From Clutch Magazine;
Just when you thought mainstream media was demystified of the age-old big butt, they prove to us all, yet again, light makes it right.
According to the New York Daily News, big butts are this summer’s hottest trend. And whose back sides accompanies the headline? None other than “Armenian Princess” Kim Kardashian and 40-year-old actress-singer Jennifer Lopez. With honorable mentions of Serena Williams and Beyonce in the periphery.
The story reads: “Not since Sir Mix-a-Lot’s 1992 hit “Baby Got Back” has so much praise been paid to the posterior.”
Ummm, but for who? I know some dudes on Fulton who jump up and down every time my girls and I walk pass.
The author attempts to dilute the hype a bit, quoting Stylesight trend analyst Sharon Graubard. “African American and Latino culture have long respected a larger bum. We have all these Brazilian models, and as our population becomes more diverse, we’re appreciating different body parts that are different than the puritanical American roots. In Brazil, it’s been all about the butt.”
Hmmm…Different than the puritanical American roots?
Yet again, and sadly, these trend reports prove Black bodies remain outside the European aesthetic code. Our bodies are deconstructed, cut up like a slab of dead meat and hoisted as national hors d’oeuvres for the world to pick at. We are never the main dish. Or do we even want to be?
Interesting! What are your thoughts?
69 Responses
Black women should not feel offended if non black women imitate our figure, they will always be a bad copy us! Black women are goddess!
Hmmm…I guess most whites don’t realize that Blacks have been here since before the founding of this nation, lol!!!and even before that, the Natives had already end in the land for centuries, and even they were likely originally from Africa! So who’s the most pure American? The world may never know.
Torie Anza there is much scientific evidence proving that human beings originated in Africa. These are not just Black scientists saying this either!
Dead on. Actually there is evidence that the original people were not even Asiatic natives but Negroid peoples.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCbl0pkR9H0
The oldest human remains were found in Ethiopia.
That;s funny, I thought they were found in Southern Africa, where I come from. Some Scientists from Stanford even named her Homo-Naledi. Carbon dating tests prove it Humanity can be traced to the San, the oldest living people in the world. As a Tswana, I am honored to have significant Khoisan heritage. We are a pure race 🙂
Such candid and necessary points and so glad you posted this article! I am a white woman with a larger behind and have noticed the recent attention to the butt in the media. It is yet another form of objectification of the female body – reducing a woman to one ‘part’ as if dissecting us. This is not empowering for any race or gender. It is also obvious that the trend is now focusing on light skinned woman, eg Kim kardashian and even Miley Cyrus with her grotesque cultural appropriating of twerking. There are also plenty of woman boldly publishing their own selfie booty shots all over Instagram and Facebook – this is hegemony at its best… Internalizing dominant oppressive norms and in fact inflicting them upon oneself – in effect objectifying yourself. It is indeed a newish trend, yet a recycling of oppressive norms based on gender and ethnicity. But glad to see people are critical of this 🙂
and i don’t care and i’m not trying to be mean..but it makes me mad that black women are considered undesirable 2 nd rate even to other races, but if you have a feature that is known from our ancestory , you’re the greatest thing walking… It’s mind boggling.
it Kills me that they even say LATIN cultures…do they realize that UNLESS THESE ALTIN COUNTRIES have had a form of slavery that brought over Africans EVEN they don’t have BUTTS…hello Brazill the portuguese brought over SLAVES…look at a white european portuguese woman in Brazil…yeah she’s not looking like th women in the the city who are cleary of African descnet..this kills me..Everytime i hear kim k say “i’;m Armenian all the women in my family look like this” I want to scream..NO THEY DO NOT….you are like one in a billion I have a TON of armenian friends…and EVEN they say ” uhmm i don’t know what Armenia she’s been too, but that’s not typical…0 AND I HAVE full blood 100% born in Armenia Armenian friends…these are pehneotypes of the African cultre…they show up every once in awhile on someone who is not but guess who get the praise for it…it’s so unreal rememeber when Bo Deriick wore braids amd they called it the Bo derrick?!?! Wow!
