Why Are Bums Getting

Bigger In Contemporary
Fashion Culture?

Isabel Bentley
BA (Hons) Fashion Design
DCCT10001 Design, Culture Context 1
Tutor: Lorraine Warde
Word Count: 2,071

INTRODUCTION
I have been intrigued by the current bum obsession ever since
Kim Kardashian broke the internet with her photo-shoot for
Paper Magazine two years ago. It seems that not so long ago if
a woman had asked her spouse whether her bum looked big in
her jeans and the reply had been yes he would have been reprimanded severely. However, ever since Kardashian began strutting
around in 2007 in her extremely tight bottom hugging outfits,
bums have begun to be liberated back into fashion. I am intrigued
why a big bum is considered to be a desirable attribute to a woman now when before back in the 90s and early to mid 2000s
the very last thing women wanted was a big bum; I want to find
out why this change in attitudes has arisen. My essay examines
how women of the 21st century have been groomed by
different aspects in everyday
culture to have the on trend
body. The first part of my
essay looks at how celebrity
influence and the media are
heightening the craze of larger bottoms in British culture;
while the second part explores how surgery is allowing more people to gain the
behind they desire; the final
part looks at the correlation
between the recent fitness
craze and how that is inspiring people to build their own
booty naturally.
Fig.1 Kim Kardashian (2014) For Paper
Magazine by Jean Paul Goode

Celebrity appears to be a large influence in the rise of larger behinds with celebrities such as Kim Kardashian-West and Jennifer
Lopez becoming renowned for their rears.
Pop musicians and and R and B artists are also using their celebrity to promote the trend for large bums by writing about them
in their work. Nicki Minaj comments on it specifically in her
song Anaconda This one is for my b****es with a fat ass in the
f***ing club. I said, Where my fat ass big b****es in the club?
(Minaj, 2014)
Minaj herself is known for
what could be considered
an iconic behind, which is
pictured on her album cover for Anaconda through
which she voices her
strong opinions on body
shape; supporting women
who have a fat ass, this
could be considered an
important moment in 2014
where by Minaj acknowledges how the curvier
large bottomed figure is
Fig. 2 Nicki Minaj Anaconda Album Cover
taking over as a body im(2014) Toomey.A
age trend during this current period of fashion. In comparison in Sir Mixalots 1992 song
Baby Got Back, Sir Mixalot also claims I like big butts and I can
not lie (Sir Mixalot, 1992) a slightly controversial opinion over
10 years previously to Anaconda, Sir Mixalot was also encouraging the idea of the larger bottomed woman, although the fact he
specifically says I can not lie suggests that he is possibly embarrassed by this attraction but feels like he must tell the truth and
express his passion for the booty. In contrast if you look at many
other celebrities from this time period they tend to have no bottom
and have a slight skinny figure.
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During the nineties emaciated looking models such as Kate Moss

and and Jaime King were celebrated for their skinny no curves
Heroin Chic look.

Fig. 3 Kate Moss Advert (2013) for St Tropez Campaign

Ever since the fashion industry has been a breeding ground for
eating disorders and what is considered by the public as an unhealthy body image. Prettiness has given away to strikingness.
Models are now chosen from the world of real readers; they are
no longer all excessively tall and exceptionally thin
(McRobbie,1994:165) This proves how recently individuals and
different brands have been trying to tackle this image and create
a new more healthy body shape in fashion to help prevent the
cases of eating problems that were produced by the size zero
craze during the early millenials and the nineties.
I feel that large buttocks are becoming further more popular as
different cultures continue to mix more within society. For example, now we have many celebrities in our current culture such as
Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and Rita Ora who descend from African
or Hispanic heritage, where originally large bottoms are celebrated as a sign of wealth and skinny people are generally considered
to be poorer, which contrasts with attitudes in white, western cultures, where to be especially skinny has been considered desirable in modern eras. Similarly, in Hispanic and Mexican cultures
curvy women with larger bottoms and thighs are considered to be
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attractive. Hottentot Venus otherwise known

Sara Baartman was a black woman who
was ridiculed by 19th Century white people for her large bottom, which she was
exhibited for. Where as now celebrities
from mixed culture such as Beyonce,
JLO and Nicki Minaj are celebrated
for their derrieres. However before in
modern eras a white woman would
not have sought after a big bottom,
preferring instead to try and flatten the area and get rid of any curves
shown here in this advert from British
Vogue 1934 where the advert is telling the

as

consumer their underwear helps with bothFig. 4 HottentotVenus

ersome curves. Another advert from the Engraving (1810) by F.C.
Lewis
same edition claims to gently control
rebellious curves and takes inches off
your
measurements.
During the 1920s
the time period,
which is considered the height of
Modernity the
desired body
shape was very
different to that of
today.

