watch your back garance dore illustration

9 years ago by

“Does my butt look ok?”

That’s the number one question my friends ask me when they’re trying on jeans.
How your butt looks in jeans – the basics, right?

I actually tend to forget about my butt (even though I do have an aversion to ugly jean pockets, whether they’re too big, too little, or too embroidered, ew, no way) since it’s behind me, after all – but right now, it’s becoming more and more difficult to not look my butt right in the face, hahaha.

Especially since Nicky Minaj‘s Anaconda (!?)(just too much), J.Lo and Iggy Azalea with their intense butt rubbing (!!?)(ok, I admit, it’s kind of sexy) and the Internet breakage attempt by Kim K’s elastic curves (!?!?)(I don’t even know what to think about that – I’m turning to Fat Jewish to get a clear perspective on the subject). See references at end.

Having a prominent, slightly soft butt (you know, so you can shake it) is super fashionable right now in a certain realm of show business.

But I’m not sure – I mean, like most people in fashion, I don’t care about butts very much: I’m used to the micro-butts of models like Freja. Inexistent butts that disappear in a pair of skinny jeans. Or the butts of the 70s – slightly flat and worn proudly smashed into a pair of a high waisted jeans. I totally like that.

I’m also used to butts like Gisèle‘s, even though those are more rare. You probably saw hers in the most recent Chanel n°5 ad, since the camera spends a good minute on it trying to shake whatever can be shaken in clear waters.

But it’s not easy, even when they have her sprinting on the beach – Gisèle butts (or Karlie butts, or any Victoria’s Secret model butts) are butts that don’t jiggle.
They are sublime butts – perfect, high, without an ounce of fat, muscular, and pre-photoshopped from hours of intense exercise.

So, even though it’s not the chiquest, I kind of like the Nicky Minaj-style butt of the moment because it’s round and proud of it. I figure it must be helping millions of girls get over any complexes they might have about their own unperfect butts.

Then again, I’m not sure all the soft-porn and objectification of the booty is really the best way to celebrate women’s bodies.

But hey, as we all know, I’m a romantic… :)
(And I’m going to start doing Pilates again tomorrow)

What about you? What’s your type? Is your butt a super important part of your body, the first thing you check in a pair of jeans?

References:

kim kardashian butt garance dore fat jewish photo

Translated by Andrea Perdue

92 comments

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  • Hello Garance,
    Vas tu utiliser un DVD pour le Pilates? Si oui, des recommendations? Merci!

  • Avoir des grosses fesse spour avoir des grosses fesses je trouve ça bête.
    Normales, jolies et rebondies ça suffit :)

    http://www.therocamadour.fr/

  • Crunch workout => pick your spot pilates, instructor: Ellen Barrett. A chercher sur Amazon ou ebay car ça vient des USA.
    http://modadiandrea.blogspot.com

  • I believe that now that everybody can buy his body ..we are like in fashion working on trends ..for many years it was the upper part of the body…and now with the latinos star.. the image of body change…and if we can buy a new body than it’s a new trend…..
    i just hope that young girls will not fall to the extreme of this new trend…
    xoxo
    Yael Guetta
    http://www.ftwwl.com

  • i like all the meme emphasizing how ridiculous the kk editorial is! :)

    http://littleaesthete.com

  • The kk editorial is above any imagination…my worst imagination!
    I like her, but this time is simply too much…
    XOX, Gap.
    http://www.gaptoothedgirl.com

  • I think that the “perfect” butt is in the eye of the beholder. In the African-American and Latino communities, butts like J-Lo’s and Nicki Minaj’s *are* the perfect butt. A “nonexistent” ’70s-era butt or a micro-butt would not be cool at all.

  • I agree! I think all beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
    x Neada

  • This is funny to me:
    “Having a prominent, slightly soft butt (you know, so you can shake it) is super fashionable right now in a certain realm of show business.”
    I am a native New Yorker, I was born in the Bronx (in a predominantly black and latino community), and having a healthy backside – round and robust – has always been super fashionable in my circle and it’s always been super fashionable in the Hip Hop community. Having a healthy backside (and/or big breasts) means a woman looks like a WOMAN, and not like a little boy, which the majority of the men I have known really enjoy. Now I am a Photo Editor in NYC and work with mostly white people, and in the white community big butts are not that popular. Now, I know this is not the rule – just my experience – and people are free to favor every and all body types. So yes! Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder =)
    Sir Mix Alot’s “Baby Got Back” is my favorite song to karaoke to. I know, I know, totally not PC, and vulgar, but I love this song!!

  • If I don’t see it, i don’t care. I can’t see my butt so… But I totally agrre with you about the soft-porn and objectification issue. Seeing different kinds of beauty is great news (Like Candice in the Pirelli Calendar), I’m not really sure if this is the best way to encourage them, though.
    xx,
    E.
    http://www.theslowpace.com

  • Je m’en fiche un peu, du moment qu’elles sont confortables et harmonieuses avec le reste du corps. Vous imaginez Freja Beha avec celles de Nicki Minaj?! C’est très étrange de laisser des commentaires sur cette partie du corps! Drôle de sujet!

