Bootymania is changing the shape of fashion
Slender women snap up ‘sexy’ instant curves as Beyoncé-inspired craze hits Joburg
FIFTEEN years ago, US singer and songwriter Beyoncé Knowles and her fellow Destiny’s Child band members made bootylicious the ultimate in sexy.
As woman fans shook “what their mamas gave them”, it placed a renewed spotlight on a woman’s derriere as the ultimate in sexy.
This week rumours swirled that Beyoncé would be writing and starring in a biopic about Sarah Baartman, the Khoikhoi woman taken to Europe in 1810 and paraded in “freak” shows as the “Hottentot Venus”.
It was a dark episode in history and an injury to the dignity of Baartman, who died in Europe.
Beyoncé’s movie plans have left a sour taste in the mouths of many South Africans.
Chief Jean Burgess of the Ghonaqua First Peoples has been widely quoted by the media this week as saying Beyoncé would be unworthy to play the role or to tell Baartman’s story.
But even as Beyoncé’s intentions turn the spotlight on the harsh facts of Baartman’s life story, the modern craze for huge buttocks continues to filter on to the streets of Joburg.
A growing number of women want to enlarge their buttocks and one of the most popular ways of achieving this is by wearing padded tights and panties.
The undergarments are supposed to enhance hips and buttocks and deliver a voluptuous look.
More and more women are buying readymade buttocks. The tights and garments sell for between R45 and R150 at stores across the city.
Abera Geremso, of Choice Fashion on Pritchard Street, said his store had seen a significant number of sales in the last few months.
“Most of our clients are slender woman. They are not shy about it. All they want is that extra lift.”
Geremso said most of the the tights and panties were imported from China, but the store also had South African suppliers.
Xolile Skhakane, a shop assistant, said she had been tempted to buy the undergarments. “I’d also like to have a big bum. I’ve seen how it fits perfectly when someone wears it. It’s sexy.”
Along Jeppe Street in downtown Joburg, many stores are overflowing with mannequins fitted with padded tights and panties.
Passer-by Thulani Ngwenya said the trend infuriated him because he thought the padding made women “look cheap”.
He said: “I love my lady the way she is and feel that she should appreciate how she was created and not rush to this madness.
“It’s all fake and deceiving. Imagine dating a woman and squeezing her buttocks, only to discover that it’s not the actual size and that it’s fake.
“I can’t be associated with that.”
Another passer-by, Masechaba Dikotope, said she accepted that artificial items such as eyelashes, hair extensions and nails were being sold everywhere, but padding for buttocks “is pushing it too far”.
“I wouldn’t want to raise expectations with something unreal. I love my buttocks just the way they are.”
Dikotope said if a movie were made about the life of Baartman, it would deter the padding trend as people would understand the hurt and embarrassment Baartman suffered.
Meanwhile, Beyoncé’s representative has quashed rumours that she will be playing Baartman, saying she is not connected to such a project.