Smoke and Mirrors: Uncovering What's Behind the Behinds

So while some us are squatting and lunging away, others are paying their money and buying booty. I can't hate on them for purchasing a perkier posterior but I must admit that these fake fatties create some unreasonable expectations for us genuine girls.

Now, I love me some Pink Friday and Keeping up with the Kardashians, however, the booties of these bootylicious babes are most definitely questionable.

Check out some before and after pictures of these desirable derrières.

Kim Kardashian - Before and After

Nicki Minaj- Before and After

I'm sure you remember that at some point not too long ago, women were asking "Do these jeans make my butt look big?" They were asking with the hope that the response would be "No, your butt looks perfect!" For many women and for a very long time, having a big butt was synonymous with being overweight and unattractive. However, things have changed and it's wonderful that curves are being embraced and celebrated. Surely, it's great that more women can fit into mass media’s definition of beauty. But then again, no matter how much society’s standards of beauty widen, there will always be those who in spite of everything do not measure up. After all, perfection is unachievable. When one undergoes plastic surgery to be more “beautiful” is it problematic, acceptable or immaterial?

Should it be an issue, when women cannot find contentment with our bodies and ourselves in its natural form? Is there a problem when women of all ages are trying desperately to enhance, modify and transform themselves to be more attractive? When women (in large numbers) feel the need to risk their health by getting butt implants and butt injections, should we worry or question it? Butt implants and butt lifts are the relatively new mainstream beauty phenomenon, but really this trend is simply a new symptom of an ongoing terminal illness. The illness is unhealthy body images and low self-esteem amongst too many women in today’s society. At what point, do we stop following fads and accept our bodies as is? It's most definitely a difficult feat with the constant bombardment of media images communicating what we should aspire to look like.

Personally, I struggle daily with feelings of inadequacy. I’m constantly looking in the mirror and considering breast implants, wondering how many squats and lunges it will take to get my butt the way I want it, critiquing extra pounds, using creams to get rid of imperfections and scars, etc. The crazy thing is I consider myself beautiful (inside and out) but I'm never content with who I am, what I look like or what I’m doing. I’m always striving for perfection. Is dissatisfaction a part of the human condition? Is my lack of contentment exacerbated by media and societal pressures?

Feel free to comment.