    Maxce

    http://www.maxcebycecilej.com

  • Comme dans tout: les complexes des uns sont les “j’aimerais” des autres. Moi perso je complexe sur mes fesses pas assez élevées mais rien qui ne puisse changer avec quelques sessions de yoga, natation, marche…etc. Perso cette mode de “Oh my God look at her…” j’aime bien, cette abondance de derrière je trouve que ça met de la bonne humeur dans un monde fashion parfois trop “sec et maigre”. En tout cas un truc est clair : un pantalon peut tout changer. J’ai un levis qui fait loucher mon mari chaque fois que je le met. Donc question de coupe…

  • Mon mari trouve que c’est cool, parce que depuis que je fais plus de sport, elles sont plus fermes ;-)

  • As an owner of a “is it really there??”, i.e. almost non-existent butt – “bravo!” and thank you for the manifesto :) Seriously, I used to have a nice, small, roundish butt. It literally disappeared when I became addicted to running. Along with my breasts, I am afraid. So, yeah, I am one of those size 0 b*****s, who looks at JLo or Beyonce’ and thinks “Man, I wish I had her body! I am sure SHE has no problem with shopping for clothes and everything looks great on her.” Yeah, I’d even risk a bit of a cellulite. On the other hand, I am old enough to accept and, moreover, to like my body. Even my almost non-existent butt. But then… Man, to be Beyonce for a day… PS I hate big pockets and elaborate decorations on the back of my trousers!

  • Mon surnom c’est Mamadou (ca veut tout dire), il n’est pas énorme mais disons qu’il est bien bombé! Bon pour porter certaines jupes ou robes c’est chiant. Mon copain adore ça, et les autres mecs ont plutôt tendance à me faire des remarques. Donc pour moi il est important pour mon physique (au lieu d’avoir des gros seins et bah j’ai des fesses, chacun son truc ahah)
    PS: pour celles qui auraient besoin d’un petit coup de pouce, les jeans et pantalons de la marque italienne LIU.JO font des petits miracles ;)

  • “Mon surnom c’est Mamadou (ca veut tout dire)”?! Y’a pas plus cliché comme commentaire, gros cul= Noir. On est en 2014, ce serait bien d’évoluer.

  • “Mon surnom c’est Mamadou (ca veut tout dire)” … euuuh ok…

    @ D. : Tout à fait d’accord avec votre commentaire…

  • @D @Gigi mon copain est lui même black, et c’est le premier à me donner ce surnom. Si mon commentaire est “trop cliché” à votre goût, vous pouvez passer votre chemin.

    Peace & Love.

  • Et si c’était tout simplement la diversité qui était chouette ! Sept milliards de derrières …

  • I looove the Channel commercial. Very well done without putting the butty in your face and without idolizing her body! JLo is a bit too much for me. I wonder what she tells her kids?

  • Yes, how the butt looks in the jeans is important! Some jeans can really flatten the ass.

    http://www.FashionSnag.com

  • On va où avec toute cette vulgarité…. Je dirais même que les femmes ne se respectent plus c’est triste!

    Vive les culs discrets!!!

    http://www.blushandbeyond.com/maquillqge/younique/

    Bisous
    Alix

  • Je n’aime pas les fesses plates, j’aime les culs de black (cambré et pommelé). Stéphanie Seymour en Alaïa, pour moi c’est ça une femme. Mais c’est vrai qu’un corps androgyne porte bien la coolitude qui fait loi en matière de mode depuis une bonne décennie. C’est tellement sociologique ce truc. Un corps asexué dans une société où l’on parle de plus en plus de sexe mais où les gens sont plus préoccupés par leur popularité sur les réseaux sociaux, par leur image, que de dragués. Le milieu r’n’b, hip hop se réapproprie les codes de la bombe mais à quelle fin ? Marketing, objet sexuel ou pour se différencier de la socialite blanche T 0 et ainsi signifier qu’ils se foutent des modèles imposés par cette caste et ont le pouvoir d’en imposer d’autres ? Si c’est cette dernière proposition, je dis bravo, j’adore !
    http://www.mode9.fr

  • It’s so unfashionable, but Callanetics is still the best, most efficient exercise I’ve ever found for bum (or the rest of me). I learned the exercises from a dance teacher in college, and even though I do a little bit of everything (running, pilates, yoga, boxing, barre, etc.), this is still the series I always come back to. Not cardio, but makes your whole body lean and strong – particularly abs and hips/thighs/bum – SO quickly. (And fabulous for women who’ve had an pelvic/hip problems after pregnancy.) I’ve loving the online Callanetics Studio out of Australia – the videos are perfect for helping me squeeze in workouts, and Sandra and Adelaide are very sweet.

  • Erin, thanks so much for shearing this info. I´m Argentinian, run three times a week and do a lot of workout for my butt and arms (triceps are my fav). I had no idea about this method. From tomorrow on, I´ll start to study and practice via YouTube.
    Big thanks, hugs
    Lupe

  • I have big butt (& I cannot lie)… it difficult with jeans, specially skinnies, and pockets make allll the difference, small pockets make your butt HUGE, bigger and square pockets sort of straighten your curves. In general big butts also bring on a problem in the front, we are super used to seeing clothes on models with bodies like a 13 year old boy, a rectangle we could say, BUT our shape curves outwards behind our hips, which I find kind of annoying, but my boyfriends loves. SO, I don’t know. There’s the perception of women on what is considered nice, or beautiful or hot, and then there’s the perception of men. I think ours is way too defined and constrained about what we see in the fashion world and in advertising.

