’Big Butt Ideology’: Digital Gaze and Dangerous Normative Beauty Constructs for African American Women

Quindelda “Q” McElroy (Ph.D. Student), “’Big Butt Ideology’: Digital Gaze and Dangerous Normative Beauty Constructs for African American Women” has been accepted for presentation at the Southern States Communication Association 95th Annual Convention, April 2nd-6th, 2025, in Norfolk, VA.

Abstract: By applying methods of ideological criticism to the Instagram accounts of three of the most influential Black women in Hip Hop – Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion – I have identified the big butt ideology that perpetuates a dangerous standard of beauty and behavior for African-American women. The ideology espouses exaggerated ideals of feminine attractiveness, ostentatious displays of wealth, and hypersexual exhibitionism that can motivate women to seek procedures such as the Brazilian Butt Lift, which has a tragically high mortality rate. The ideology is supported by a broad body of scholarship citing the effects of digital content and influencers on women’s self-identity and body-image beliefs. Research also shows that mass media can affect women’s attitudes and their desire for cosmetic surgery, which some scholars assert is tantamount to coercion. Additionally, this study reframes the definition of the digital gaze, which acts as a co-constructed conduit to transmit the ideology’s visual codes and messages and is a potent instrument of persuasive visual communication within social media. Ultimately, the power of big butt ideology extends beyond figurative concepts – as evidenced by the life-or-death exigence of the growth in potentially deadly BBLs and other butt-augmenting procedures.