Vogue: Big Butts On Women Now Okay Says Fashion Bible — More Fashion Racism?
Vogue, the magazine long known as the “fashion bible,” which for years has dictated the standard of what’s a “do” and what’s a “don’t” for women to be truly fashionable, has now declared, after years of disapproval, that big butts are okay.
The new edict from Vogue, known for its perpetuation of the rail-thin, sunken-cheek runway model standard of beauty, was met with a collective eye-roll from many quarters — while some critics accused Vogue of revealing its racism, because most of the examples of newly acceptable large derrieres cited in the Vogue article, “We’re Officially In The Era Of The Big Booty,” belong to white women.
“Obviously [Vogue writer Patricia] Garcia hasn’t hung out around black people for much of her life,” wrote Yesha Callahan on the African-American-oriented site The Root. “Or only knows three: Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Beyoncé, who are cited in the article. As I’m sitting here—on my well-endowed derriere, as a matter of fact—I can’t help wondering why butts are now en vogue. Oh, wait, is it because there are nonblack women now carrying the extra baggage of Sarah Baartman?”
Sarah Baartman was a woman of African descent who lived in the early 19th century and whose protruding buttocks led to her being exhibited in traveling carnivals as a “freak show” attraction.
The Vogue article (which can be seen at this link) credits Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and others for the current popularity of prominent hindquarters, as well as Instagram “fitness” guru Jen Selter, who gained fame based on her ongoing series of “belfies,” self-portraits which highlight her big butt.
The Vogue article was prompted by an upcoming music video entitled “Booty,” featuring both Lopez and white Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, who has also become known for her big butt — though in her Root article, Callahan says she suspects that Iggy Azalea’s posterior may be artificially enhanced.
“It looks store-bought,” write Callahan. “Along with Azalea’s fake blaccent, I’m wondering if she rocks a Depends diaper or had some silicone pumped into her rear.”
Another site, Stylette, accused Vogue of “Columbusing,” a recent term that means the claimed “discovery” of a place or thing by white people, even when other ethnic groups have been there much earlier.
Twitter users echoed that sentiment.
“How Elvis Presley Invented Black Music” #VogueArticles
— Luke James (@lukejamesbgn) September 10, 2014
how adele invented negro spirituals #voguearticles — the thot that counts (@bad_dominicana) September 10, 2014
“This is the ‘Era of the Big Booty’ for oblivious white people only,” added Jezebel writer Kara Brown. “Vogue and its homogenous group of editors are simply noticing for the first time that a fat ass is actually quite delightful when you don’t Photoshop it away.”
The Vogue article did make mention of the recent video and song “Anaconda” by Nicki Minaj, in which the rapper celebrates her own big butt. If you haven’t seen the mildly NSFW Nicki Minaj video, it is viewable below.