  • this was such a great read! I am so guilty of asking that when I try on jeans. First off, if I find a pair of jeans that fits me it’s a miracle! Second, when I do find that magical pair I have to know if they look good!

    giveaway on my blog!

    http://hashtagliz.com

  • Nicky Minaj and Jennifer Lopez/Iggy Azalea are plain vulgar. Musically, visually nauseating. No amount of post production can substitute lack of talent.
    I hate hate hate to see them on this website.

  • Ce que tu dis me fait penser à un passage du livre de Tina Fey:
    “But I think the first real change in women’s body image came when JLo turned it butt-style. That was the first time that having a large-scale situation in the back was part of mainstream American beauty. Girls wanted butts now. Men were free to admit that they had always enjoyed them. And then, what felt like moments later, boom—Beyoncé brought the leg meat. A back porch and thick muscular legs were now widely admired. And from that day forward, women embraced their diversity and realized that all shapes and sizes are beautiful. Ah ha ha. No. I’m totally messing with you. All Beyonce and JLo have done is add to the laundry list of attributes women must have to qualify as beautiful. Now every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits. The person closest to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes.”
    Comme le dit Tina Fey, je ne suis pas sûre que cette tendance soit libératrice mais que finalement on a juste changé de complexe!

  • Mes fesses sont rondes, rebondies et assez grosse. Et je le dis sans gene car c’est la partie que j’aime le plus de mon corps, avec mes seins qui sont bonnet A. Je suis tres contente de ce “retour de la fesse” dans le show-biz (quoique pour les femmes noires c’est loin d’etre un retour). Quand j’achete une robe, un jeans, meme un jupe, je demande toujours comment sont mes fesses. Tres contente de ce billet Garance! Je me sens incluse :)

  • Hello Garance, sorry je vais faire un total hors sujet, mais je viens de découvrir la dernière campagne FEEDproject, franchement j’adore! Tu es superbe (et vous êtes tous superbes et radieux), et je trouve l’initiative de Lauren Bush vraiment intéressante et généreuse, ça fait toujours du bien de voir ce genre d’initiative en ce moment… ce serait bien que tu nous racontes un peu l’histoire sur ton blog. Bon c’est un désir très perso, et tu n’as peut être pas prévu de le faire … mais sérieux, j’ai kiffé.
    Bref…MERCI! ;)

  • De mon côté, j’ai toujours eu de bonnes fesses et ce fut mon complexe pendant longtemps. Dès que je prends un peu de poids, elles explosent. Mais d’un autre côté, j’ai toujours reçu de bons commentaires de la gente masculine à leur sujet. Depuis 2 ans, j’ai décidé d’arrêter, plutôt de moins complexer à leur sujet. Je continue de les cacher à l’occasion, mais j’ose maintenant porter des pantalons plus moulants les mettant en valeur, même si ça ne rencontre pas nécessairement les standards de beauté. Je suis donc contente de voir que les derrières proéminents sont maintenant valorisés. Par contre, j’avoue qu’à regarder ces vidéos, c’est peut-être un peu trop ! lol

  • Oui en ce moment je fais particulièrement attention aux fesses (je suis sûrement influencée par la mode inconsciemment) et forcément encore plus à mes fesses surtout quand je mets un jean, pour ma part c’est mieux un peu rebondies. Ensuite, objectivement c’est surtout l’harmonie qui compte et ce n’est pas ce que je regarde en priorité (chez un mec qui me plaît par exemple;). Et là je suis en train de me demander, toutes tes vidéos montrent des femmes. Quand est-il de la mode concernant les fesses des hommes? ;)

  • Margarita Rankin November, 19 2014, 1:28 / Reply

    My butt is quite proportional to the rest of me. When I shop for jeans I shop high-waisted with good tummy and butt control. I’m willing to suffer a bit of embroidery for a good fit paired with a good price, but not too much or too girly frilly.

    As for the rest of the post.. yeah. I’m a classically trained musician who can understand the necessity of good pop, and that’s all I feel like saying on the matter.

  • On Saturdays I go to Afro-Carribean market and ALL the girls have big(ish) and round butts- are are very proud of them! They look great in their skinny jeans, butts loud and proud on “display”. Where I come from big butt is considered very unattractive so I like this celebration of different body shapes. Mine is a mini one (comes with being an apple shape) and I don’t really pay it any attention but my husband thinks its one of my biggest “assests”
    Ana
    http://www.champagnegirlsabouttown.co.uk

  • Fat Jewish? What does that mean?

