fat-bottomed girls

fat is a feminist issue no more ?

Published on November 15, 2004 By mignuna In Current Events

New York fashion retailers are being applauded for displaying mannequins modeled on the ‘new’ generation of curvy women, citing Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce as the influence behind (pardon the pun) this ‘trend’.

Initially intended as marketing for the ‘street’ fashion stores, established labels are now adopting the bootylicious shop dummies manufactured by mannequin firm Goldsmith. According to Goldsmiths’ Creative Director, the recent pop culture fixation on large bottoms has a positive message for women.

Although I agree with any move towards a more ‘realistic’ female body shape being portrayed, I can’t help but wonder if this really is an example of realism, or just another move towards a trend unachievable by the average woman.

The ‘big butt’ phenomenon is currently well represented in the mass media, with the popularity of rap music adding to the ‘trend’. Whilst these manufacturers may be clever enough to spout the ‘real woman’ angle for their product, they neglect to mention that a J.Lo body is about as freakish as a Kate Moss body.

Very big busted, big bottomed women with tiny waists, washboard stomachs, long slender legs and slim arms are about as common as supermodels. This is not a move towards the ‘real’ woman, this is just another marketing ploy to make women feel shitty about themselves ‘cause their big ass doesn’t defy gravity.

Someone needs to make a mannequin that is modeled on an actual woman. No more freaks of nature, please. If a woman has a size 14 ass, she’s going to have size 14 legs, too. Not to mention the inevitable ‘skinny girls’ slam made in the name of ‘real women’:

According to Rich Rollison of Lifestyle Forms and Display (which designed a similar mannequin in a half or ‘pants’ form) "It is a serious sociological trend that is positive for retailers and customers in that the tyranny of the undernourished perfect model is over".

Uh-huh. Now begins the tyranny of the unachievable Latino ass.

"It originated from urban ethnic street wear, but it has transcended that," Rollison adds "Now you are going to see it projected in more urban markets and it will get bigger".

When, oh when, will they give us women some credit for being thinking beings instead of trying to make us ill by continually turning the female form into a ‘trend’ ?

Comments

TasT

on Nov 15, 2004

No more freaks of nature, please. If a woman has a size 14 ass, she’s going to have size 14 legs, too.

Don't know why but this struck me as very funny the first time read through the article!

I do agree with you. The Rail thin super model is unachievable and so is a J lo butt. Here a nifty little tid bit for you though. Most of the guys I hang out with think that J Lo's butt is not impressive, and while some of the supermodels are pretty most of the time I hear " Yea she's cute but I'd have to feed here 5 meals of meat and tater a day to get some meat on her bones, she looks kinda sick"

Most of us guys are lookin' for a woman somewhere in the size3/4 to 7/8 range, If your bigger or smaller than that maybe you should do something about it. (by the way, I know the size thing is highly hight dependant so please take that into consideration)

TasT

on Nov 15, 2004

Jeeez I may have just stuck my foot in my mouth right there, I really should clarify a little. We are usually looking for a woman that is proprtinate in weight to her hight, It she's 6 foot tall and skinny as a rail most of us will pass right on by same thing if she's as big round as she is tall, Most of us don't follow the media hype about it being cool to be a bean pole or have lots of junk in the trunk.....

My hole may be deeper now but, at least I feel better about it....

dharmagrl

on Nov 15, 2004

TasT...yeah, you dug yourself a bit of a hole there. Nice save, though!

I have a big butt. Not a fat one, but a very round, meaty rear end (my husband says it looks like an upside down heart). I also have a small (in relation to my bottom) waist (24")...so this new trend of rotund asses and small waists makes me very happy. There was a time when i got teased mercilessly ...catcalls of 'baby got back!!' and the such were normal for me, and they made me very unhappy.

You can have your butt enhanced, you know. You can get implants (sort of like the ones for boobies) and have a surgical procedure done to make your tushie look fuller. Personally, I think it'd be uncomfortable as hell...like sitting on a couple of tennis balls!!

fox_in_the_snow

on Nov 15, 2004

In general, I think that larger mannequins are a vast improvement from a body type that's achieved by some women by eating disorders. Also, with most women, the proportionate waist-to-hip ratio is desirable enough, no matter how large or small they are.

Very big busted, big bottomed women with tiny waists, washboard stomachs, long slender legs and slim arms are about as common as supermodels.

Take out the big-bottom, and that's the body type that ads have shoved down our throats in the mainstream...I think that that body type would be more common than women who are a size 0 who have DD busts.

