C|title=Ayurvedic Message for Health and Healing |author=S. V. Govindan |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=2000 |isbn=9788170173939 |page=106}} Vayu or vital wind as specified in Ayurveda, is divided into five sub categories. Of these, Samāna Vayu, situated in the navel region, is believed to aid in digestion and give physical strength to the body.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gp3vyt9pTaAC|title=Ayurvedic healing cuisine: 200 vegetarian recipes for health, balance, and longevity |author=Harish Johari |publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |year=2000 |isbn=9780892819386|page=7}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CBEqgAIh7XcC|title=Secrets of Ayurvedic Massage |author=Atreya |publisher=Lotus Press |year=2000 |isbn=9780914955498 |page=22}}

According to Ayurvedic principles, navel displacement is a condition in which the navel center shifts.

This might create digestive disorders. Proper practice of yoga is considered to be a remedy to realigning the navel.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1OkrH1ZYPOwC&pg=PT282|title=The Ayurveda Encyclopedia: Natural Secrets to Healing, Prevention, & Longevity |author=Swami Sadashiva Tirtha |publisher=Sat Yuga Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780965804257 |page=265}}

In Sri Lanka traditional medicine, a composition of herbs, powdered pepper, and water is applied as a paste to the navel as a remedy for stomach aches.{{cite book |author=Philip Baldaeus |chapter=Jaffna and Kandy through the Eyes of a Dutch Reformed Predikant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kj_aWm4DeFEC|title=The Sri Lanka Reader: History, Culture, Politics |editor1=John Clifford Holt |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780822349822 |page=206}} During difficulties in delivery, a betel leaf is placed on the woman's navel, which is believed to be under a spell.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INQUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA247|title=Exorcism and the Art of Healing in Ceylon |author=Paul Wirz |publisher=Brill Archive |year=1954 |page=247}}

Laying wormwood on the female navel or spreading a paste of reindeer lichen on the navel were considered by Russian women to make the delivery of a child fast and painless.{{cite book |author=Eve Levin |chapter=Childbirth in Pre-Petrine Russia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4qwXqg82n1gC&pg=PA56|title=Russia's Women: Accommodation, Resistance, Transformation |editor=Barbara Evans Clements |editor2=Barbara Alpern Engel |editor3=Christine Worobec |publisher=University of California Press |year=1991 |isbn=9780520070240 |page=55}}

In the Chinese art of acupuncture, the navel is sometimes referred to as 神阙 (shénquè, roughly translating to divine imperfection or mark of the ancestors). Often, the navel is used as a moxibustion point. However, the navel itself is not used in acupuncture due to the likelihood of infection.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

{{Clear}}

• Belly fetish
• Crop top
• Navel fetishism
• Toplessness
• Waistline (clothing)

{{Reflist}}

Category:Cultural trends

Category:History of fashion

Category:Human appearance

Category:Human body in popular culture

Category:Navel

Category:Midriff