  • Ce qui est formidale, c’est la double tendance, le fait qu’aujourd’hui, l’idéal soit double et radicalement opposé. Ça veut dire que la vie est plus belle pour toutes les fesses situées entre les deux. C’est cool et reposant!
    Plus sérieusement, ça veut aussi dire que toute l’imagerie r&b, longtemps méprisée par la mode, plutôt rock, a gagné du terrain et conquis sa place au soleil pour proposer aux femmes des modèles plus proches d’elles. Nicki est l’extrême mais, dans la réalité ça donne Rihanna chez Balmain, Rita Ora en couv de tous les mags chics et pointus etc. On ne peut plus passer à côté de ces femmes différentes. Toute la planète travaille ses fessiers pour un rendu plus bombé. Pour une métisse comme moi, c’est beau à voir.

  • I used to have a “not really there” kind of butt and then I started working out. Things changed. I realized that it’s really just a muscle– work hard to develop it, spend time with it, be consistent and you could contour it naturally. Now, I get compliments– which is weird– specifically on my butt — the shape–big but not offensive (you know what I mean).

    Try Tracy Anderson a couple of times per week– She really knows how to target it in a way that compliments the larger muscles in squats and lunges…youtube her butt and leg videos — you’ll turn into Gisele. Watch! Gisele and Karlie and Isabel …they work harrrrd on those non shaky butts.

    PS- Running excessively will reduce the booty.

  • Personally, I’ve always been aware of my butt because it’s the more prominent of my “assets.” (I have smaller breasts.) Because of this, most of my exercising and clothing selections are more bottom-focused than top.

    I’ve also noticed that it’s all about asses right now–especially with such media focus on people like Kim and JLo and whoever else. I think that this is going to dwindle in time, however.

    Although I admit to following Jen Selter on Instagram. She’s a little tacky for my taste, but her “belfies” keep me doing squats on a regular basis and I thank her for that!

  • I think it’s more of the matter of body type than of fitness. It is important to see the difference. Not commenting on the aesthetics and presentation of the music videos, from what I saw in JL’s video (not being really familiar with her), she is perfectly fit and has a pair of very strong legs, and her rear — along with a generally wonderful body proportion — looks quite attractive. Also, as mentioned in other comments, certain cultures aesthetically value the rear higher than other parts of the body. In fact, in addition to the genetic factors, to have a proportionally prominent rear while keeping it and the rest of the body muscular, strong, and energetically curvy is NOT easy — it requires no less effort than what the straight-shaped fashion models are doing to maintain themselves. Having such ass is really quite different than being “unfit” or “flappy”. I myself have been XS or S for as long as I know, and I have always been considered slender and fit, but since little I’d noticed that I have the attribute of a perkier, more visible backside. It’s just my body type — the proportional difference between my waist and my hip is on the bigger side, and that amounts to a shape (though in size S) which I’d call curvy. In the world of fashion this is certainly not the type seen much, as high-fashion has always been dominated by an inherently European aesthetics which corroborates with the mainstream caucasian body type — one that is straight-line and tall (disregarding the thickness). Even the non-caucasian models employed at present were fitting to the type (except for their faces and skin colors). The “asses” portrayed on advertisements or magazines were certainly not the standard of “perfection”, unless our modified subconscious told us so. The fitness and healthy lifestyles, yes, but certainly not the body type. I appreciate the beautiful imageries provided by the mainstream fashion world, but when I look in the mirror I look for different things — things that only I possess and others find attractive.

    As for choosing jeans, yes, it took me years to find a perfect pair (3 pairs now) from the mass-production market that’d fit both my small waist and prominent rear. But once I found it (and also discovered that there were quite a few quality high-street brands which produce jeans that work) I was even happier because the nice pair of fitting jeans (yes, especially the “skinny” ones) only accentuate the rear in the most sexy and flattering way. And I CERTAINLY look at my backside in the mirror before I go out.

  • I’m with you! right now I weight 119 pounds and I’m 5’4, but I would be classified as curvy. The same applied when I weighted even less, even at 103 pounds I was “curvy” by this society standard.

    I enjoy looking at how clothes fit and flow on models on the runway, some styles especially very conceptual pieces and long goddess dresses look better on tall skinny girls (the more material to flow in the air). Plus, being tall and having long necks do convey a sense of elegance (with some notable exception like audrey hepburn of course- representing for us shorties on the elegant front!). But even though I admire models on the runway that is not what I aspire to be (well I would not have complaint about having 1 or 2 more inches in height:)), for good or bad I grew up with a different image of the ideal body and thankfully it’s something closer to my reality. If I were trying to be like a model I would be forever dissatisfied trying to be something that I will never be able to approximate no matter how much I exercise, or how high my heels, etc.

    As for jeans, good ones are quite hard to find for me, I like them with rise closer to my natural waistline (no surprise there) but that means regular jeans that fit around my hip are always loose around the waist. The beauty of low rise was that it eliminated this problem (while creating other ones of course). Skinny jeans are also good, because the elastic material expands where it needs thus molding to your body proportions, but it is never quite perfect the fit on the waist even here is also some what loose. I do not like jeans made for “curvy” people as they make me look frumpy and short. The best pants I ever had in recent times were from guess (they were black and had very structural but minimalist detailing; I wound not really classify them as skinny jeans but were made of a stretchy cotton that did not have such a give/stretch as leggings do) somehow these pants made me look long, slim and curvy (the perfect trifecta) and gave me the best butt look I’ve ever had in pants (I think curvy girls look better in pencil skirts than with pants), they held me in place, but didn’t flatten me out, in short they were amazing so I wore them to death, I wished I could find them again!!

