An Ode to Buccal Fat
Softness = Weakness?
TW: Body Dysmorphia, Plastic Surgery, TikTok…
Ah, TikTok. The place where dignity goes to die. (Only partially exaggerating here)
Everyone’s favourite platform is also the instigator of trends- a new one every week it seems- but none so dangerous as its plastic surgery trends. No, I am not joking. TikTok, in my humble opinion, is beginning to glamourise plastic surgery, and this is a pretty dangerous thing.
Now, to make it very clear, I believe that people have the right to do whatever they wish to their own bodies; personally I’m against cosmetic surgery (for myself), but if gal wants that nose job, gal can go get that nose job.
However.
The really scary thing is how people are beginning to treat permanently altering procedures as “day in the life” videos, or “come get my buccal fat removed with me, hehe #thatgirl” Young people, young girls especially, are being taught that hating certain parts of your body and removing them is normal. They are being taught to have new insecurities we wouldn’t have even thought about two years ago, thanks to TikTok trends, and the blatant irresponsibility of celebrities not being transparent about their own surgical procedures. It’s just a teeeeeny bit scary.
So let’s talk Buccal Fat.
I, like the rest of the human population (although maybe not for long with the amount of people getting it removed), have buccal fat. Cherub cheeks, if you will. And I won’t lie, they’re something that I didn’t realise I was supposed to be insecure about until maybe a month ago?? Thank you, TikTok.
Buccal fat is the small pocket of fat which rests behind the muscle in your cheeks, giving you a softer, more rounded face. Recently people have been having a surgical knife slid under the skin, under the muscle, dodging the spiderweb of nerves in this particular area of the face, and scoop out this pocket of fat. All for the affordable price of 7-14K! Absolute bargain.
Why are we so scared of fat?
Great question! (Thank you)
I have literally no idea.
But one thing I am certain of, is that this latest trend is a great example of how our beauty standards are becoming even more extreme- and in a way which directly targets women.
I don’t know if you’ve realised, but a lot of men have these sharp jawlines, and chiselled cheekbones. At least, all the models do. Once upon a time, the beauty standard for women was to be soft and rounded; equally as unachievable for everyone, don’t get me wrong, but femininity has for many years been associated with softness, roundness.
Oh no, is this the part where she talks about feminism again?
Oh yes, dear reader, you bet it is. :)
Maybe I’m being over dramatic about this, but every new body trend seems targeted at women’s natural anatomy. Women come in all beautiful shapes and sizes, yet here we all are trying to get rid of any softness in our thighs, our stomachs, and now our faces. Anybody can choose to look however they like; the issue is how social media creates new insecurities for women and young girls, and they often target things that we can’t control about our bodies.
When women are literally being told their faces are too fat now, just for having a softer, rounded appearance, there’s no wonder that body dysmorphia is running rampant. Cherub cheeks are, just like all curves, beautiful. We can’t call ourselves progressive if we claim to love curves, but then support trends which literally scoop the fat out of your face. Something isn’t quite adding up here.
We’ve swung from Heroin Chic of the 90s to “Slim Thick” of the 10s, supposedly back to heroin chic, and the general trend is: Naturally skinny? Why aren’t you more curvy? Don’t you want to be desirable?… Naturally curvy? Be skinnier! Don’t you want to be more desirable?…
Uh oh.
Why are we changing our bodies, removing our natural softness, forcing ourselves into shapes which swap out every few years? Is it to fit a trend? Or to genuinely love our bodies?
Enter Body Neutrality:
Yay! If you’ve never heard of body neutrality before, I will be doing an in-depth post on it soon, but the basic idea is that you love your body for what it does, rather than what it looks like. I have been retraining my mind to think like this; when I start feeling self-conscious about the way I look in the mirror, I remind myself of how wonderful my body is, how it functions, how grateful I am for it.
Last term I injured my knee pretty badly, and I couldn’t walk on it without a lot of pain. Hobbling around on crutches, it was literally the worst way to begin life in a completely new city, surrounded by people I didn’t know super well. Now that it’s healing up, and I can walk again, I find myself so incredibly grateful for my body’s ability to walk. Every time I step outside I catch myself appreciating my body more and more.
However your body may function, and maybe that’s not quite how you wish it would, it is still capable of some pretty amazing feats. Breathing, healing, existing. The mindset shift from valuing our bodies on how we make them look, to how they provide for us is pretty earth-shattering. (I’m gagging as I typed that but there’s no other way to explain it, sorry.)
So… Softness = Weakness?
Taking pride in our bodies is powerful. Especially for women, who are exploited for manufactured insecurities, loving our bodies for what they are is potentially the greatest weapon we can have against the media. So no, softness does not equal weakness, or ugliness, or whatever the TikTok algorithm likes to bombard you with. Care for and love your body, in whichever way empowers you, and for heaven’s sake embrace that buccal fat!!!
Another Note:
Now, as a white, straight-size woman, with an inability to shut up about anything, I am aware of how my voice on this topic isn’t exactly the most important one to listen to. I do think every person has something important to say; we all have a body, and a different relationship with it, and therefore we all have something to add to the conversation. However, I believe it’s extremely important to be listening especially attentively to any plus-size, curvy women, who speak up on issues like this. So please, let’s get a good conversation going, led by those we should be listening to.
Amenie :)