Baby Got Back

Well everyone knows this song by Sir Mixalot. It’s a classic and as soon as the words “Oh..my..God Becky” come on everyone is sure to know the words that come next. Even though this song is catchy and gets your attention, it’s very derogatory and makes you wonder about your expectations as a young black woman in the black community. I struggled this month to figure out what to write about and just thought to ask my female peers about what they think their role is supposed to be as young black women, as well as what have they been judged on. One of my best friends came up with the idea of the black body image in black society. Her exact words were, “I feel stereotyped the most physically as a black woman. I feel like I have to conform into the views of black women or else I’ll be an outcast within my own race. (i.e.: big butt, hour glass frame).” Her words really spoke to me and made me realize that even though I may not be paying attention to how others view me, I am always being judge by my own community. Pop culture and songs like this make our community believe that Black women as a whole all have a role in our society to be “thick.” The lyrics to this song “I like big butts and I cannot lie. You other brothers can't deny. That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face. You get sprung, want to pull up tough. Cause you notice that butt was stuffed,” seem to encourage the idea of being thick and having a coke bottle shape. I feel so uncomfortable within my own body sometimes, because I am not “thick” and don’t have the “coke bottle shape” that our society seems to pressure our women into being like.

I talked to more young women and they all agreed that as black women, we have to look a certain way to please both our black women and our black community. It’s seen as shameful now when a black girl doesn’t have any curves and no butt. So many teenage girls feel less black or less of a woman without having curves. Black guys don’t make it any better by preferring girls with curves over those who aren’t as curvaceous as others. It seems to me that black girls in our communities don’t make it any easier in accepting our bodies. So many of my peers at school talk down to black thinner girls and it seems that within our black community if you are thin than you are looked down upon and are seen as less of being black just because you aren’t curvy. I’ve been called skinny and my friends make me feel as if my body is not normal and I feel like I need to gain wait and put on a few more pounds. I get so consumed in my looks sometimes because I try to fit into this “black barbie doll” type of body image. I am here to say that ladies we are just as beautiful with our without our natural curves. We should just accept our bodies for what they already naturally are like. You don’t need “back” to be beautiful.



-- Jamiah LaShay (Berkeley High School, Age 16)
Jr Correspondent