BBL, Nicole Garibaldi

with their peers. Throughout their teenage years, adolescents go through so many developmental stages and unique experiences, especially during their time in high school. This is the time when they gain more independence and work to try to “find themselves”. Being labelled as basic to a teen may be a much harder blow than we (as adults) may realize. I find that the importance for adults, especially teachers, to be more attuned to the culture of a high school and the internal struggles of students, is vital and something I will be especially careful to consider as I progress through my career.

Academic Reference

Bucholtz, M. (2010). White Kids: Language, Race, and Styles of Youth Identity. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.ca/books?id=mtqrQIzIM4wC

Non-Academic Reference

Schroeder, S. (2019). Next Level Basic: The Definitive Basic Bitch Handbook. Gallery Books.

BBL

Nicole Garibaldi

‘BBL’ is an acronym for the world's most dangerous, yet most popular cosmetic procedure in the twenty-first century, which is the ‘Brazilian Butt lift”. The Brazilian Butt lift is a procedure where surgeons will use liposuction to retrieve all the stomach fat from a patient, and then proceed to use that fat towards enlarging the patient’s buttock. (Segen's Medical Dictionary, 2011).

Brazilian But lifts are well known throughout the world, especially on social media outlets. Society idolizes the ‘perfect body type’ which is a a super small waist, a flat stomach along with a large butt. The pressure of comparison and unrealistic body standards which the media sets for adolescents contribute to the bad mental health that adolescents go through. Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Cardi B, etc, set false body standards for young adolescents. Celebrities and Instagram influencers preach this idea of looking fake. This includes wearing heavy makeup to plastic surgery to keep this certain image. To further expand, influencers illuminate the idea of having a perfect perky butt along with a perfect chest and super flat stomach. Not only is the procedure famous on Instagram, but the ‘BBL’ is also popular on TikTok, which alone the hashtag #BBL has over 7 billion views. This growing phenomenon on TikTok encourages young people to undergo dangerous procedures just to fit into society and to be the “It girl” on social networking apps. The term ‘BBL’ helps us understand the experiences that adolescents go through just to keep up with being ‘perfect’ in society. This justifies the claim that societal pressures severely impact adolescents’ mental health. This ideal perfect body goes against individuals' genetics and a healthy relationship with food. Which results in depriving their body or exceeding the usage of food to meet the criteria of a perfect body. This mentality can lead to eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. The ideology of starving oneself gives false hope to adolescents' motives to look like society’s perception of an ‘Instagram model’ or even to become ‘TikTok’ famous.