Lol! I love your comment, but seeing it’s from 3 years ago made me chuckle because it’s clear, although not known at the time–Kim K’s butt is FAKE!
I know, I was bamboozled too for a while too. But now, there are countless of before and after pictures to showcase this. She had fat transfered into her buttocks–hence why people taught hers was real at first. Lots of women are now doing the fat transfer to the booty now. She’s make it a quite popular plastic surgery.
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I totally agree with the poster….. how ridiculous that Kim K. and J.Lo are mentioned before Serena
@Permalink you do know that the black skined native americans in south america are mixed with african evan if they dont admit to it. because of the wide racial prejudice down therelots of them dont admit to it.
I’m “White” (not literally but you know…) and though I can’t speak for anyone else, I love beautiful women regardless of the color of their skin. I am an equal opportunity horndog (but loyal to my wife). I couldn’t care less whether the woman is Black, Latina, Asian, White, Australoid, a mix of races or something else. Heck, the female lead in Avatar looked good to me. I have dated women of all races and though I didn’t plan on avoiding women of my own race, I have been married twice to Latinas. I felt as though many White women (at least here in Los Angeles when I was available) were not worth the effort. I put more emphasis on who the woman is versus what she looks like BUT I still love beautiful women. I enjoy looking at them and if “necessary”, masturbating while doing it (my wife knows I have a problem!). I love big butts and otherwise full, round butts on women (and big breasts and small breasts and medium–sized breasts and plump women and medium-sized women and…) I’m surprised it’s taken this long for much of the public to appreciate big backsides on women and can’t figure out why full-figured women are so often regarded as “fat” but whatever. And to the Black women here: in my humble opinion, myriad Black women are smokin’. I love the way God put you together. If someone else doesn’t (and of course there will be those who don’t) no one is making them look and that leaves more of you for those who do appreciate you. My least favorite type of woman is a mean, skinny woman; (go figure, eh).
“I am an equal opportunity horndog (but loyal to my wife)”
Is hilarious!
Thank you! It’s about time somebody said this Lolz 🙂
@boreeyah “People of Color” includes nonblacks too. What do you call Asians, South Asians, brown and “black” skin Native Americans in Latin America, etc.?
as i stated in my earlier post “all races stemmed from people of color” i also said that as ancient peoples(who were peoples of color) migrated to different parts of the world and became acclimated there, certain features that are most common to african peoples diminished. this is why in some cases you will see what is commonly known as black womens features on some individuals of other races, including whites, because “all races stemmed from people of color” to be more specific, black peoples. Please do your research…..
hi. new to the site(responding that is). there were so many responses that i didnt read all of them. but 1 that struck me was SL using the word “minorities” in reference to black women. this is a big mistake, bc if you travel the world, you will see that “people of color” are the majority! there are countries outside of this limited land mass(usa) where the inhabitants are nothing but “people of color”. the other races that visit or live there are the minority! and if you know your history about how the different races came to be, you will know that ALL races stemmed from african peoples. so to my sistahs, know that WE ARE the original blueprint and our unique features were designed by the most high. those features started to deminish as ancient peoples started migrating to different parts of the globe, which is why other races may or may not have certain features that the black woman kept, in this case, our buttocks. i love us and all peoples do, this is why you see other races trying to be like us. love yourself ladies, everyone else does.
AMEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KNOWLEDGE OF SELF IS KEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
im sorry but J.lo’s ass is OVER RATED I have seen bigger asses than hers she needs to sit down! … and they didnt realise that there were celebrities with asses until Kim came along? which could be fake … don’t forget that if you don’t have it you can buy it! nowadays…
and why are they making it sound like an accessory recently discovered – butt are this summer hottest trend WTF !!
