No Butts About It

Greetings luvs,

Today I finally found what I had been searching for. I have dedicated great time, effort and energy into acquiring this item and now that I have it in my possession I will cherish it for quite some time. What is this item you might ask? Blue jean shorts. That's right; I have been on a quest to obtain shorts that not only were flattering but fit well. Although many women have difficulty shopping for clothing I would like to bring to the forefront a difficulty that I believe has been stereotyped among African American women without empathy, sympathy or even an attempt to understand my plight. That of which I speak is of a larger postirier. Yes this is a post about Black American women and big butts. Do not let the subject matter defer you though. This is an attempt to delve into the historical as well as social explanations behind the fascination with this obscure body part.

Through my research on Black beauty standards, I have noticed that the body of the African woman has often been seen as an entity that was not that individuals own to regulate. Instead the female African body was either a source of pleasure, amusement or a commodity, with these categories often overlapping. The use of evolution and eugenics as explanations for the differences in the physical characteristics between races, allowed for the perception of Africans as lesser developed humans to flourish. This perception contributed to the use of Africans as slaves and workers. The affect on African women upon being brought to America was that of them being considered as only slightly above animals and therefore as slaves, were property. The owners of this said property believed themselves to be able to do as they pleased with their slaves. The transported African woman, who then became the American slave and would eventually become known as the ancestor of many African American women, was often subject to explicit sexual harassment, assault, and rape. The bodies of these women were often viewed as over sexualized because of perceptions of propriety and morality which coincided with the dress. In this case, the difference or lack of dress of the African tribes from the European standpoint meant that that they were sexual creatures because civilized moral individuals knew that they were to clothe and cover themselves, women especially. Therefore, African women or American female slaves’ bodies were obviously built for pleasure because they were on display. There of course could be no other explanation right??? (This is of course is very sarcastic.)

Where do large behinds fit into all of this you may ask? Well, focusing on one of the many Africans which were displayed for the entertainment and amusement of the Europeans. One of the most famous being that of Sarah Barttmann otherwise known as the Huttontot Venus. I will not give her entire story here because my purpose is to incite your curiosity and perhaps influence you to begin to seek the origins of the world in which we find our selves today. What I will say is that the Huttentot Venus was paraded amongst the Europeans as an example of the physical bodies of the African women. Large breasted with an equally large prudent backside Sarah Barttmann became the template upon which Black women were automatically contained. The difference in the physical bodies of Black and White women were exaggerated as further means to provide evidence as to the lower status of Black women. As the Black beauty standard progressed through over time this physical dimension has been modified but never fully rebuffed. Black American women in today’s society live within a world of contradiction. On the one hand, the general society upholds a standard of beauty which excludes the natural physical characteristics of many Black women entirely, namely of which is being thin and of a small hourglass or boyish shape. While on the other hand, often in the Black community, a woman without curves or hips can be ridiculed and those who have can be highly perused or also ridiculed. A double edged sword, yes. Those with slight hips can be teased for being "shaped like a white girl" while those who have much hips or large rears can be harassed because the protrudence of which is viewed as a display of sexuality.

These of course are gross generalizations but I believe that they relay my point well. The influence placed on this certain physical aspect of the Black woman is socially constructed and yet although it was created by a society outside of itself, prevails. Being that Black women are not included in the definition of beauty or in the general definition of ideal consumer, products particularly clothing are not made to accommodate this very physical characteristic that Black women are stereotyped as containing. Yes, all of this to explain why I have such a hard time finding clothing that fits my particular shape. Lol and yes I do feel that this is worthy of discussing. I am a consumer and my needs are not being met. Options include tailoring, settling, attempting to by from clothing lines which do cater to larger hips then waist measurements or perhaps the most appealing out of all the options, I should create a line of clothing of my own :).

As a Black woman I truly felt that I am only able to speak on behalf of my experience as a Black woman with this particular issue. I do know and acknowledge though that this issue does not pertain only to Black women and that it is an issue that affects all pear or hour glass shaped women no matter race. The unique circumstances of the Black beauty standard though make this subject particularly taxing for Black American women. So yes today, I found some shorts and although the quest was long and hard I will continue to hunt and fight for mass produced clothing that actually fits my frame. Continue the fight ladies! Have you had any encounters with issues with shopping for your body shape or with the Black beauty standard? Feel free to comment!

Blessed be dears,
Rose