Natural In The Age Of BBL…

Natural Beauty In The Age Of BBL

Written by Naya Solomon

BBL Problems. BBL Behavior. The BBL Effect. DO any of these phrases ring a bell?

A couple monthss back, a viral video had Twitter in pretty high spirits- the clip showed a line of recent BBL patients looking to board planes as wheelchair passengers. Accompanied by lighthearted tweets from account owner @MuvaofGotti, stating things like, “-it’s 28 wheelchairs coming off this flight from DR and Delta losing their minds-” the internet found it hilarious, ridiculing the seemingly innumerable women lined up like dominoes after subjecting themselves to the same  procedure.

A few others chimed in to express their mild concern, disbelief, and comedic sentiments for the surgeons responsible for making these women’s dreams come true. That following month, another twitter user came forward with a surprising letter from an unnamed Hotel, expressing their inability to accommodate so many post-operative stays.

It seems we as a people have reached an emotional impasse in regards to the BBL(Brazillian Butt Lift) Epidemic that has very clearly taken the country and its impressionable young women by storm. Despite its lighthearted presence online, what goes on beneath the surface is a bit more sinister.

As successful surgical videos circulate online and grace the eyes of young girls, teens, and women trapped in the house and online, we have to wonder what the effect of all this one-sided media will have.

Tiktok has given us “The BBL Effect,” an insanely popular trend started by creator @Antonibumba poking fun at the caricature that is the young woman with a bbl- she’s a socialite that uses apple pay at the deli. She drinks with a straw even though it’s bad for her lip-filler. She needs all her clothes altered. With her lips pursed and hair tossed over her shoulder, she is the moment. See: Kylie Jenner and Stassie Baby types. We see young people of all sorts imitating their favorite bbl-toting baddies.

Antonio’s latest video under the tag very casually addresses the viral tweets, suggests they be safe if planning to undergo the surgery, and almost quickly enough to dismiss it, mentions that the procedure was giving “life threatening vibes,” noting that their aunt died from one only six months prior.

The threat that bbl’s pose on the body is easily overlooked when the culture makes it palatable and popular. Now, no shade to Antonio they’re hilarious and we love and appreciate our black content creators- but this is an excellent example of how something so serious can become trivialized.

“BBL surgery” in the tiktok search bar will show you hundreds of patients documenting their experiences, some as young as nineteen years old- an age at which the body hasn’t finished developing.

So many of us have been online for so long we’ve forgotten how to log off. When faced with other women on social media so frequently, we forget that everything is strategically planned, our bodies are posed, our hair is coiffed, and nothing is ever as it seems. Naturalness isn’t a crime. Our perceptions of what is beautiful and attainable has been skewed by social media stunts and capitalistic endeavors. If lots of people make something popular, society begins to cater to it. As this surgery gained massive popularity, terms like “BBL Fashion” were coined, and it was suddenly easy to see what kinds of stores have always catered to the unattainable looks that wear on our confidence: Fashion Nova, Pretty Little Thing, clothes pulled tightly on mannequins shaped like coke bottles.

It’s painfully easy to fall victim to insecurity when society makes it palatable, but it’s not the only route to take. Perhaps it’s time we looked past our insecurities and at who and what preys on them. There’s nothing wrong with you at all, and there never was.

~ By Naya Solomon