Can a white girl walk in a black girl’s pants?
By Bill Beene
Of the St. Louis American
Checking out the young ladies who showed up for the Apple Bottoms Model Search last Thursday at Exquisite men’s store in Beverly Hills, I couldn’t help but think about Sara Baartman.
She was the young African woman who some 200 year ago was lured to Europe with the false promise of fame and fortune, by a white man awed by her bulky buttocks.
To her surprise, Baartman landed in Europe renamed The Hottentot Venus and was exhibited nakedly as a freak show. Her life ended in prostitution, destitution and ridicule.
Every black woman (and man!) should read her story.
Of course, times have changed. But many characteristics and traits that our ancestors bestowed upon us – like the broad buttocks of black women – have, of course, remained.
Today, men (and women), white, black, whatever, are still awed the beauty of the black woman.
Brie Johnson, a 25-year-old local white girl and rising comedienne, has come grips with her “black girl’s” bottom. She said it and its appeal to black men are a big part of her comedy routine.
“I know I have one, and everybody in St. Louis who knows me knows I have one. I’ve become known as the butt girl – not just because I have one, but because my jokes are about my butt,” said Johnson, who jokes that because of her sizeable rear end men often ask her if she has a black person in her lineage.
“Well, my last name is Johnson,” she jokes in her punchline.
She was recently interviewed by a local publication about being a white woman with a physical asset believed to be possessed largely by black women.
Last Thursday, among at least 200 black women, Johnson flaunted her perceived “apple bottom” in front of judges in hopes of becoming the clothing line’s first white Apple Bottoms model.
Judges included Yomi Martin, president and CEO of the line founded and owned by rapstar Nelly. The two also head Vokal, the urban men’s line. Judging was rounded out by St. Lunatics Kyjuan and Murphy Lee. The event was hosted by Slim of Loose Canon and comedian Darious Bradford.
During the contest, models had to walk a makeshift catwalk, say why they should be picked and, in some cases, bounce voluptuously.
Aside from being picked as an Apple Bottoms model, Johnson just wanted to get in where she could fit in.
“I don’t care if I win or not, I’m just here to get something out of it, a job or anything – I need money,” said Johnson, who waits tables at Modai in the Loop when she isn’t on stage.
Johnson’s rational is that a white girl with a black girl’s bottom representing the African-American woman-tailored clothesline would attract an additional market.
“My whole thing is, why don’t they corner the (white) market? If they keep picking black models, they’re just going to hit that market,” Johnson reasoned.
Johnson said she appreciates Apple Bottoms jeans and tells her girlfriends they’re for everybody.
“They’re not just for black women – it’s a matter of having curves,” Johnson said. “We (white girls and women) are not all twigs.”
“Ask any girl, and she’ll tell you it’s hard to find a pair of jeans that fit. Some fit your hips, but not your waste and butt. It makes shopping a pain in the a&$.”
Johnson said though she’s white, the black women-inspired jeans fit her perfectly around the waist, hips and butt.
Unlike the inhumane and misogynistic European who shipped Baartman to Europe for his own gain, Nelly says he designed his line to compliment and accommodate the black woman’s unique body.
Still, Apple Bottoms hustled more than $20 million in sales last year and has been accused of making a mockery of women.
On Wednesday, 20-year-old Kendra Christian, who beat Johnson and all the women bobbing for the win, said the contest does no such thing.
“It’s actually helped me,” Christian said. “As a child, I was insecure, walking around with this big butt behind me, and I used to think I was fat. Being in a competition like that makes me embrace my curves.”
Furthermore, the St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley student and waitress said organizers made it clear it wasn’t a “Tipdrill” video model search.
“They didn’t make me to bend over and shake my butt,” she said.
Of white women taking a bite of the competition, she thinks it’s a good thing.
“I think it’s good for them to step up and do what is usually for a certain type of black woman. If you think you got it, why not? For white girls to jump on it, I give them props. I’m like, go ahead.”
For Christian, looking good and having an “apple bottom” is only half of it. She said you have to know how to speak, present yourself and have a passion to model, and not just because you want the money and fame.
Both Christian and Johnson took the competition seriously and prepared for it months before it dropped in on St. Louis.
For now, Johnson will stick to comedy. Meanwhile, Christian is preparing to ship off to the national competition in Vegas on February 21.