Fig. 5 Charmazon Shape Fig. 6 Next to Nothings

Wear Advert (1934) Vogue Shape Wear Advert
(1934) Vogue

The post modernization and globalization of western cultures

has not freed individuals from the imposition of norms of gender, ethnicity and sexuality, and bodies continue to be marked
by them... Individuals can freely or limitlessly shape their own
bodies and identities (Pitts, 2008:35)
There is also a rising amount of
celebrities including Kardashian-West
and Nicki Minaj whom the public
enjoy speculating whether their
generous bottoms are a result of
natural genes/ exercise or whether
its owing to cosmetic surgery and
implants. This alludes that the postmodern idea of Image is everything
is definitely something which some
post modern women live by. With post Fig. 7 32 yearold with Buttock Implants Before and
modern day women now going out to After (2008)
Dr Gershenbaum
work and earning their own money,
this means that unlike in modernist
time periods where the woman typically relied on their husbands
income, the post modern woman is now able to spend her well
earned money on whatever she wants to; whether that be surgery to enhance certain features she feels she isnt happy about.
There were more than 5,000 buttock lift and implant procedures
(which are legal) carried out in the US in 2009, according to the
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. (Vaidyanathan,
2011) However, this figure rose even higher with Shape Magazine claiming that there were over 22,000 derriere-focused procedures in 2015 (Gilbert 2016). The growing availability of surgery
also proves that In the postmodern world you do not have to be
pinned down to a single image of self (Ward 2003:134)
It could be said that the more often this is promoted through the
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growing use of social media and

celebrity the more the post modern
day woman will also be tempted to
spend the money to enhance her own
body as a result of normalizing the
procedure within society.
Modifying the body promotes
symbolic rebellions, resistance and
self-transformation- that marking
and transforming the body can
symbolically reclaim the body from
its victimization and objectification in
patriarchal culture (Pitts, 2008:49)
A Modern idea Less is more

Fig. 8 Primark Bum Enhancer Brief (2016) Own Photo

intriguingly corresponds to the modern ideal body, the new man

and new women of the 1920s looked different from previous
generations: slimmer, fitter, tanned body... body revealing
clothing became outward signs of modernity. (Hebdige 1979:252)
However the postmodern antidote to this idea is Less is a bore
which also corresponds to the new Postmodern ideal curvy
voluptuous body.
For those who still cannot justify or afford surgery even shape
wear is now catching on to the desire for a larger bottom with
Primark
selling a bum
enhancer brief

Fig. 9 The Bum Shop Engraving (1785) S.W. Forest

to be worn
under bodycon
dresses, or
other sorts of
tight fitting
clothing to make
your own
bottom look
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larger, more rounded and shapelier underneath. However big

bums are actually just a recycled and refined trend which was
popularised by White British before the industrial revolution and
continued as a trend until around 1890 where the trend declined.
Crinolines and Bustles were immensely popular teamed with petticoats beneath to create an even larger bottom. from 1500 to
1900 or so, there were very few times in which a womans rear
and hips were not extended by her garments. Enlargement was
not the sartorial exception; it was the anatomical rule (Vincent
2009:65)
Bottoms were big in Georgian England. From low to high culture of all forms, Britain was a nation obsessed by buttocks,
bums, posteriors, derrieres, and every possible metaphor, joke
or pun that could be squeezed from this fundamental cultural
obsession. From the front parlour to parliament to prostitution
and pornography. Georgian England both exuberantly celebrated and earnestly deplored excess, grossness and the uncontrollable. (Holmes in Willis 2010:3)
The current fitness trend is also influencing the growing bum
fashion due to the many fitness Instagram accounts pushing
women to set goals
to be able to obtain
their own
perfect body

Fig. 10 Screen Shot of Tammy Hembrows

Instragram Account (2016) Own Photo

which is strong
not skinny. Fitness
bloggers such as
Tammy Hembrow
and Emily Skye
boast their own
perfectly rounded
bottoms in as many
photos as possible
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on their pages along with

posting motivating workouts
for the reader to try themselves to try and get their own
larger bottom. Body projects
are now seen as
integral to the development
of self identity and the
ideology of the consumer
culture suggests that through
them a person can achieve
self actualizations as well as
beauty, fitness and success Fig. 11 Example of 30 Day Squat
Challenge Workout (2014) Work Out
(Pitts 2008:50)
Squatting and lunges are

