Christian Community Networking

    By Author Hasani Pettiford

Have you look at a music video or flipped through an urban magazine lately? What did you see? You probably saw a video vixen or model sportin’ a voluptuous frame with no discretion. Somehow, big breasts, big lips, big butts (all things big) has become the new Black standard of beauty in our culture. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the frame that God gave you but when you attempt to alter your body to meet a standard that you do not represent it presents a real problem.

Sadly, countless young Black women spend their precious time trying to achieve a video vixen body in order to feel better about themselves and appeal to Black men. Even models and strippers who work in the entertainment industry admittedly reveal they were not born with big butts. They built them. The plump and fat booty with hips and thighs shaped like a coke bottle have become standard within the industry because of techniques that have remained a secret among sex workers. This coveted secret that directly sends fat below the waistline has been sought out by ordinary sistahs in the community.

Unfortunately, the media, music videos and peers have placed added pressure and insecurities in the minds of women and have told them that they must have a big butt in order to achieve status, success, financial independence, and most importantly, to secure a man. Thus, children grow up with the same insecurities as adults. As a result, strippers and video vixens, who were once looked down upon because of their lewd and exploitive behavior, have become the prototype of beauty among many Black girls.

Many Black women in the United States who desire a bigger, rounder and fuller butt are stashing away cash to get ‘Butt Surgery’. But not all medical procedures are made the same. While some can afford to go to licensed medical physicians to get gluteoplasty (butt augmentation surgery), others are settling for the more affordable butt injections.

Though medical procedures can cost upwards of $15,000 to $20,000, many are opting for the ‘ghetto hook up’. For a price of $500 to $3,000 many women are opting for the illegal and potentially lethal cosmetic treatment. Unlicensed buttpreneurs are traveling across the country conducting ‘Butt Pumping Parties’ within hotel rooms and private homes with a gallon jug of silicone in one hand and a fist full of syringes in the other offering to inject women with ‘Hydrogel’.

This foreign substance, which is known for having toxic cantaminants, is injected into the body and then seeps into the bloodstream, nerves and organs. It isn’t sterile and may cause infections all throughout the body. While some leave the surgery table with no complications, others have been known to have severe cases of vomiting, back pain, diarrhea, muscle deterioration, extreme weight loss, blood clots, failed kidneys and lungs, and possibly even death. In fact, former Miss Argentina just died a few months ago, a day after leaving the surgery table.

But no matter how many warnings are given, some still want what they want. They are still in hopes of getting that Big ‘Ole Butt.’ You would think that being a sistah without a booty is a handicap. That somehow they’re less of a woman. This thinking has affected many women’s self esteem and overall perception of themselves. While the quest for a bigger butt may offer a form of satisfaction, it is no guarantee of one’s overall happiness and well-being.

Hasani Pettiford

Author of 'Why We Hate Black Women: Deconstructing the Paradox of Black Female Masculinity'

http://www.whywehateblackwomen.com

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