Being Bootylicious

When it comes to beauty, it is subject to change and is always in the eye of the beholder. No matter what a culture, society, or an entire nation deems beautiful, a woman will do everything to embody those designated standards of beauty.

Members of the Long-horn Miao people, China, believe that very long hair and an elaborate hairstyle that involves many folds are essential for female beauty. The women of the tribe wear huge wigs made of hair strands that belonged to their ancestors, making them a very precious beauty accessory. However, this gorgeous but complicated hairstyle can be very heavy, so it’s worn only on special occasions, not on a daily basis. In the United States, the hair weave industry is estimated to have over 9,000 businesses. On average, a pack of hair weave costs around $95 in the United States. The hair weave industry has created approximately $190 million in sales of hair care products.

For the Mursi tribe, large, colorful lip plates are a symbol of great beauty. This interesting accessory is more frequently worn by newlywed and unmarried women than by older married women who have children. Teeth blackening is an old tradition mostly present in Southeast Asia and Oceania, but it was also common in India as well as Japan before it was prohibited in the Meiji era. Facial tattoos and bright red blush that accentuates the cheeks are considered beautiful among Moroccan women, especially those who belong to Berber tribes. Aesthetic surgery is immensely popular with South Koreans, especially among young adults. There is a common belief that looking attractive increases the chance of landing a good job. Having crooked teeth is considered youthful and charming in Japan, so much so that girls go to the dentist with a somewhat strange request to make their teeth purposefully uneven. Nose surgery is such a popular beauty proceedure among Iranian people that the country holds the record for rhinoplasty. 

A relatively new trend of growing out and dying armpit hair has taken Western countries by storm. After decades of being taught that women should shave their body hair if they want to look attractive, the rules are changing before our eyes. Many women chose to treat their hair as a beauty accessory rather than an obstacle to feeling and looking attractive.

It is interesting that during certain times in history, a woman with a little junk in her trunk was highly desired. Then the plump woman became ridiculed for her excess fat rolls and the stick thin woman became the standard of beauty. Then, culture could not decide which feminine form was most desireable and men could lust after both physiques at the same time in the era of PARIS HILTON and KIM KARDASHIAN. Not only the men believed each body was desireable, women could CHOOSE which one they preferred and the KIM KARDASHIAN butt became widely embraced.

Of course African American woman had been sexualized during slavery and that carried over for generations in America. Long before Kim Kardashian used her 'behind' to gain fame, Black women had shapely backsides and as the rap song testified, "I like big butts and I cannot lie" The song, Baby Got Back, by Sir Mix-A-Lot, released the song in 1992. The song caused controversy because of its outspoken and blatantly sexual lyrics objectifying women, as well as specific references to the buttocks, which some people found objectionable. Mix-a-Lot defended the song as being empowering to curvaceous women who were being shown skinny models as an ideal for beauty.

Black women were known to have plump backsides, but Kim Kardashian made White women having a huge butt a spectacle and if surgery was needed to obtain or gain attention, then so be it. 

May 6th 2024, will mark the 32nd anniversary since the remains of Sara “Saartjie” Baartman were returned to her homeland, in the Gamtoos Valley, South Africa.

For those who are unfamiliar with Sara Baartman, she was born in 1789, the year of the French Revolution. By the time she was a young adult she was enticed by a British businessman to sail with him to England, where she could display her body at exhibitions in exchange for a better standard of living. Sara, the “Hottentot Venus,” being a “Hottentot” woman (a derogatory term given), from the Khoisan tribe, had exceptionally large buttocks and genitals. This physical structure was synonymous of the women from that region.

After a few years of such exploitation in the UK she was probably sold to some other businessman, this time in France, where the mockery and abuse started all over again. After the French public got bored with her she was forced into prostitution and alcoholism. She died of a disease associated with that profession at the age of 25. 

After her death she was carved up and had her brains and genitals preserved in bottles by one of Napoleon’s surgeons. These parts, along with her bones were put on display in a museum called Musee de L’homme, for almost 200 years. After public outcry over the years, the artifacts were taken off display and replaced by casts.

When Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994, one of the first things he requested was to have her remains brought back to South Africa for a decent burial.

Out of embarrassment, it wasn’t until May 6th 2002 before the French finally followed up on that request. Sara’s remains were finally buried near a small town called Hankey, on the Eastern Cape three months later.

Because of the touchiness when it comes to race, it was rarely uttered that this whole experience had surpassed the notoriety of the Elephant Man.

To Sara, there is life after death… The ancestors still speak.

One thing that is for certain, like I said at the beginning of this post, history is circular and one day the big booty is in and the next day the big booty is out. For many women, shapeliness is not a fad. Curves are a part of their DNA. The female body will continue to be picked apart and elevated at the whim of changing standards of beauty. Beyonce let everyone know she was Bootylicious.

One enduring sign of beauty is the character (kind, forgiving, loving) of a person which never goes out of style. A person will be miserable trying to keep up with and embody what culture/society stamps as attractive and desireable.