Yesterday, Vogue published an article proclaiming this as “Officially the Era of the Big Booty.” 2014 has certainly been a great year for butts – Nicki Minaj‘s “Anaconda” is a hit. Jen Selter‘s “Belfies” gave a new name to the ubiquitous Instagram ass shot and now, Jennifer Lopez, whom we can credit for introducing the beauty of a round derriere to America, has just released “Booty” in collaboration with another endowed artist, Iggy Azalea.
And thank goodness! To think I felt fat all those times at my Upper East Side high school because my bubble butt made my uniform kilt too short in the back! All those times in college when I couldn’t find jeans to fit me: forgotten! It’s nice to see Vogue affirming that now my booty is cool. That really heals all the pain I experienced in my younger days. It would have been so nice if there were images and music in pop culture confirming that my figure was beautiful back then (besides “Bootylicious,” which was mentioned in the original article).
Wait a minute….
Oh, right. It might have taken Vogue a minute to get hip to it, but for quite some time, having a full, round rear has been the ideal in plenty of cultures. Yes, the booty is having a moment now in fashion (took long enough), but the fact that the article, which appears in the culture section, doesn’t bother to add any kind of historical context is a shame.
Do we really have to say it? The era of the big booty has been a constant for many populations, including the one Jennifer Lopez grew up in from her days in the Bronx. It is for this reason that she flaunted it the way she did on the red carpet, unashamed, uncaring that the mainstream fashion set at the time wasn’t particularly keen on curves. Why is there no mention of this? At the very least, it would have enriched the piece.
The author, Patricia Garcia, claims that after Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious,” it took “another decade before people were ‘ready for this jelly’ to become the ultimate standard of beauty.” A quick Google search, or simple general awareness of culture, the very topic she’s writing on, would have made her see how out of touch that sentence really is. We’ve been ready. You just haven’t been paying attention.