“The world doesn’t view a Black Woman’s sexuality the same way they view other races. They just don’t” – Necole Bitchie. This is so true. I really hate it when as a Black Woman I am reduced to how big my butt is and if my ass isn’t big enough that must mean that I’m not Black enough. It’s offensive and hurtful. We’ve gotten to the point now where even Caucasin males have said offensive things to a Black Womans face about not having a big enough ass. Articles like this is reasons why so many women in America have low self esteem and why so many Black men are chasing ass outside of their race rather than finding a Black woman with charm and true value.
someone said that black woman were ‘blessed’ with bigbutts, so those who dont have big butts are cursed? or just not as blessed? what does being blessed have to do with body shape? i think most women are into this ‘trend’ because they think they will attract more men, which they will but when a female comes along with an even bigger butt, then what? if u use ur body to get ur man, its ur body u hv to use to keep him…
It looks like Serena finally got some praise for her size instead of the negative responses she usually gets for her form. Eventhough it sounded like a back handed compliment.
In Harlem where I am their are beautiful big booty black women all over, and I am one of them. What we don’t learn from the media but from ourselves and each other is how beautiful and proud we are of our natural hair, butt, skin, curves etc! We almost never get shown in our true loving, beautiful, full figured nature but it doesn’t mean we don’t have it, know it, embrace it and feel it when other nationalities look at us then go home and find out we’re built that way!
I don’t hate other nationalities but I love mine big butt, curves, thick hair and all!
Hi, I would just like to say that the people on here who are saying “not all black women have big ol’ butts”, uhm a lot of us do tend to be curvier. Not saying that all black women have donks, and no white women do, but it is more common for black women to have bigger butts, hips, thighs and chest. You don’t see too many white women walkin around with huge butts, hips and chest do you? Just like you don’t see a lot of black people with light colored hair and eyes naturally either. Its just a majority of black women tend to be curvier. I went to Maryland to go shopping and about 90%-95% of the black women there did have big butts. I’m sorry, but its a fact.
@Brunettefury the norm for who? What’s your norm? My norm is myself and other beautiful black women I’ve grown up around. If your mirror on the world is the media, of course you will see yourself objectified and fetishised and the blond ideal set up as your norm.
Why don’t you ask who runs the media and what it’s objective is. It’s certainly not there to allow me, you (or even the so called ideal white women) to feel good about ourselves.
Female insecurity generates advertising revenue, helps sell products and keeps women in their place, running ragged trying to meet impossible beauty standards. Raising one racial type above the others, maintains and strengthens the racial caste system in the U.S.
Yours and other women’s mental anguish over all this bleeds green and keeps the cash registers ringing because no matter how much pain it causes women, THEY STILL CARRY ON CONSUMING THE POISON.
boom! there it is.
Sadaboutitall, that is the first thing I thought of when I read the post and the comments. She was the Hottentot Venus. Her name was Sarah Saartjie Bartman. She was paraded around European countries, stared and poked at for the differences of her features from what was common to the mainstream in these areas. She was used to “prove” that black women were inferior, overly sexual beings. Upon death, her skeleton, genitals and brain were put on display. They were requested to be sent to her homeland some time after 2000. I think they were sent back a little bit after that (but not without a big stink). It was a pretty sad life for her.
However, I’m not sure the argument here is about not being objectified. It seems to me that most feel that common black features aren’t appreciated while on black bodies (as an earlier post put so well). What I do believe objectifies us, or in some sense plays into the idea of us being overly sexual creatures, is how many of those who are in the media spotlight with those features parade themselves around like sex kittens, toys, etc. Seeing us hump walls and floors and wearing clothes that make you wonder why the woman put anything on in the first place has a tendency to do that. It’s no secret that sex sells. It’s also somewhat of a gain for black women to take ownership of one’s own sexuality. But even for publicity or entertainment purposes, some just take it way too far to me. It’s like taking Sarah Bartman’s job by choice and with relish. A little dysfunctional of an attitude to me.
At any rate, I do agree that folks don’t accept our most common features on us as much as they do on women of other colors. But I’m also at the point that I feel like, “Oh well.” And what I’d like to see in our media is for black women to lead above all else in C-L-A-S-S, not in…well, you know the word.