    I guess it doesn’t matter what the body type is, there will always be clothes that are not quite right for your body and will need tailoring, unless you are one of the lucky ones that have your clothes custom made. I mean tall and slim girls complaint about not finding pants that are long enough or about not being able to wear heels so as not to be taller than the guys, so nothing is perfect we just have to learn to accept what we have and make it work for us.

  • That Chanel ad with Giselle is on a different level. And as for butts…don’t really pay attention :( but I know that I should in this butt obsessed world in which we live.

    http://www.trovea.com
    Shop emerging designers from around the world!

  • Butt? No problem. As everyone I’m focused on parts of my body, which are not in perfect shape. Therefore I pay attention to my hips in case of jeans fittings. But that’s not a big issue.
    The examples are a nice collection of bad taste. ‘Softporn’ is the right label. Even the Chanel ad is a such a cheesy thing (but a good demonstration of Giselles perfect butt). I really enjoy looking at ALL naked bodies whenever they are not instrumentalized for laszivity.

  • Yes, I too am wondering what “Fat Jewish” means.

  • I agree with Alex:”Nicky Minaj and Jennifer Lopez/Iggy Azalea are plain vulgar. Musically, visually nauseating. No amount of post production can substitute lack of talent.
    I hate hate hate to see them on this website.”
    Please let’s not promote this craziness.
    Thank you.

  • Ahahaha!!! Funny pictures of Kim Kardashian!
    Passa a trovarmi VeryFP

  • I do not understand how displaying one’s butt to the public is empowering. It is alright for one or two people to do it (maybe it’s their form of expression) but everyone baring their behind makes absolutely no sense to me. Especially when it’s digitally enhanced (how are you empowering yourself or anyone actually?).

    Personally, I have a flat bum with no jiggle. I would not have it any other way. I never have to think about how my butt looks in anything (it always looks fabulous)!

    Anceeta.com

  • Paula Lomax November, 19 2014, 3:29 / Reply

    Garance,

    I totally agree. I like the look of the 70’s as well. The big booty thing for me is out of control and I say this as an African American woman. What happens to Nicki and Kim’s backsides when they turn 50?! Yikes, that’s a lot of work now can you imagine?..

    On another note. I really miss Pardon My French. Will you be taping any new episodes?

    Love your site :)

    Paula

  • C’est vrai que l’on voit pas mal de beautés callipyges!
    ?XO?
    Jeanne
    http://fashionmusingsdiary.com

  • I think these two paragraphs that you wrote sum it up pretty well:

    “(So, even though it’s not the chiquest, I kind of like the Nicky Minaj-style butt of the moment because it’s round and proud of it.) I figure it must be helping millions of girls get over any complexes they might have about their own unperfect butts.

    Then again, I’m not sure all the soft-porn and objectification of the booty is really the best way to celebrate women’s bodies.”

    It’s good to try and help girls understand that not everyone looks like a supermodel (some supermodels don’t even look like supermodels in real life), and try to give a better notion of the fact that women come in all shapes and sizes.

    HOWEVER, the latest uber-vulgar trend of twerking and butt-shaking is, I find, highly demeaning to women. I find it mad that female singers are now flirting with (soft-)porn while shaking their butts in skanky outfits. I mean, how does this promote women??

    We’re going from one extreme to the other, from too-skinny photoshopped models barely out of their teens to extremely curvaceous women promoting what seems to be a rather mysoginistic view of women. (I mean, have you listened to the Anaconda lyrics?? It’s no better than Eminem and co.’s latest rant). Do you think men will respect a half-naked woman rubbing butts with other half-naked chicks more?

    I remember the saying of “less is more”. I remember a poem from Baudelaire, where he admires a beautiful woman and gets shivers of excitement when he sees her ankle as she lifts her skirts…

    It’s becoming nuts. People in the US flip out when a star/singer/other shows a nipple, and then, here you have these women giving us close-ups of their crotch. Huh…

  • En France ce n’est pas du tout la même publicité, ça n’aurait pas du tout fait français cette version !! Pas la même culture. Dommage que ça soit très américain quand même. Chanel c’est … ? Ah oui français. Enfin bref.

  • cette version est passée en France tout au début, mais maintenant on a la version + courte !!!!!

  • It’s funny coz there was a journalist in a serious French magazine (I think it was a serious one, but I don’t remember though) that raises that “trend” into this question : “Are BUTTS replacing BOOBS?”. It was well analyzed implying that we saw too much boobs these late decades : boobs here, boobs there, silicone here and there. People get used to, bored with that. Now with the butts, why it gets more intimidating and unusual to see them (literally) displayed on our face (hello Nicki, JLO, Iggy, Miley – even Queen B – and such), it’s because a woman showing off her ass – and her head is nearly disappearing off the screen – is related to primitivity status. Female animals show indeed their butt when they are in heat, ready to procreate (and then looking for a male). A woman showing off her asset is then disturbing. But in other way, by doing this she shout out “get the f** out there, I’m owning my own body”. And she ends her article pinpointing that it gets even disturbing and thoughtful when Beyonce turns around displaying (only) her ass-buttom-bra (I mean yeah, how can you just not stare at her ass in her latest shows) just in front the word FEMINISM on MTV video music awards.

