“Booty-Be-Gone”
My body and I are having a personal struggle with each other.  I grew up always appreciating the fact that I had a ‘big butt and a smile’.  I might not have had much up top as a member of the A Team, but I knew I was okay since I was packing in the back.
Trips to the dressing room at department stores were always the same.  I’d be excited for a dress I would find and my mother would quickly say, “Michelle, turn around so I can see the back.”  It was a killer every time.  I ended up avoiding jeans all together because they just didn’t fit right.  My derrière had been described as the perfect half of a basketball, easily held with the palm of your hand.
At a friend’s house I recently discovered a magazine called Smooth.  Ladies, this magazine features the large bootylicious views of many women of color.  Most of the pictures were from behind.  It looked like the Hooters (in reverse) for Black men.  I knew that I would never be of the status to ‘grace’ those pages.  However, my romp and I were fine to exist in our own world – until this year and the fitness competitions.
The gluteus maximus is made up of fat.  In the fitness world, this just isn’t acceptable.  If you look at the pictures of tushes of professional athletes (which I hope to be next year), you’ll notice there is no major hump-age (yeah, I made up that word!) -between their rump and their hamstring.  It’s just one straight line.  Click here for a picture.
So I’m bringing sexy back in a whole new way.  I’ll be squatting, lunging, and leg pressing my way to a rock solid posterior.   The days when my female friends and I inquired if it were really possible to make out booties clap will still remain a mystery.  The second glances as I walk past may be decrease in number.   Instead, I can yearn to have a spread or the cover of the latest fitness magazine.   I can hope to inspire women around the world to work out and care for their bodies.  I can show that sacrifices can make a difference.  Hopefully I learn that sometimes you have to give up one thing in order to appreciate the other blessings God wants to place in your life.

M.Y. November 2008