Throw It Back Thursday: No Ifs Ands or (BIG) Butts About It

Since it is Thursday, let’s throw it back to a note I posted to Facebook years ago about the dangers of butt injections long before I knew what blogging was. I chose to post this not only in honor of a throwback piece but because of it’s relevance today.

Facebook always wants to know whats on my mind, okay, I’ll tell you. Ass. Ass is on my mind. BIG ones. Not in the way you’re thinking though. I am writing this with a sadness in my heart that I know many of you can’t feel because you don’t take life as seriously as I do. Well, lives other than your own or those of the people you know and Love. I’m not sure how good or bad that is but I’m sure you are a lot less burdened than I am. A few weeks ago I read an article about a woman who was arrested for giving illegal butt injections after one of her patients passed out shortly after being serviced. I’m like “WHAT?!”  As I researched I found that before that incident two women were charged with the death of a 22 year old mother after giving bad injections.. And before THAT… well, you get the point. There were way more stories on this topic than I imagined I would find.

A few days ago I read another article about an aspiring singer from the UK getting botched implants. According to reports, 20 year old Claudia Aderotimi traveled to the U.S. for this procedure because she felt having a bigger butt would assist in boosting her career. Friends say that she had been to several auditions for videos where she was turned down because she didn’t have the back view that they wanted. Her decision to cosmetically alter her image is one that took her life. 12 hours after receiving the injections Claudia reported having chest pains and was rushed to the hospital where she died hours later.

I recall when the popular sitcom Moesha aired an episode titled “The List”.  In the opening of the show we watched Mo as she gave herself a glance over in her floor length mirror as she paid particular attention to her butt. In typical Moesha fashion, we hear the voice-over that often preludes the topic of the episode. ” Some days I just don’t like my body, especially my butt. Yesterday it seemed fine but today it’s enormous. Although I’d love to trim off a few inches, I’d never resort to actual starvation, liposuction, diet pills, or boycotting my glazed doughnuts. Luckily I’ve picked up some camouflaging techniques from VIBE magazine. Say no stripes, no polka dots and no school bus yellow.” After confirming with her younger brother, Miles, that her butt looked big she went on “Some days you’re so insecure even a biological misfit can get to you!” Next we see Moesha and her best gal pals Niecy and Kim arrive at their favorite after school spot where they run into Hakeem and a few other guys passing out an annual list. Each school year the boys print out a list categorizing the girls by body parts. For the third year in a row Kim was listed as biggest mouth and Niecy as smallest chest. Mo tried to tell the girls to keep it cool and that she woulnd’t trip if it were her. “Im not gon let some immature pimple faced boys project their insecurities on me”. At least that’s what she thought until she found out she was awarded “Biggest Butt” on that list. She was mortified and it amplified her already surfacing insecurities.

At that time, a smaller frame was the ideal body type. As a Black woman, big lips, wide hips and big butts earned you stares, name calling, bullying and humiliation. I didn’t really understand why seeing as how these things were biological (just as Moesha stated) and nobody had any say in the matter. Of course nobody considered that and being ridiculed and even having our bodies on display and viewed as a freak show for these things dating back hundreds of years because that’s what “they” said. So that said and so “we” believed. Now? Totally different ball game. The BIGGER the better, right? People of all races are plumping up their lips and buying padded underwear to puff out their hips and fluff up their butts more and more by the day. There are people like Kim Kardashian who people never seem to want to photograph from an angle that isn’t showcasing her perfectly round bottom and after all these years the magazines make sure to report to us that even though she is getting up in age, J. Lo’s ass is stiiiiiiiiiiill there. Let’s not forget the newest sensation, Nicki Minaj. I see more headlines about what’s behind her than I see about the future ahead of her and that says a lot if you ask me.

