Coming to Terms with Having a Booty

I grew up in a predominantly white suburb of San Fernando Valley. I currently live in a predominantly white corner of Los Angeles. I have a booty that I did not pay for.

It's taken me a while to come to peace with this fact. While Nicki Minaj, Kim Kardashian, Coco Austin and others have re-revolutionized having a thicker behind, it's not always the easiest thing to live with. Some days I wish I had the long, lithe legs of a Beverly Hills housewife, the tight, pert butt of a sugar baby, the thigh gap (yes, thigh gap) of someone freshly lipo'd and bound. I don't enjoy hearing that I have thick thighs, even if it is a compliment. My body, my feelings. (Although oddly enough I do like thick, muscular thighs on men, so....)

I am aware of my pear-shaped body, and while I love it most days, there are plenty of things that get in the way. Bodacious, juicy things. Some days, they might as well be detachable.

For the record, I do work out and eat well, but allow a 10-15% slack off like most normal individuals should if they desire. If not getting paid/sponsored for it, why be so stringent is all I have to ask? That said, I have come to terms with having a booty. That 10,000 butt implants were performed in the U.S. in 2013 helps, but it's not the sole reason why.

1. I like my booty because it is, in all truth, a ~booty~. Although streamlining with lipo is always an option, no matter what I do, it will always be there. Always.

2. I like my booty because it's my job to make it look good. I can't wear any old jeans or skirt because, as a friend put it lightly while clothes shopping, "it'd be a disservice to smoosh it". So it is my pleasure to make sure it looks its best, whether in yoga pants or a fitted skirt.

3. I like my booty because I am more than my booty. Media has definitely capitalized on the posterior, just like it did with breasts, pectorals, more angular noses, foreheads not moving, etc. I have fun with it, sure, in the right place at the right time (take that how you will). But it is a body part, like any other. In no way is it my brain or my heart, and thankfully, I am valued on account of those far more.

4. Finally, I like my booty simply because it's mine.  I have grown and changed with it, especially when it comes to diet and fitness. It has taken me on 100-mile bicycle rides, 13.1-mile runs, and intense hikes in Yosemite Valley. It has grown and changed with me, plushy in the winter and lifted in the summer. It has become a sexier, more athletic part of me, having learned exercise variations and testing its limit through strength and endurance (sing hallelujah). As much as I'd like to remove it sometimes, I can't - and won't.

To close, here are two of my favorite lower body routines; one standard, one yoga-inspired (click on images to enlarge):