I’m surprised and saddened at the nature of many posts here which seem to seek approval from White/mainstream media outlets for black female beauty, desire to be fetishised and broken down into body parts(something a patriarchal society does to women of all races) and some seem happy to fall into that pigeon hole that all black females look the same way, I. e big butt. A stereotype can appear positive while having a deeply negative affect on those it’s aimed at. Take race out of this and that article is complaining that we aren’t being objectified enough by the patriarchy ( read White males). I remember seeing a gallery exhibition on slavery. A black slave woman was made famous in the UK because of her outsize posterior, treated like a freakshow. I don’t want that for myself or my future children.
haha, don’t feel bad beadgyrl. There is a certain amount of jealousy of black features among the “dominant race” that is often downplayed by their rejection of black features while on black bodies. Do black people get jealous of white people? of course (hair, skin, eye color), but we didn’t make them miserable over it, subjugate them as a race, or claim they were hypersexual and beastlike.
yet in the past members of the white race have inflicted these injustices upon blacks all the while desiring their physical features. There is a long history of black men being emasculated because their masculinity was intimidating and threatening to white men and their notions of superiority. There is also a history of black women being defeminized publicly in the media since the 1600-1700’s while privately behind closed doors white men were attracted to them sexually and forced black women to submit to them sexually since they owned them. But of course they couldn’t let it be publicly known that they were copulating with black women (the shame!) so in public they called black women ugly and repulsive. I would like to hear their explanations for all the mixed-slaves and freemen, and back then black men would not dare touch a white women so you know where those bi-racial kids came from. also how would it make white women look if they were knocked off the pedestal of perfect beauty by the slave woman who her master husband was secretly banging? If you take a black history class you will probably hear about slave mistress, slave rape, and may even get to read excerpts from some letters detailing astonishment at the “significant mulatto population” on some plantations. and that didn’t come from white women poppin out black babies.
Trust, there is a whole history behind it, and I can see why people are angry. Imagine being bullied for having something but then when the cool kids have the same thing (and maybe even less of it!) it’s suddenly ok and nobody cares that you got screwed over. anyway, I digress.
Oh yeah, Luvmusic, I definitely remember that era, and yes, that crappy movie with Bo Derek and Dudley Moore called (’10). I purposely never watched it either because of that. What is so sad is that I had a book once written by the lady that said that white heifer’s agent brought her to the black salon that did the braids for the movie!! You know only a black person or African shop did those braids! Yes, I have also seen the commercial you referred to also. Oh white folks threw a fit when they saw her running on the beach with the braids, it was sooo fantastic and great. Because she was white and blonde. Black women been wearing braids for centuries. But it takes a white woman to make it sexy, desirable, and fun. Go figure.
Wow there are some really good comments here. But I agree with a couple above whole-heartedly. Yes….I am sorry I was wondering what was up with Serena’s weave also? Anyhow, I was always annoyed about that J-Lo thing, when she first came out and everyone was making a big deal about her butt. When black women are the originators/emancipators of the BIG BUTT!! Ok c’mon sisters help me out. (I’m going Little Richard over here). Why is J-Lo and that slut-bag (excuse me for saying) Kim Kardashian the poster girls for a big butt?? Beyonce and Serena should have been in the forefront if anything. White folks, and the media will do anything to downplay the beauty and desirablity of black women and that’s just it! They will exalt anyone over us to continue to prove how much they are against our features, body shapes, hair texture, and skin tone. But yes, I do agree with what someone said above also. Should we be mad (when we get contacts and blonde weaves to try and duplicate their looks)? But then again on the flip-side, they tan as well to get darker. I think it’s a case of ‘you always want what you don’t have?’ maybe? But it is still annoying, when since slavery, black women have always been made fun of by whites for having big jungle booties…..and now it’s a trend, because they realize how nasty, and unattractive flat pancake a—- are. I am sorry, I am angry. 🙁
I was just talking to this older lady (white) about a guy I’m going out with for the first time and in her effort to help me feel less nervous, she told me how pretty I am and that I’m not shaped like other african american women. I have more of a model shape. When I asked her what she meant, she replied, “Well most black women are more curvey.” I know she meant it as a compliment, but she doesn’t know that most black men prefer their women “curvey” and I am not at all happy with my present weight. I let it drop and chalked it up to her ignorance. She meant well.