::musing:: It would be interesting if popular lingerie, with their oh-so-beloved push-up bras, start marketing push-up panties. There would be even more disappointed schoolboys

island_gurl12

on Nov 15, 2004

I am proportionated and i like my body the way it is. I'd change nothing about it cuz that's how God made me. Trends can kiss my little curvy ass

dharmagrl

on Nov 15, 2004

It would be interesting if popular lingerie, with their oh-so-beloved push-up bras, start marketing push-up panties. There would be even more disappointed schoolboys

They do. You can get knickers that have an elastic band right under the cheek area that lift up what you've got....and you can also get ones that have padding so you can make your bum look bigger.

TasT

on Nov 15, 2004

Trends can kiss my little curvy ass

That's the spirit

new-age nomad

on Nov 16, 2004

Mig, you're awesome. Great article.

Trinitie

notsohighlyevolved

on Nov 17, 2004

Fashion's dictatorship over women will only ever come to an end when women stop buying into mindless (and often futile, implausible, impossible, etc) emulation.

What males find attractive is about as relevant as the alignment of the planets and the gravitational pull of Sirius B. What is really contested in these representations of women is what women find attractive in other women and themselves. Note: I realise that this point or perspective was never actually raised in Mig's post, but it is always very hard to disentangle the sexualisation of female media representation (including retail spaces) from the normalisation of female media representation.

This might sound like finger pointing or backlash, and in a way it is, because as much as men like J.Lo and Beyonce they also adore the Charlize Theron's and Scarlett Johansson's and just about everything in between.

This isn't the first time for this "trend" either. Doesn't anyone remember Marilyn Monroe or the bikini girls of the 60's?

Doesn't anyone remember the Greek and Roman idealisation of the male form during their respective pinnacles of cultural domination?

Doesn't anyone remember the nullification of feminine (in fact, nearly all) sexuality and form during the Victorian age?

Well. For the last two we obviously can't remember but we can reference.

What is in question here is: what is considered beautiful? i.e aesthetically pleasing.

One of the answers: Reality need not apply.

Floozie

on Nov 17, 2004

The thing that always makes me giggle is what can be so miniscule that these famous arses can be described as 'big' in comparrison? Beyonce's and J-Lo's derrieres are tiny. The only thing is that compared to other models they actually have something, anything on their glutous maximus'. If they're big, then the majority of the female population have vast, spongy, undulating hills worth of booty on offer.

I can no more follow the fashionable trends of the human body than I can will myself to magically become coordinated. Let's follow Island gurl's lead and offer our perfect posteriors for the emaciated fashionistas to kiss.

Great article (as always) migs

Suz xxx

notsohighlyevolved

on Nov 17, 2004

This isn't the first time for this "trend" either. Doesn't anyone remember Marilyn Monroe or the bikini girls of the 60's?

Doesn't anyone remember the Greek and Roman idealisation of the male form during their respective pinnacles of cultural domination?

Doesn't anyone remember the nullification of feminine (in fact, nearly all) sexuality and form during the Victorian age?

Sorry. Time for me to get really anal. I am not actually suggesting that bootyliciousness had any currency during the greek/roman empires or during the reign of Queen Victoria. I was ineffectively trying to communicate that "trends" are not a new thing and neither is the hour-glass figure that is currently in favor.

Come to think of it...I don't care about what I was saying or how I was saying it. Any excuse at all to escape this last, torturous essay for uni.

Suspeckted

on Nov 17, 2004

Uh-huh. Now begins the tyranny of the unachievable Latino ass.

HA HA HA...indeed it does. The only steps towards equality we're seeing in this realm is the way in which men are beginning to be targeted the exact same way. That's not the kind of equality we want is it?

But I think there were some important ideas brought up here...a reason these unachievable body shapes might be so attractive is simply because of they are hard to find in reality. Much the same way that a foreign accent can be really sexy a foreign body type to what's natural may be as well. For me though, my girl better have something to hold on to from head to toe 360 degrees....otherwise she keeps gettin' away.

-suspeckted

Floozie

on Nov 17, 2004

For me though, my girl better have something to hold on to from head to toe 360 degrees....otherwise she keeps gettin' away.

Kind of like Olive Oyl slipping between the gutter grates in Popeye?

Hamster 311

on Nov 17, 2004

Listen, my ass is not a "trend" (Although some might view it as a "phenomenon!") It's been there my whole life and I don't expect it to be going anywhere anytime soon. I just happen to be built that way (and yes, my legs and hips are proportionate, much to my dismay. The fact that this is dismaying to me only points to the extent that I've bought into it all too:

Fashion's dictatorship over women will only ever come to an end when women stop buying into mindless (and often futile, implausible, impossible, etc) emulation.

TRUE, TRUE, TRUE!

Whatever it is, I must conclude that I'll finally be able to buy a pair of jeans that fits properly - at least for a while, till a new trend comes along.

Now you are going to see it ... and it will get bigger".

- This just made me laugh...with respect to the subjec matter.

stevendedalus

on Nov 21, 2004

One advantage to the fat bottom is that one can be comfortable on a hard park bench.

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