Be honest. Howbeit you admire the artistry of the surgeon *cough ahem* I meant to say, sheer athleticism, hard work, and dedication *side eye* you find yourself in utter amazement and disbelief at the drastic alteration and change in body proportions some are undergoing. Behold, hip/pelvic circumference which may’ve expanded from a 30- 32 at best, to a 40-42 all while sporting a 25 inch waist! Modern day marvels, whoi we reach!

Let me put the brakes on it before I even hear dis chupidness, “oh, you’re just a hater!” When it comes to this matter fortunately genetics are working in my favor, okay, good, next. Some time ago, while at work, I stumbled upon a conversation about the “Brazilian butt lift”, under the belief the topic was related to a new, trendy workout, so (me with mah fassness) I promptly elected myself to take part in the Brazilian Butt Lift. Needless to say, I received chuckles all around, and one glare. Apparently, the Brazilian Butt Lift is the latest trend in plastic surgery as it was explained to me.

Ladies, are we overly obsessed with our hindquarters and the level of desirability it may afford to a welcome admirer? To feel comfortable, you have to find the right fit, cut, rise in order to don a pair of jeans while feeling socially acceptable. If you try an article of clothing on, and do not see the desired line of demarcation from waist to hip it is not suitable to hang in your closet? As I scroll through my IG timeline, I find myself pondering on one body part in particular… ASS. Not the one attached to my own body per se, butt (pun intended) how significant the posterior is to our generation.

Check the stats: They don’t lie!

According to the American Center for Plastic Surgery, between 2000 and 2011, there was a 235% increase in the number of butt lifts utilizing fat grafting/fat transfer.There was a 38% increase in butt lifts in the one year period between 2010 and 2011. Between 2010 and 2011, the number of butt implant procedures rose by 43%. The percentage increase in the number of buttock augmentation procedures between 2010 and 2011 is among the highest of all cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures. source: www.drnikko.com

History indicates, societies such as, Ancient Greece, Victorian Britannia as well as African and Asian cultures have all placed esteem and emphasis on a larger, prominent female buttock. The female derrière has long been a sign of femininity, fertility and erotica. This was not the case in pop culture though – Till recently. Big Butts are everywhere!

Let’s take a gander at these household names:

Kim Kardashian

Nicki Minaj

Buffie Caruth!! (Modern Day Marvel)

Jennifer Lopez (circa 2005)

Coco T(not the reggae artist)

K.Michelle (pure down home, southern , kool-aid drinkin, fried chicken eatin, collards & cornbread Memphis ghetto Ratchetness cake!)

Black Chyna? (the verdict is still out on this one)

 
So, who sets the trend, and who says what is acceptable and desirable? Is it an innate human instinct, ancient history, or the popular women of today’s culture? To quote a close friend, “No amount of surgery can enhance the bizness, if the kitty is NO good it just isn’t good!” LOL wheee…Well, we will leave that one alone for now. What is our overall obsession with the gluteus maximus, and what do you prefer, natural or enhanced?

By the way, if yuh on d fence don’t fret. There are only 74 days left until Trinidad Carnival 2014 at said time you will be able to test drive (take a wine on) all the ARSE yuh want! Meet me on the road in TRIBE 2014! #PhuckyourCAKE!

Their parents must be so proud!

Yeah, you saw right… The “blackface” – Caucasian Americans painting their faces black as a costume. I’m sorry, but why is this a “cool thing to do”? OK, we get it… People are always looking at trying something new for Halloween, you want to be convincing and you want to go all out on your costume this year… Errr. NO, we DON’T get it!

‘The “blackface”‘ trend originated with blackface minstrel in the 1820′s, where white male performers would blacken their faces and wear old, dirty clothes as a part of their performance. They would make jokes about the stereotypes about African-Americans. Some of the main characters in these performances were, the educated free black man – who pronounced everything incorrectly and Mammy, a fat, faithful female slave who was played by someone who obviously looked like a man.

Now the blackface is back! For some reason it seems like the new popular thing to do among white Americans, including ‘celeb’ Julianne Hough, who went out for Halloween as character known as Crazy-Eyes from the new tv series “Orange is the new Black” to attend a party last Friday. Hough felt the need to paint her face with a darker shade of foundation, I suppose she wanted to get more in character? Some might say that in Hough’s case it isn’t really so bad. If the girl wanted to depict a black character from a show I don’t see what’s so wrong about that? Fair enough. But Then again, taking into consideration the history of the blackface? … Ummm Yea!

Worst of all people are dressing as Trayvon and Zimmerman

The latest ‘blackface’ sighting was these two white girls who painted their faces brown, deciding to go to Halloween as black people. Before heading out one of the girls thought it would be cool to tweet a pic captioned, “@dobebieber: me and @kinkystyles are niggers this Halloween”.  The tweet began to trend when re-tweeted by Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. Of course, she would get real heat for that kinda tweet, but it seems like she didn’t care, as she responded to people’s distaste by tweeting things like “stop worrying about my Halloween costume and worry about finding your dad” …excuse? Look, lemme not even…

Yup this is TnT!

And as with any insanely disgusting trend to hit social media, it tends to spread faster than Aunty Kams can down a bottle of white oak. As much as I hoped that this wouldn’t happen, the blackface has made its way to Trinidad. How do people think this is a good idea?

Dear America (and, Trinidad too!),
I’m not sure why anyone would have to tell you this, but “blackfacing” is not cool. It’s not funny and never was. Don’t do it. It has to go! The fact that this is still a thing in 2013 is not only sad, but kinda pathetic.

Sincerely,
Black People Everywhere.