Why do Africans have large noses and lips?

[Shelley]

O really great information..
I like this article, I'll forwards this article to my friends..

[crazy4y0ux0x0]

This is ridiculous. Not all Africans have large noses and lips the same as all whites don't have small noses and lips. We all have different traits. Africans are some of the most diverse people in the world. The range from a multitude of skin colors and have different hair textures and eye colors. Some Africans even have dark skin yellow blond kinky hair and blue eyes. It is just the way genetics work. Focusing on our differences breeds racism. As a human race we need to focus more on our similarities and leave the vanity behind.

[canalon]

This is ridiculous. Not all Africans have large noses and lips the same as all whites don't have small noses and lips. We all have different traits. Africans are some of the most diverse people in the world. The range from a multitude of skin colors and have different hair textures and eye colors. Some Africans even have dark skin yellow blond kinky hair and blue eyes. It is just the way genetics work. Focusing on our differences breeds racism. As a human race we need to focus more on our similarities and leave the vanity behind.

True, and maybe worth repeating. But why resurect such an absurd and stupid thread?

[Jobe]

I came across this forum while researching nose sizes. Large "honkers" seem to run in my family on my father's side so I got curious.

First, Africans/blacks do not have "large" noses but rather "broad" noses with extra nostril skin. The same may apply to lip thickness. I went through a curious adolescence. For awhile there, my lip thickness increased then as the rest of my body caught up, they thinned out. So lip thickness may have more to do with skull development and teeth placement. I also have broad nostrils. But upon examination, it seems I have the nostril skin to accommodate a "large" nose but my nose's bone structure did not need it. So there are two elements involved here. The skin amount to accommodate the bone structure and the bone structure itself.

Secondly, ethnic groups that I have noticed have "large" noses are:
Jews, Italians, some middle easterners, some French and curiously enough...Native Americans.

Chelsea Peretti (Italin-Jew)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Chelsea_Peretti.jpg/300px-Chelsea_Peretti.jpg

With a spectrum that broad it's hard to say where the "large" nose originates or why.

[fella]

it rascist to say black poeple have big lips and noses. it rascist to say they have blak skin. it you sort cuases genoside. hater.

[JorgeLobo]

This is a scientific forum - so suggest folks avoid the politically-correct responses including calls of racism. The question should be why the original poster thinks the statement to be true - and an unreferenced subjective discussion from 1880 is not evidence.

[vbrown]

One of my student asked me this question and I was unable to answer. But after reading all the comments, especially robpdx's, my personal theory, which I elaborated about English people vs. French people's lips, is that language seems to have an effect on lips size. A lot of English people have very thin lips, especially compared to the French. If you watch a french person speak french, you can see that their lips move a lot more than an english speaker's lips would. To speak french properly you need to articulate a lot more than in english, thus you use more muscles.

Maybe this could explain why some african people have larger lips and some don't. Maybe their language needs to be very articulated. Could be worth looking into!

[david23]

One of my student asked me this question and I was unable to answer. But after reading all the comments, especially robpdx's, my personal theory, which I elaborated about English people vs. French people's lips, is that language seems to have an effect on lips size. A lot of English people have very thin lips, especially compared to the French. If you watch a french person speak french, you can see that their lips move a lot more than an english speaker's lips would. To speak french properly you need to articulate a lot more than in english, thus you use more muscles.

Maybe this could explain why some african people have larger lips and some don't. Maybe their language needs to be very articulated. Could be worth looking into!

Dont you think your cause-effects is a little convoluted. The language comes later so people with certain lip shapes should already be there before they invented the language. You can always attribute people's looks in a population to a possible etiology of founder effect, migration and basically gene drift. You dont always have to go the people just "evolved" that way. In order for people to "evolve" that way you need a strong pressure to do so. You know how that works right

[ihatestupidity]

by theewtgy » Wed Jan 05, 2011 10:15 pm

"It is dangerous to refer to the physical features of any race as "normal". That is the same attitude which lead to the genocide in Rwanda."

that was pure stupidity.. the rwandan genocide didnt happen over looks.. it happened because the president(a tutsi) was assassinated when his plane was shot down, sooooo the tutsi's went ape scheiss.. and killed off a lil over 800,000 hutu's. without finding out who actually shot the plane down, on a side note the better question would be "why are african americans overly aggressive, and why are they allowed to be racist. yet complain about racism?"

[JackBean]

You know, this bugs me. And please understand these two things: (1) I know that I am going off on a tangent other than the medical/biological topic at hand and (2) I am not a "racist", or "angry" person of color. However, why doesn't the title on this heading say... "why do non-Africans have small noses and lips"? You know, to put it this way, it is almost to imply that African's are the ones that are different, or are not the norm. What type of thinking is this? Really now, who is it that is different enough that they need to be compared to some theoretical standard. Was it the egg or the chicken first? Why is it that rich (and not so rich) people that are not of color pay for COLLAGEN injections in their lips?!? I know that this is a different issue than the subject at hand, but I just had to speak up on this for a moment. People, stop, and *think* about your THINKING! Sorry.

but then you're saying that the Africans are normal and the non-Africans are different, don't you? To avoid this you've had to ask "Why have different people different noses and lips?"

Anyway, the reason why this is probably put as it is, is probably that we have more races - Caucasians, Africans, Asians. So, if you think (which doesn't mean it's true as was shown in this topic), that one of them differs, you will probably ask, why this one differs, because they are minority and not ask, why the other differ, if there is more of them.

[miker00lz]

You know, this bugs me. And please understand these two things: (1) I know that I am going off on a tangent other than the medical/biological topic at hand and (2) I am not a "racist", or "angry" person of color. However, why doesn't the title on this heading say... "why do non-Africans have small noses and lips"? You know, to put it this way, it is almost to imply that African's are the ones that are different, or are not the norm. What type of thinking is this? Really now, who is it that is different enough that they need to be compared to some theoretical standard. Was it the egg or the chicken first? Why is it that rich (and not so rich) people that are not of color pay for COLLAGEN injections in their lips?!? I know that this is a different issue than the subject at hand, but I just had to speak up on this for a moment. People, stop, and *think* about your THINKING! Sorry.

You are reading way too much into this. I understand your point and where you're coming from, but I would ask the question the exact same way. Not because I think black people are not "normal" or they're inferior or anything of that sort. It's because for me, and probably the thread starter, where I live people of African descent are a clear minority. So these facial features, at least where I am, are not common.

Also, not all Africans have these features, and from what I understand in some areas of Africa it's very common, and in other areas it isn't. I live in the US, and most black people in this part of the world do tend to have wider noses. If I lived in Africa, i would probably ask the question "Why do non-Africans have small noses and lips?" just because it's not what I'd be used to seeing.

You are making a mountain out of a mole hill. Please think a little bit more before starting an argument like this. Again though, I DO understand where you're coming from and can see why it might annoy you but you seem to make the assumption that most people are racist against Africans and you're being overly defensive.

Wow, did this thread get hijacked. (Not that my post is helping, but that ship has already sailed.)

[SHF]

An example is white skin which was a mutation that aided the humans living in colder regions, so that their skin could absorb more vitamin D into their bodies from the sun.

3 years and 23 replies....perhaps it is time to point out that vitamin D doesn't come from the sun! (nor does our supply of vitamin D arrive transdermally)