Essentials

exercises, which in particular have

become trendy for both men and
women, with squat
challenges available through
social media and online for a
certain period of days encourage
one to build up muscle and tone in
your behind. Although these
women are fabulously motivating
for those who want to be toned
rather than skinny, it could be
argued that women are constrained
by very strict body image
guidelines constantly being
exposed to sporty propaganda e
ncouraging them to be curvy but
not too curvy, muscly but not too
muscly, skinny but not too skinny,

Fig. 12 Screen Shot of Emily Skyes Instagram Account (2016) Own Photo

which is extremely hard to negotiate your way around and stay

happy within your own body. Women live under the masculine
desire to fix the woman in a stable and stabilizing identity
(Owens in Ward 2003:135) this indicates that women are working
out and building up bigger bums to possibly impress men rather
than doing it for themselves. This could be due to the amount of
focus that a woman is now under from society, as the trend for
leggings and tight fitting dresses to show off their toned features
has put women under scrutiny not only from men but from other
women as well. This is mainly due to social media such as Instagram and Facebook onto which many feel compelled to upload
gym wear photos and bikini pictures for ego boosting likes which
will in theory help to settle any body concerns if someone else
admires them. This correlation between a heightened interest in
sport and toning for post modern women could be a result of a
larger range of female sportswear available on the market now
thanks to the development of new fabrics in sportswear. Furthermore, with postmodern attitudes having a significantly different
outlook from modern attitudes, women are more free to pursue activities which would have most likely been frowned upon
during modernist times such as weight lifting or aerobics, both of
which help tone the buttocks.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion I personally believe that the trend for big bums will
continue to grow over the next few years as a result of the
cultural integration within society, as well as the wider awareness
about health and body acceptance campaigns by those trying to prevent the use of underweight models on the catwalk. The general
face of marketing all seems to be pushing for a healthy more toned
look. In addition, with women investing money in
surgery to permanently change their figures, (something which has
only really become popular as a cosmetic treatment during the 21st
this may well keep big bums as an ongoing body trend, as they
see spending their money on such treatment as a long-term investcentury)

ment, and therefore may be unwilling to spend further money to

get their attributes reduced come the next change in body fashion.
Therefore, in regards to my own
practice, the trend of bums getting bigger will affect me as this is a
factor I will have to consider when designing my own work, as currently the fashion industry is provided with mannequins which give
standard body proportions. As seen in the photo I have taken, my
current mannequin does not possess even a
realistic-sized bottom! If the trend continues to grow I may have to
consider making alterations to my mannequins body by making my
own implants which can be pinned to the mannequin to give it
larger assets so that dresses, trousers and jeans can be made to fit
the customer better. It certainly seems as if, for the imminent future
at least, Big is definitely Beautiful!

Fig. 13 Mannequin Before and After Fabric Bum Implants (2016)

My Own Photo

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Illustrations
Fig. 1 Kim Kardashian (2014) For Paper Magazine by Jean Paul
Goode (Online)
Fig. 2 Nicki Minaj Anaconda Album Cover (2014) Toomey.A (Online)
Fig. 3 Kate Moss Advert (2013) for St Tropez Campaign (Online)
Fig. 4 Hottentot Venus Engraving (1810) by F.C. Lewis (Online)
Fig. 5 Charmazon Shape Wear Advert (1934) Vogue Magazine pg
81
Fig. 6 Next to Nothings Shape Wear Advert (1934) Vogue Magazine pg 45
Fig. 7 32 yearold with Buttock Implants Before and After (2008)
Dr Gershenbaum (Online)
Fig. 8 Primark Bum Enhancer Brief (2016) Own Photo
Fig. 9 The Bum Shop Engraving (1785) by S.W. Forest, from Vincent,
The Anatomy of Fashion
Fig. 10 Screen Shot of Tammy Hembrows Instragram Account
(2016) Own Photo
Fig. 11 Example of 30 Day Squat Challenge Workout (2014) Work
Out Essentials (Online)
Fig. 12 Screen Shot of Emily Skyes Instagram Account (2016) Own
Photo
Fig. 13 Mannequin Before and After Fabric Bum Implants (2016)
My Own Photo

11

Citations
(Minaj, 2014)
(Sir Mixalot, 1992)
(McRobbie,1994:165)
(Pitts, 2008:35)
(Vaidyanathan, 2011)
(Gilbert 2016)
(Ward 2003:134)
(Pitts, 2008:49)
(Hebdige 1979:252)
(Vincent 2009:65)
(Holmes in Willis 2010:3)
(Pitts 2008:50)
(Owens in Ward 2003:135)

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