Slim
Thick
The United Curves of America

How A Stubborn Counterculture Finally “Took Over” The Narrative


赵 旸 (Zhao Yang) | Dec 2021


Made with a thick heart and a toned attitude
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This is a data story of my curious probe into the American obsession with the Slim Thick body. I set out to trace the history of female body idealization in America and the origin of the Slim Thick body — a voluptuous body form originally celebrated in the counterculture, particularly among women of color. It was eventually transformed and popularized by the Kardashians and their replicas, amplified by social media, and often achieved through a type of plastic surgery called Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL).


I traversed back seven decades of visuals and vocals and teased out mentions of female body measurements celebrated in the mainstream media and alternatively and put them side by side for comparison. Let's take a look at how the counterculture dodged decades of pendulum swings and mutated into the ideal body type of our time.

1950s Hour Glass

36-24-34

(Recorded measurement of Marilyn Monroe)

Playboy Poster

Marilyn Monroe for Playboy (1953)

Following postwar shake-ups and the invention of Bikini, Playboy was born and so was its indoctrination of the ideal female body.

1960s Androgyny

30-23-32

(Recorded measurement of Twiggy)

Twiggy Poster

Twiggy @Posterazzi (1968)

The swinging 60s ironed down the curves, dragging along a girlish trimmed line.

1970s Disco Diva

34-24-34

(Estimated measurement of Elsa Peretti)

Elsa Bunny Photo

Elsa Peretti @Helmut Newton (1975)

Slenderness persisted with more skin for show at the 70s disco ballrooms.

1980s Fitness Queen

36-25-35

(Reported measurement of Jane Fonda)

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda @Getty Images (1982)

Fitness craze and glorified calorie burns of the 80s brought back some angularized curves.

1990s Heroine Chic

32-24-34

(Recorded measurement of Kate Moss)

Kate Moss

Kate Moss @Corinne Day (1995)

Pendulum swung back to Herine Chic
in the mids of 90s grunge.

2000s Pelvic Clique

34-25-35

(Reported measurement of Paris Hilton)

Paris Hilton burger gif

Paris Hilton in Carl's Jr. Ads (2005)

Protruding hip bones, toned abs and thigh gaps, the manicured millennial curve (or the lack of it) set the stage for Slim Thick.

2010s Slim Thick

38-26-41

(Reported measurement of Kim Kardashian)

Artwork by @FOXADHD

Artwork by @FOXADHD (2014)

“...hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass...the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy...

The person closet to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian,

who as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes. Everyone else is struggling.”


Bossypants, Tina Fay

You Upset Me Baby

36-28-44

(Mentioned in lyrics)

BB King Album Cover

B.B. King Album Cover (1954)

“ She's 36 in the bust
28 in the waist
44 in the hips
she got real crazy legs ”

39-21-46

39-21-46

(Mentioned in title and lyrics)

The Showmen

The Showmen Portrait (1966)

“ You, with your
39-21-46 shape
Yes
you got me going
ape-ity-ape over you ”

Switchboard Susan

38-27-38

(Mentioned in lyrics)

Nick Lowe Album Cover

Nick Lowe Album Cover (1978)

“ Hey babe
you're number's great
38-27-38
Oh you bring a smile
to my dial
Oh you're great”

Bad Boy Boogie

38-28-38

(Mentioned in lyrics)

Mötley Crüe Album Cover

Mötley Crüe Album Cover (1987)

“ We're innocent in every way
Like apple pie
and Chevrolet
Sweeter pies
with different shapes
38, 28, 38 ”

Bonita Applebum

38-24-37

(Mentioned in lyrics)

Bonita Applebum Cover

Bonita Applebum Inspired Artwork @Adot72 (1990)

“ 38-24-37
(mmm, mmm, mmm)
You and me, hun
we're a match
made in heaven ”

Tush

40(36D)-36

(Mentioned in lyrics)

Ghostface Killah & Missy Elliott Music Video

Ghostface Killah feat. Missy Elliott Music Video (2004)

“ You got a lot of nerve
to want to serve my curves
My 36D, 36 hips
The way I shoot the gift
I swallow coke bottles ”

Slim Thick

36-24-40

(Mentioned in lyrics)

Slim Thick Cover

Fabolous Album Cover (2013)

“ She said 'I never seen
you looking with
your peaking ass
34, 24, 36
Finally got a selfie
after taking thirty pics
36, 24, 40 ”

It is no coincidence that five out of the seven songs quoted above are by Black musicians. As noted by numerous cultural critics, a counterculture that had been marginalized for over half a century only took the center stage when white women adopted it. Did the counterculture take over the narrative? Or the narrative seized it for its own capitalist exploitation?

Under the disguise of a seemingly more diverse body representation, lies the ancient promise that the male gaze comes with rewards — for all parties involved. I argue that Slim Thick is merely another well oiled machine that preys on women's insecurity. It continues to induce desire to be desired through algorithmic reinforcement of social media, with an infinite supply of "gazees" off the plastic surgery pipeline.

Next, with the aid of both qualitative and quantitative data, I put together key moments of the reign of the Kardashians, social media and plastic surgery and examine how they have collectively shaped and benefited from the curves of our time.

empty text for space

2007

BBLs Not Yet A Thing

4k butt lift or augmentations were performed annually, 1/88th of total breast augumentations performed.

2010

2012

2013

BBL Was Introduced

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) started publishing stats on BBL. 9,993 BBLs were performed that year.

2014

2015

Butt Augmentations on The Rise

ASPS reported that some type of butt procedure was performed every 30 minutes globally.

2017

2019

17 Teens

ASPS started publishing stats on BBL performed on teenagers. 17 procedures were recorded in the same year.

2020

2nd Fastest Growing Procedure

Butt plastic surgeries grew by 589% since 2012, with 26k procedures performed annually.

2021

Let's Put Two
and Two Together.



Final project "Illusions" of the Data Vis & Info Aesthetics class at Parsons School of Design | Fall 2021 | LinkedIn IconsocialGithub Icon