Sometimes body types have nothing to do with this racist double standard. I know a lot of you ladies are too young to remember, but there was a movie (70ish) in which Bo Dereck emerged from the water at the beach wearing a skintight one piece bathing suit and head full of blonde cornrolls and beads.
A hair style that African and African-American women wore FOR YEARS and the media never acknowledged our beauty!!! But all of a sudden, instantaneously, Bo Dereck was made into an international star. Just because she ran down the beach with her braids and beads flopping in the wind. I never saw the movie and I’m not saying anything against Bo Dereck’s talent as an actress. I just remember this movie being all the rage back in the day because of those braids and African-American women were po’d to say the least.
A parody of this movie was made into a capital one commercial. With 2 yt ladies and a guy who was dressed as a viking.
That being said I don’t think that A-list stars (the yt ones anyway) are jumping on this big booty bandwagon. Just one example, If you look at old episodes of friends, Jennifer Aniston had a classic big ole greek booty. She lost it years ago and it appears that she doesn’t want it to ever come back.
The only yt actress who is kinda, sorta embracing her curves is Jennifer Love Hewitt. Oh and uh ….Kristie Ally.
YOu ain’t EVA LIED..i’m only in my 20s , but my MOm used to tell me about this…Briads on a white woman…Phenom! Braids on a black woman ho hum…Same with singing. BEyonce , J hudson, Aretha can tear the house down, Christina can try and sound black, and she’s the greatest of all time.. SMH SAD
I second what Ms. Haiti said. I find myself excluded from Black people cause i do not have the typical body of a Black woman and im black!!!! It hurts either way it goes my slender body type is never accepted as a Black woman in the south (georgia that is). Like i told my best friend, if my booty was bigger then i would be prettier, nothing else matters.
Ms. Haiti 1982!: I think you missed the point of this post…
I will say one thing, you can have the ugliest face, but if you got a tight waist and big ol booty, u will attract black men from a mile away. Most of these women know that their ass is their best asset.
The sad thing is that body parts should not be “fashion.” You have no control over the size of butt you are born with.
I do agree that features typical to black women in America are usually not seen as beautiful because of their association with blackness. Vida Guerra and Jlo are both of Puerto Rican ancestry, which means that they have enough West African ancestry to have the type of butt that is generally associated with African Americans. And as I remember, white people in the mainstream media were always talking about Jlo’s butt being too large. It was nonwhite (or nonAnglo) media that thought Jlo’s butt was normal. After all, large butts are common among African Americans, people from the Caribbean (includes Puerto Rico) and parts of the Middle East. And honestly, most American white women of Italian and Irish ancestry also have round butts, though typically not as large as Jlo’s or Serena’s. These are the white women who are made to feel that something is wrong with their bodies. And honestly, Beyonce doesn’t have a large butt. She has a nice butt, but not a large one. It’s proportional to the rest of her body.
This issue is sad. Yes everyone has a body ideal, but encouraging others to hate what they were born with and yearn for something that they were not intended to have is horrible.
Interesting topic. I was in a beauty supply the other day and I saw some butt pads for sale. The package read, “Now you can be beautiful and have confidence.” I just shook my head. I’ve also had a couple of girlfriends who thought I had it made because I was cute and have a big butt. I have the almost the exact same body as Serena’s (basketball booty, flat stomach, small waist, etc.)and I can honestly say that yes I get attention, but so what? Most of the time it’s the wrong attention. Men are not going to treat you any better or less so because you have a booty unless they see it as a means to an end.Please don’t believe the hype..In short, Beauty and confidence comes from within not because you’re cute in the face and thick in the waist.
I’d also like to add that traditional African American features (thick lips, big eyes, thick hair, pretty skin, curvy bodies) are admired by people of other races more than we think. Don’t let the media fool you. I’ve been told by plenty of men and women of other races how beautiful they think black women are. Later for these rap videos (they’re designed to keep the youth def dumb and blind anyway) and the mainstream billboards. Just own your look no matter if your features are in or not!
