BYLINE: NEDRA RHONE
DATE: June 28, 2006
PUBLICATION: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA)
EDITION: Main; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SECTION: Living
PAGE: E1BYLINE: NEDRA RHONE
DATE: June 28, 2006
PUBLICATION: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA)
EDITION: Main; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SECTION: Living
PAGE: E1

Some may call her a Brick House, but if you use the Commodores’ definition — 36-24-36 — Jessica is more like a miracle of masonry.
On a Monday evening at Apache Cafe in Midtown, a barely-there bikini covers her 36-26-44 foundation, while a group of artists and photographers attempts to reduce her mighty, mighty dimensions to only two.
“This is not one of those pretentious art shows,” cafe co-owner Karen Fain tells the audience that has gathered for the “Venus Revolution” launch party.
No, it isn’t.
The combination art exhibit, panel discussion and history lesson is all about the booty, also known as the butt, behind, gluteus maximus and moneymaker. If breasts ruled the ’70s and ’80s, the 2000s are the “badonkadonk” decade. While round bottoms have traditionally been appreciated in African-American and Latino cultures, butts may finally be supplanting breasts as the new “new thing.”
After centuries in the dark, this nether region is getting a moment in the spotlight.
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reports that buttock augmentation increased 285 percent from 2002 to 2005. Manufacturers offer padded undergarments and structured jeans to create the illusion of a lifted backside, and at least one woman — known as “Buffie the Body” — has made a career out of marketing the junk in her trunk.
“What’s happened is Caucasians now are feeling more and more pressure because it just looks so odd to not have a buttocks,” said Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Anthony Griffin, who pioneered the Brazilian butt lift 10 years ago in the United States. “And of course, there is pressure on people of color because they feel like they should have one.”
Maybe it’s the influence of popular culture in the form of hip-hop videos and celebrities such as J. Lo, Beyonce, and a Daisy Duke’d Jessica Simpson. Maybe it was that step aerobics craze that convinced gym bunnies they, too, could build a posterior worthy of posturing. Or maybe it’s an indication that we really are becoming a majority minority culture, with mores of the fringe evolving into the norm.
In South America, where Griffin first spotted the procedure of fat replacement surgery, the breast is de-emphasized, he said.
“I think we are going to have that same shift as more people of South American descent come to the country,” said Griffin, who does about two to three of the procedures a week. “Breasts are sort of a white man’s thing.”
But even with butts, there are cultural differences, he said. Black women tend to want the maximum they can get, white women want a little less, and Asian women and Latinas fall somewhere in between.
“I get no love,” said Kiana Teal, a 24-year-old African-American woman from Atlanta, who says she’s light in the backfield. “You feel like you kind of have to buy into it.” Teal does exercises, leg lifts and kick backs, to “cultivate some kind of booty.”
On the other hand, Annah Carlson, 27, who is white, says peers in the music industry give her much love for her ample rump, though her mom doesn’t understand why she’s cool with having big buns. Carlson, a DJ from Atlanta, said her butt has even helped open doors.
“I love it because I can use it to get people’s attention,” she said. Then she dazzles them with her turntable skills and winning personality.
Of course, you can always resort to faking it. In 2005, Victoria’s Secret, known for its uplifting bras, introduced jeans that help women shape-shift down below.
“Victoria’s Secret clients are fashionable, and they like to look great in their clothes,” said spokeswoman Sara Tervo. “We do a good job of making women look good underneath; this was a natural extension.”
Griffin said the changing tide also means more men are willing to confess their devotion to the derriere.
Rapper Bubba Sparxxx recorded “Ms. New Booty,” the latest hip-hop paean to the tush, following the 1992 style of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” And country singer Trace Adkins contributed his anthem in celebration of the “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.”
“I do like women who are pretty voluptuous,” said John Henry, 28, of Marietta. He points to evolution — as in men being naturally drawn to a woman’s swellings — as a factor, though he isn’t necessarily in breeding mode. “I think it’s a pendulum. We are embracing our differences more than we did before,” said Henry, who is white, while standing just a few paces from a rendering of Sara Baartman, the Hottentot Venus, hanging in Apache Cafe.
This isn’t the first time the pendulum has swung to the back. In 1810, Baartman left her South African home for Europe, where her particularly large behind was put on display as an object of disgust. But by the mid-Victorian era, ladies began bustling their dresses, creating a shape that looked eerily similar to Baartman’s.
“The story is one of tragedy and degradation,” said Hotep, organizer of the “Venus Revolution” exhibit. “But there is also this fascination.” Hotep included Baartman in his exhibit to place the newfound popularity of the caboose in context.
“My goal is to empower people,” Hotep said. “The whole world is about to recognize the booty.”
Of course, some behinds are already getting more recognition than others. A year ago, Buffie Carruth, a native of Athens, was whiling away as a dancer at Body Tap Exclusive in Atlanta when a photographer posted pictures on the Internet. A year later, Carruth had posed for spreads in magazines such as King, XXL and Black Men.
Through her Web site (www.buffiethebody.com), Carruth gets about 500 e-mails a day from fawning men — and from women who want a body like hers. She makes guest appearances at about 150 parties a year. And she has no illusions about why it all happened. “I ask God what it is about the butt that drives everyone crazy … I’m just a normal-looking girl, but my butt is really big. If my butt was flat, I wouldn’t be doing any of this.”
She has not insured her bum but is taking advantage of all of the opportunities that have come as a result of its largess: movies, calendars, DVDs, etc.
“If tomorrow they decide they don’t like butts anymore, I still have my money,” Carruth said.
And that’s probably a good thing.
For all the current hoopla surrounding the bon-bon some have already begun to move on. Despite his old badonkadonk-loving ways, Adkins was too busy to be interviewed for this story. He has a new song now, his handlers said, and he’s ready to put the booty behind him.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD BUTT?
The characteristics of a good butt are similar to those of a good breast, said plastic surgeon Anthony Griffin. It should:
1. Be proportional to the body
2. Have a clear beginning and end
3. Have fullness with projection
4. Have a smooth contour
5. Be pleasing to the eye
BEHIND THE MUSIC
Through the years, musicians have paid homage to the buttocks in their songs. Here’s a sample of some popular tunes:
1974-75 — The Jimmy Castor Bunch, “The Bertha Butt Boogie”
1988 — EU, “Da’ Butt”
1992 — Sir Mix-a-Lot, “Baby Got Back”
1999 — Mos Def, “Ms. Fat Booty”
2001 — Destiny’s Child, “Bootylicious”
2005 — The Black Eyed Peas, “My Humps”
2005 — Trace Adkins, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”
2006 — Bubba Sparxxx, “Ms. New Booty”

Tags: research on the butt