  • “So, even though it’s not the chiquest, I kind of like the Nicky Minaj-style butt of the moment because it’s round and proud of it.”  This statement stuck with me. A “Nicky Minaj-style butt” has always been, and still is, stylish in the black community. Nothing “of the moment” about big butts for us.

  • Agreed. Same reaction regarding “chic”. Nicki Minaj may not be, but it doesn’t mean the body type isn’t.

  • J’ai loupé une case, ou le Pardon my french d’après Fashion week 2014 n’a jamais été publié
    juste pour savoir si je l’ai loupé

  • LES FESSES DE MAMADOU, je trouve cela mignon comme commentaire. C’est vrai que les blacks notamment ont de charmantes courbes. les fesses sont à la mode. Même si je trouve les filles très minces super jolies, malheureusement dans la vraie vie,il faut parfois assumer ses rondeurs. J”ai moi même des fesses rebondies, même si cela ne me plait pas forcément, on doit faire avec sa morphologie!

  • j’aime les fesses rebondies, les pas retouchées, tout simplement le cul méditerranéen ^^

  • My butt is my best asset! And I do look for jeans or pants that makes my butt look good. I grew up in the Caribbean and butts are an important part of our culture. Non existent butt is considered unattractive.

  • I actually don’t care about my butt. I know, that it has the right shape I like (I don’t like that flat ones which looks only like an extension of your back .. Good, roundly butts are really nice :)) and that’s all I need to know :)

  • JustAGirl November, 19 2014, 5:36 / Reply

    Why is JLo holding a cigarette? Who is it that thinks smoking is sexy? Forget butt size. What about being healthy?

  • I cannot believe that people are writing songs about having a fat arse! The Nicki Minaj clip is sexy and the girls are amazing but the Iggy & JLo clip and song are tragic, they don’t even have big bums. I hope they didn’t fart on each other – I thought it was gross and just idiotic. I do love Giselle but she needed to try and at least look focused when she was surfing.

  • Ce texte me rappelle que j’oublie complètement, mais alors complètement, mes fesses.
    Je porte quasiment tout le temps des chemises blanches larges et amples, car je trouve ça joli, donc on ne les vois pas souvent à vrai dire. Même en jupe ou robe je ne regarde pas.
    Donc je n’y réfléchis pas, et ne complexe pas. Et c’est là le point crucial; je les accepte comme une partie de mon corps, tout comme le sont mes mains ou mon nez. Et ça libère drôlement d’accepter son corps comme un ensemble…
    Ps/ Par contre j’aime bien les fesses des autres! Toutes d’ailleurs, heureusement qu’il y a de la diversité.

  • Les clips sont d’une vulgarité sans nom… Montrer des fesses rebondies c’est une chose, mais les mettre en scène de cette façon, c’est scandaleux, comme si le corps d’une femme aux formes épanouies n’était bon qu’à faire l’amour comme une bête (pour rester polie) et à être le signe de la vulgarité.
    Je suis desespérée par le comportement des ambassadrices de la fesse ronde et “un peu molle”.

  • I’m Latina raised in NYC, and my ideal body type has always been an hour glass shape; you know fit but with curves. This means the most important element is a tiny waist and being proportional at the top (breast/shoulders) and the bottom (hip and butt), as well as having a great pair of legs (the shape of your legs are very important in Latin cultures. Growing up if someone told me I had a body like coca cola bottle (the classic one), that was the highest compliment. The worse was to be compared to a flat board. As for the Butt, it has always been an important feature in our culture but not with the exaggeration that is portrayed now. I think the size of it was not that important before, the key factor was for it to be perky and round, and yes with a slight bounce as guys tend to find softness in women sexy. However, having a butt that makes you wonder how you defy gravity and don’t fall backward as is the trend now was not the thing back then, at least not around my circle. I think the ideal before was to be more Jessica Rabbit (not necessarily that she was our reference, but I mention it to help visualize) and to be less Kim Kardashian, that unfortunately is being eroded with this trend. I personally, don’t like the vulgarity of it all.

    As a side note, I think the commonality for all of us: White/ Europeans, latinas, African Americans is the fight to achieve that flat belly and no muphin?tops;))

    Well having said that, I think we should promote for girls/women to like our bodies as they are, instead of going from one exageration after another. I think it’s also important for girls who have a natural sexy body (and don’t act trashy) to not to be typecast as “sluts” just because of the sexiness they exude, specially when it seems society is very accepting and don’t classify as “sluts” girls who act quite trashy and whorish, but who have bodies that no matter how tight the dress is doesn’t exude much “sexiness” per our society standard. It’s not the body or the clothes but the behavior that makes someone a “slut”.

  • Beautiful illustration. They always are, but sometimes I fail to comment. I always enjoy your illustrations.

  • And here’s some French history for you, too, Garance:

    http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Sartje+Baartman

  • I am such a huge fan but I felt the impulse to respond to one little word in your article.