It’s bizarre that there are trend reports on physical attributes- feeds straight into the pockets of the plastic surgeons. It’s easier to change your body than your attitude it seems. Positive self image should be promoted regardless of race, body type or gender. That doesn’t sell though.
Funny, I was just watching some commercial for underwear with padding.
Peace, Love and Chocolate
Tiffany
A few sidebars, Serena makes me want to hit the gym, I need to put this on the fridge and bathroom mirror as motivation to get er done. I’m so convinced that natural hair would rock on her!
Anyway this sort of thing is always interesting to me, it’s like who is running this machine anymore because ever since I’ve been natural, I get tons more love from white men than I did prior. And I’m not talking about those that may be boxed into liking black women with natural hair. And while I do not condone it, I have caught some checking me out from behind. And I’m not naive enough to think the world has changed completely but where I see these things ongoing the most is within the media.
This is insane. People thinking only minorities have big butts and people thinking the media reflects fact. Just because rap videos and black movies depict black women with big butts doesn’t mean all black women are “well endowed.” ALL shades of women come in different sizes and shapes. To attribute this to one race is beyond ignorant. Me & my family are all black & we’re all different. Some have big boobs, some are tall and thin, some are tall and voluptous, some have small boobs but big behinds, etc. We share similar genes yet we don’t have the same bodies….Now how could that be? Wake up people. Hell, even real/everyday white people know this. The media is its own entity. It will take a small idea and blow it up and it doesn’t even reflect the ideas and thoughts of everyday people.
I don’t want to be the main dish. I’ma move right on from racism to sexism. I am a human being, I am a woman, and I am more than just one of my body parts. Yes, I appreciate when someone I’m into appreciates me and ALL my parts. But other than that, I don’t care. I’m not into objectification like that. I’m not associating with anyone making body parts into trends. This is why perfectly healthy people without strange conditions get plastic surgery. They will not trick me into buying butt pads, chicken cutlets, or anything else they dream up.
irrelevant
SL – “Why should flat assed white girls be made to feel any more inferior than they already feel.”
Feel more inferior to who? It’s not like being a person of colour and having “stereotypical black features” is exactly the ideal, or at least, it might be ideal for some men if they’re not attached to a woman of colour. Coveting features that minorities have is fetishism and it ignores the fact that on minorities, these features aren’t ideal (big lips, big ass, big boobs, eye shape, etc.) due to racism (I’ve heard people say they wish they had darker skin or they wish they were Asian as some sort of compliment not realizing that with darker skin or another culture comes all the racist BS that minorities have to deal with). It’s not comparable to women of colour wanting blonde hair to appear whiter or a different eye color to appear exotic; minorities aren’t coveting certain features because white women are seen as abnormal or exotic, at least not in the Western world.
A small ass on a white woman is expected and accepted and normalized. If a white woman has anything but a small ass or thin lips, then she’s exotified. It’s not the same for black women, who are expected to have certain stereotypical features and if they don’t, then there’s something either “special” about them (i.e. they have white features,which are more acceptable) or there’s something wrong (i.e. they have a white person’s ass). The bodies of women of color, especially black women are politicized and fetishized in a completely different way due to the history of racism within this country.
I love big butts but i’m tired of everyone thinking that having a big butt is all that matters, or is the only thing that makes a woman a “real” woman. Not ALL black women have big butts. So what if women of other races do? Why does it matter? It’s a BUTT! There are other parts of the female anatomy that are just as attractive if not more (like, I dunno, a personality, nice eyes, intelligence…no wait, a big butt tops all that).
I am in total agreement with SL on this one!
@SL … That’s really interesting. I never thought of it that way! We do the same thing to white girls when we put in blonde weave/light-colored contacts.
So should we be mad when they get butt implants?
Why do people expect the euro mainstream to elevate and validate something they don’t possess. Why should flat assed white girls be made to feel any more inferior than they already feel. Just because black culture is big on elevating features that are common place among other races (light skin, straight hair) and rare amongst blacks without much thought to the psychological effect on the masses of black people doesn’t mean that yts are eager to do the same.
We should take a lesson.
