Cultural views on the navel 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. 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. Due to
Cultural views on the navel regarded as immodest or indecent was withdrawn; and with it there was an increasing level of body exposure over time.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. During the late 1980s, Disney's heroines began exposing more skin as well. In the 1989 animated film "The Little Mermaid", the animated lead protagonist, Ariel, flashed her navel while wearing only fins and seashells, a first in Disney's history. In 1951, the United States Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters came into force, which, besides other things, prohibited female navel exposure on