    When you used the word ‘imperfect’ to describe the bigger butts that are being put in the spotlight. I agree that sexualizing may not be the answer, but all bodies get sexualized. So much of that industry is not as romantic and tasteful as we wish, no matter the body type. I like that they are being in put in the spotlight for the reason that it does break the unintentional conversation that theres something wrong with my body in comparison to model bodies.

    I think using perfect and imperfect are words that breed that insecurity in people, myself included.

  • Défendre et assumer son AUTHENTICITE est admirable, peu importe la forme (plate ou rebondie) de l’authenticité. Tenter d’êre “quelqu’un d’autre” est un combat perdu d’avance.

  • I don’t think Garance post mean that but…What are we discussing here on the comments? That the “bigness” or “smallnest” of your butt tells that you are in or out off a fashion trend?! C’mon! In the last issue of Vogue Brazil they put a photo of Carla Bruni – stunning as always, looking kind of f*** you cause I just don’t care – with the subtitle: “Carla Bruni appears older on a fashion show!”. What?! Has everyone became a Benjamin Button? So if you get older you are off the fashion trend? If you have a big butt in USA or some places in Europe you are off a fashion trend? And we should think and talk more carefully about talking about the “I am not sure about the size” of the big butts of the Latinos and Africans. I don’t think it’s cool. And what size-of-the-butt trend and not get older trend is that? I definitely don’t want it! We should be talking about how we are so glad to be women no matter the size of ours butts or if we are getting older… I prefer getting older cause…what is the only alternative? To die young and, to be a trendy dead person, have a tiny butt? I am 32 years old. I hope so much to be lucky enough to get older and older. And about the size of my butt… pff…Fashion exist because of us and NOT the opposite way guys! Happy butts and many years to get older is what I wish to all of us! Love and big hugs!

  • well said:)))

  • *slaps forhead*

    oh god…

    Make the naked butts go away. Butts everywhere!

    Honestly I dont think nicki minaj talking/showing her ass makes anyone with complexes and less insecure. It only adds to the stuff women think they have to have or change about themselves to be sexy and attractive.
    If your skinny, cool. If your super vuluptuous, also cool.
    Please make all the butts go away.

  • salut Garance! Moi j’ai des grosses fesses à la Kim K , et je trouve cela choquant que tu te permettes de dire qu’elles ne sont pas ” hyper chic” : selon quels critères en fait?? Selon les normes de la beauté blanche et bourgeoise, donc selon des critères raciaux et classistes.
    Mes fesses ont la grande classe et sont très très chics, pardon de le dire! Je ne vois pas en quoi des petits culs tout plats le seraient plus… Si ce n’est parce qu’ils correspondent aux culs majoritaires de la classe dominante.
    Par ailleurs, danser avec les fesses, comme le fait Minaj ( parce que J Lo ne sait juste pas booty shaker correctement), en quoi ce serait vulgaire et pas classe?c’est ns qui projetons des choses vulgaires, mais je t’assure que remuer cette partie de ton corps, et en profiter quand elle a autant de classe que celle de Minaj, c’est très agréable et très libérateur! Stop au slut shaming! Cela peut être une façon d’assumer son corps, sa puissance sexuelle, c’est très empowerant!
    Bref, mon cul est chic et quand je twerke j’ai la classe, n’en déplaise à ttes celles qui ont la fesse plate et le bassin coincé…

  • Let’s face it, if you look at it from a distance, it is the competition who is more liked by men. And men are all different. Maybe we should be discussing what a good butt is on a man, to make it a little more interesting. Yes we all want to look good in jeans, and a good butt, whatever it may be is sexy. But really should we divide ourself up in body parts? Harmony is always in the whole, the sum of all parts is more. I don’t care for any butt when the rest is vapid, or not interesting. Being sexy and being a sex object are two different things. It is kind of sad that you need an example of another woman to feel good about yourself and your body. Just move your butt, do something, be really alive and laugh a lot, that is damn sexy. Next year it will something else, and we will have another thing to worry are pretty little brains about.
    Simona
    Lake&Moon

  • Les fesses à la Gisèle m’iraient bien ! Mais je préfère quand même les fesses un peu rebondies aux fesses plates ou tombantes!

  • zwartveke November, 20 2014, 4:48 / Reply

    Pepe Jeans are the best to make up for my flat ass.

  • serioulsy do we have to discuss about silly video of N Minaj or of all women exposing their body as an object ? this is far away from feminism, I can’t.

  • Sunny Side November, 20 2014, 4:57 / Reply

    Happy sont les filles qui ont des fesses comme des pommes ! Et puis il y a les autres, qu’importe la grosseur, ce que je trouve assez terrible c’est “le cul bas” qu’il soit gros ou petit. je suis assez énervée par cet envahissement de critères,voire une forme de dictature esthétique venant des states, qui sont à 80% d’une vulgarité épouvantable.

  • Charikleia November, 20 2014, 6:35 / Reply

    Oh my. All this butt aesthetic gives me the creeps. Nicky Minaj, Iggy Azalea and JLo videos are just tasteless attempts to attract buzz and dripping male saliva. The Kim Kardashian issue just topped it up. I am all in for flaunting what you got, and being confident about your physical appearance, but I fancy there are certain limits and boundaries not to be crossed, at least not as long as you wanna keep it decent. Sexy, but decent. And, it might be old news, but also Rihanna crossed a line in my view with that -barely there- Swarowski dress. Next thing she is going to show the public is a colonoscopy video.