This is nothing new. Big butts are not hot until a white woman has one. Big lips are not attractive until a white woman has that too. Kinky hair is only high fashion when you put an afro wig on a white woman. Brown skin is only pretty when you cover the same white woman in brown paint. R&B and hip-hop is not good enough for mainstream until Fergie, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, and others appropriate it. When black people speak slang its ignorant, but white people do the same and its hip and funny. Granted, we are not the only women who are blessed with ample backsides and some of us don’t have any booty at all. I would say that it would be nice to see the mainstream media include black people in these things but I stopped looking for their validation a long time ago.
Agreed 100%
Well stated!!
Me too. And the sad thing about it is, many black women will spend much of their lives doing what they can in order to receive validation from whites. Someone has to tell these girls that it is not worth it. When you define your own worth, no one can say anything to break you down. When you look for others to validate you, you’re only asking for more pain in your life. I learned this from experience.
At the time I was only 16 years old attending a predominately white high school.I was usually the only black girl in class. As hard as that experience was for me (it resulted in depression), I’m glad it happened when it did. I’ve learned early what many of my classmates in college are learning right now.
Sadly these days, I find that I have more confidence then many of the middle aged women I interact with.
You have said it ALL!
@Cashmere Curls..your comments were articulated very well. I could not have stated them any better. Thanks.
@ Jordan
I agree and completely related. My bottom is not huge and so people make fun of me and say I have a butt like a white girl. So silly, we can’t all look like Serena.
it’s ridiculous….our features are only praised if they are on someone of another race. Big lips? Angelina Jolie…Big butt? Kim K or Vida Guerra….etc etc…and it goes on and on my friend
https://socialitedreams.wordpress.com
and the race fail continues
This issue goes back to the commodification of blackness. If it is something that can be marketed, then it is okay, but would be better if it is on a body that isn’t black. The big butt sells as long as it’s on J.Lo or Kim K. But some people still find Serena’s posterior offensive in tennis whites!
America has always place a higher aesthetic on the Eurocentric features, figure, etc. That is one of those things here that is likely to be an issue for some time. And as the writer stated, Ummm for who? This is only new to folk outside the black community!
I blame music videos and such for thinking that a big butt is the best thing going. I am an african-american woman that does not have a big butt, AND I DON’T CARE. In high school and throughout life I have been teased by boys, family members, and lovers for it. One day I just woke up and said “f it.” My body was not meant to have a badonkadonk. So if you have a well rounded mountain or a flatland for a backside, so what! Your worth is determinded by your body, and your beauty is rooted in your confidence.
I gotta tell you I busted out laughing at this line: “Ummm, but for who? I know some dudes on Fulton who jump up and down every time my girls and I walk pass.”
First of all, Serine has been looking really cute lately! It’s unfortunate that beauty is still judged according to a European aesthetic, even if it’s in a non-obvious/subversive way.
Ironically, I was shocked when I first moved from America to England and found beauty/fashion ad campaigns regularly featuring Black women (from shades ranging from fair to very dark) without any underlying subtext – many major stores even feature black mannequins. That said England/Europe has it’s issues as well, but it seems like in America there is a continued undercurrent of lack of acceptance of Blackness as being part of the mainstream…no matter how much ‘race’ is supposed to be a ‘dead’ issue.
some things we just have to chalk up to white folks’ ignorance. they are not conditioned to think of black women as naturally attractive, so anything like a ‘big butt’ being seen as attractive HAS to be attached to a white body. it’s still sexist, regardless of what body is being objectified.
i’m not mad, i could care less, because i know i’m attractive in my chocolate skin…with my big butt!
but on another note, WTF is going on with Serena’s HAIR??!! she looks bananas! but the body is bangin’!
I’m so over the media’s hype over fat butts. Forget Kim Kardashian and these Brazilians…African women been having big butts before big butts was. Just another example of white folk trying to capitalize on black folk without paying homage.
Who cares about what these mainstream folk think or publish. They (the media, publishers, etc.) will never think highly of our race on education, beauty or in the workplace, career, etc. This is a given. I am beautiful with my caramel skin and big butt….and to my other sisters with big butts, you are beautiful!