Not only do we see images splashed across magazine covers of what we should be but its also in the music, videos and movies. I know I’m not the only one who stayed up to watch BET’s uncut to catch “Tip Drill”. I watched in awe at some of the things those women could do with their bodies and at the same time I was appalled by it and the lyrics. “It must be ya ass cus it aint yo face” is repeated over and over and we find ourselves entertained in some twisted way. Were we really listening? We bop our heads to these songs and we laugh and recite movie lines but in REAL life it’s not funny. Not when there are people like Claudia and countless others who fall victim to it. The media is an extremely powerful force and is not for those who lack confidence, have low self esteem or a distorted perception of their own body image. You have to be secure in who and what you are and own it because society is ever changing and impossible to keep up with. It will destroy you and in cases like those mentioned in the opening of this article, it can even kill you.

UPDATE:

Here we are years after my original post and there are still stories of botched implants and injections floating around. Some cases are fatal and others have left women paralyzed. In 2012 April Brown was forced to have both arms and both legs removed due to bad injections she received at a ‘pumping party’. The following year many horror stories were shared via Youtube by women suffering from similar procedures. “If you survive the butt injection with silicone, the first thing you need to do is to thank God. Now, you need to understand that, even if you don’t develop a complication right away, it might happen years after the surgery.” this is the very first line I read on BabyGotButt.Com (Read more here)   in reference to silicone injections recently. Woah.

If the magazines, movies and music videos weren’t bad enough we have a new platform that exposes women to even more bodies to idealize. Instagram. This is much different than seeing celebrities on television or in glossy editorials because these are ‘regular’ women which makes the dream seem more attainable. I am bothered by women who have a large following of other women praising them and worshiping their bodies that they PAID for. I used to follow one woman in particular who could not post a photo without hundreds of young ladies commenting “I wish I had a body like that“ I would give anything to look like you” and “Omg! I want your body! Please tell me what to do!” and I want to be like “Well, you can get her body.. for a down payment of $5,000″ just like she did. Instead of telling these women how she achieved her perfectly sculpted physique she is out here selling body shapers, meal plans and giving exercise advice. *side eye* Women are looking at her with envy not even knowing what’s REALLY going on and it makes me want to scream because you just never know how fragile someone is. Now, In no way am I “coming for” anyone who chooses to surgically enhance or alter their appearance. Howeveeeer, if you know you have young women under the impression that all they have to do is work out twice a day and sleep in a body shaper to achieve similar results, that’s foul. Tell them the real. Show them how someone had to feed and bathe you because you couldn’t move for weeks after your surgery. Tell them how you almost passed out from the pain when your meds wore off. Show them your empty refrigerator because you sold your link to get a reup on shots. Be. Real. NO PUN!

I can’t and won’t place the blame solely on the media or those in the spotlight, it’s all of us. If you’re part of the twitterverse you know we watch shows “together” especially award shows. We watch together to not only to offer commentary on the performances but the fashion of the night. If I had a dollar for each time someone claimed this or that girl’s dress would look better if her ass was a little plumper I’d buy burrito bowls with double meat for everyone reading this. Why is that we point out things like that? Why are we so obsessed with bodies and backsides? I mean, really, what is someone supposed to do about that? It’s a freakin body, it literally is what it is.

Ladies, I totally get it. A lot of us want to change something about our bodies but NOTHING about a ‘pumping party’ sounds inviting. Though there is little being mentioned about it these days, women (and some men) are still taking that risk. What part of someone pumping industrial silicon into your body and then sealing it with cotton balls and super glue sounds appealing? What about that sounds safe? If you absolutely have to have cosmetic surgery do. your. research and save up the funds to consult with a professional. Make sure that you are in the care of a legit surgeon who will make sure that you are fully informed on the numerous ways to achieved desired results and tell you exactly what you’re getting yourself into. On the contrary, there are PLENTY of ways to grow your glutes without having surgery. Yes, it takes time and it takes work but guess what it doesn’t take… Your life. Keep in mind, even when you go a more natural route, there is no guarantee you’ll have the same or similar results as those you admire and that’s fine. Be comfortable in YOUR skin. Going back to The List episode of Moesha, there was something else that stood out to me. As the girls worked out at the gym Moesha realized how ridiculous they were being and she posed a question to her friends. “Why are we doing this?!” to which Kim responded “For Love!” “Love? We need to Love ourselves.” I agree Mo, I agree. *Bank head bounces while singing.. Mo to the…”