  • Sira, a magazine saying ““Are BUTTS replacing BOOBS?”.
    Seriously? Are we going to stop having boobs now?
    We have to stop objectifying our bodies, this is insane.
    It reminds me, I was in an underwear store in Paris not so long ago, they were selling a “coeur-croisé” type bra (the one that gives you pointy boobs) and two women were making this comment “it’s true, women had pointy boobs in the 50s”… Thank goodness the saleswoman told them that it wasn’t so, that women had all types of boobs, in the 50s as now…
    You can’t adapt the female body to trends. And that’s that.

  • J’ai toujours trouvé mes fesses trop grosses sauf quand j’avais entre 18 et 20 ans et 6 kilos de moins que maintenant et où je les trouvais parfaites.
    Je n’aime pas les fesses inexistantes ou plates, je trouve que ça manque de vie, de sex appeal, de choses à toucher. J’aime les fesses rondes mais pas la culotte de cheval en fait (et mon problème c’est la culotte de cheval mais je n’ai pas envie de m’affamer pour la faire disparaitre). Je trouve les fesses des blacks incroyables.
    Je trouve bien sûr les canons actuels impossible à vivre : ou pas de muscle ou pas de gras, c’est toujours excessif. Les canons années 90 me manquent ! Je ne comprends pas l’obsession à faire disparaitre les corps.

  • Cette tendance booty a certes décomplexé la fesse mais un peu trop, je trouve les clips de JLo et N.Minaj (le dernier plan du clip, le summum) absolument gerbants. Et super énervants en fait. De voir ces nanas là se réduire et réduire l’image de la femme à sa croupe. Je ne vois que ça, je ne comprends pas le message, où veulent elles en venir? A secouer l’arrière train huilé en se mordant la lèvre inférieure? Sans déconner, faut il rire ou pleurer. Au secours non? :)

  • Dear Garance, the topics you choose get better and better. Your style is straight forward, easy and so honest, I love it. I´m Argentinian, There´s an obsession for butts in my country and I have a big and nice one. I go running and work it out.
    Big hugs
    Lupe

  • Big butts, small ones.. it doesn’t matter, as long as you have style, personality and charisma. Personally I find the videos more boring, cliché and filmed in a tacky way than anything else, esp. the JLo/Iggy one. I think women/singers need to present more than dancing gogo-style in underwear to the world. Sexy can be so much more. I remember an old item here about ‘what is sexy?’..

  • francesca November, 22 2014, 3:56 / Reply

    Ok Garance, I love you so much but I won’t talk about my boot…
    I mean, I’m a 31 y-o southern italian girl…you know? Gravity is my enemy. High waisted jeans my allieds.
    And girls… work work work

  • Peut être question d’interprétation (et je ne suis pas non plus fan des fesses à la nicky minaj) mais je ne vois pas en quoi ce n’est pas chic d’avoir des fesses bombées a la J.LO ou N.M…
    Encore une fois je trouve que ça relance l’apologie de la minceur et non de la normalité ni des formes féminines…

  • La quintessence de la fesse exacerbée – style déesse mère des temps préhistoriques + hip hop c’est Laser Major qui le remporte! ( JLo et consort: petites joueuses)

    http://youtu.be/wO89_H7GqaQ

    ( J’ai jamais dis que c’était chic mais ça fait fantasmer les mecs)

  • I unfortunately can’t rave about mine but really, I don’t think about it too much… There are definitely more important things to worry about! xx

  • I confess… every time I buy a pair of jeans (but also pants and skirt) I look at my butt to see if it looks good. That’s the main problem of buying jeans online because I hate when clothes flatten my body.
    I’m quite happy with my butt, I try to exercise to stay in shape. I don’t know who has my ideal butt because I like mine, but the butt of Nicky Minaj and Kim Kardashian is definitely not for me, I prefer Gisele’s!!
    Am I the only who thinks that the one in Chanel ad is not hers? I think that is a pro surfer. And let’s be honest, that ad has a huge use of Photoshop.
    Anyway, I’m fine with mine, that’s the important thing.

  • Mes fesses ont toujours été grosse. Quand jétais jeune, c’était un véritable problème pour moi, car le reste de mon corp est plutôt Skinny. Difficile de m’habiller avec une taille 34 et un c** 40 !! J’évitais de me regarder dans la glace pendant mes années facs…

    Et puis Byonce, Nicky et leurs consoeurs sont arrivées et ont changé ma vie ! Plus de complexe, les grosses fesses sont elles aussi à la mode.

  • Les fesses, les seins, les jambes, super important et je suis pas du tout fan du standard actuel, même Victoria’s secret. J’ai la nostalgie du corps idéal des tops des années 90, Laetitia Casta, Stéphanie Seymour, Helena Christensen, des rondeurs musclées, les affiches d’Aubade de l’époque… Pas fan des silhouettes décharnées actuelles, même pour les jambes j’aime l’arrondi d’un mollet, une cuisse fuselée en rondeur… Du coup je suis ni “team supermodel” ni “team minaj Kardashian”, ni même “team Gisèle”

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