The Rise of the Booty

If you have listened to any amount of popular music lately, you’ve noticed a phenomenon I like to call “the rise of the booty.” There has been a sudden influx of songs about women’s butts. This trend has been a long time coming – I’d like to refer you to Sir Mix-A-Lot’s timeless classic – but it seems that the bottom has recently reached an all-time high.

In direct response to this trend, I find my Facebook newsfeed filled with posts by girls complaining about said booty anthems – girls who possess a much trimmer figure and perhaps a less bodacious booty. They focus on lyrics like “fuck those skinny bitches in the club” as indicators that perhaps these songs are not the ticket to widespread body positivity. To a certain extent, they’re right. Does the rise of the booty anthem mean that beauty standards for women have finally reached attainable levels? Hell nope. But, more importantly, do these songs demonstrate a widening view of what it means to be beautiful? I’d say so. Previously, the majority of body types represented positively in mainstream music were those of all the skinny ladies on my Facebook newsfeed. I can understand their current distress, but I think it’s about time to grant the badonkadonk its rightful place in the spotlight.

I don’t come to this issue from a position of posterior privilege; as a card-carrying member of the No Butt Club (est. 1995), I can safely say that Jason Derulo would probably think that my booty needs explainin’. In fact, it needs to be explained to me why I have no discernable booty. That said, I welcome the butt beats (tushy tunes, heinie hits, rump raps…I can go on all day). I kneel before our booty overlords. As far as I’m concerned, if you’ve got it, flaunt it (if not for your own self-confidence, at least on behalf of those of us without beautiful bottoms). If Nicki Minaj is rapping in favor of your derriere, allow the warm light of her favor wash over you. If not, don’t sweat it!

It’s important to remember, though, that we don’t need a song dedicated to our body type in order to feel beautiful. We don’t need the acceptance of men, Nicki Minaj, or the music industry. What we do need to accept is that every body is a beautiful body…and “All About That Bass” is a damn catchy song.

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