|
"Baby Got Back" was 1992. The original "Buns of Steel" was around the same time. Even J. Lo's butt is old news.
But someone is craving a big, round bottom these days.
Buttock lifts increased 283 percent from 2000 to 2005, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. There were 542 buttock implant procedures in 2005, the first year the ASPS started keeping track. There are no stats on the more popular fat transplantation procedures, but plastic surgeons report doing between two and three a week. The procedure was included in ABC's "Extreme Makeover," making it even more popular.
Several plastic surgeons say that while the '80s and '90s were about making breasts bigger and perkier, in the 2000s, it's all about the derriere.
"Deep down, women have always wanted this," says Dr. George Lefkovits, a New York plastic surgeon, who pioneered a fat transplantation procedure called the Brazilian Butt Fill five years ago. (Men get the procedure too, but in much smaller numbers.) Lefkovits does at least three a week. "They want to have a more prominent butt. They just never thought it was possible."
___
I WANT A NEW BUTT
Of course, there are still lots of women who worry their butts are too big. But there seems to be a growing consensus that real women have curves.
A flat behind is unattractive, says Kimberly King, 35, of Chicago, who had a Brazilian Butt Fill a year ago. She drew the line at wearing a Pad-A-Panty, a garment that gives the rear end a boost, opting instead to avoid certain fashions.
"A lot of jeans I could not wear," she says. "Straight skirts didn't look good on me because it emphasized how flat my butt was. I tried doing all the squats in the world, all the lunges, but the more I did, the flatter it got."
Fashion is one of the big drivers of this desire to have a bigger butt, says Dr. Anthony Griffin, who pioneered the Brazilian Butt Lift (similar to the Brazilian Butt Fill) a decade ago and is the plastic surgeon for "Extreme Makeover."
"Denim is in, so having a great pair of fitting jeans is very important," he says. "Designers are now designing dresses with an emphasis on the buttocks and curves. It's just following that trend."
___
BEHIND THE CULTURE
Some of this is related to pop culture, says Wendy Lewis, who counsels patients considering cosmetic surgery. We're consumed with looks and see these procedures on television, in magazines and on the Internet. We admire the curves on celebrities.
We are also more influenced by South American and African culture, where big butts are glorified, says Lefkovits, who has done the procedure on a number of African American and Latino women.
"African American and Latino women have an ethnic need to have curvature there," he says. "There is a tremendous amount of emotion involved in the backside of their bodies. They are more embarrassed to have small butts than small busts."
King says a flat behind is "almost unheard of in the African American race," which played into her decision to have the procedure.
"Genetics were not in my favor," she says. "But what God doesn't give you in genetics he provides doctors that can."
Of course, some Asians and whites want bigger behinds too.
"But there's a difference in the aesthetics," says Griffin. "The Caucasians don't want to be too big. The sistas want to be as big as you can get it. Asians are somewhere in between."
___
KICK IN THE PANTS
Fat transplantation has made the road to a bigger bottom much easier.
There is no tugging, pulling, sewing or implanting.
Griffin performs liposuction on one area (usually the waist, hip or stomach) then transfers the fat to the butt. The procedure is outpatient and takes about four hours. There's minimal pain and scarring and recovery is only a few days.
The procedure ranges from $18,000 to $25,000. But that includes liposuction, filling and reshaping the buttocks. After all, no one wants lopsided butt cheeks.
"A lot of people have a square buttocks," says Griffin. "Most of them will have a lot of fat on the back of their hip, which tends to not define the buttocks. The buttocks has to have a definite beginning and a definite end. So it's not so much the volume. It's the shape."
For people like Sophie Taillier, 36, of Westchester, N.Y., the surgery was well worth the price. Her husband bought it for her as a 10th wedding anniversary present three years ago.
"I had no butt, and it had been bothering me for a long time," she says. "I wear bikinis and every time you wear it, it doesn't look good. So this is something I was always dreaming about and saying. 'one day.'"
___
JUNK IN THE TRUNK
King says her scars are so small you can barely see them. She was sitting well three days after the surgery and fully functioning after a week. She says thanks to the Brazilian Butt Fill, her waist is smaller (liposuction) and her butt is bigger.
She relished the fact that none of her clothes would fit over her new booty.
"I have plenty of butt now," she says. "You walk in a room and your clothes just wear well and guys are like 'Omigod.' They definitely did a double take."
Griffins says the butt fill is permanent, so even if someone loses some weight, the new butt should stay.
"It's been more than three years and I am still the same size," says Taillier. "It's amazing.
"I didn't want to be J. Lo.," she says. "But I wanted to have something, so I could wear a skirt, pants, a bathing suit and feel sexy."
___
Download the bootycast: http://asap.ap.org/data/interactives/_lifestyles/podcasts/0112asap_booty3.mp3
___
Megan Scott is an asap reporter.
| 
