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Tiller Maringa and Tanaka Mahanya
It’s no secret today that big butts and hips are the in-thing.

In the modern world, feminine physique is characterised by a tiny waist, big hips and behinds.

Those who do not fit in the “league” find ways of enhancing their structure to fit the definition of true beauty.

Butt lifting underwear has worked as an alternative, but some ladies want the real thing — implants.

Butt pads come in different widths, lengths and thickness depending on one’s body structure.

They instantly give users fullness they crave and will boost confidence without anyone knowing.

Artificial hips and butts come as skin like pads which can be worn underneath any dress or trousers. Some hip and butt pads are expensive, but they are worth every cent.

Those attached to pads cost US$8 at a certain shop in the CBD, and despite the price, women flock to the shop for new ones every now and then.

You will only realise their structure when you meet them the next day without wearing them.

“I have one which I use for my behind once in a while, especially when I wear my African attire which requires ‘assets’ to fit well,” said Chengetai Beure of Harare in an interview.

Some women have been influenced by popular culture of the bottle-shaped structure like Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, and Nicki Minaj.

These celebrities have both fame and money and some ladies are now imitating them so that they can attract attention and make fame at the same.

But what they fail to understand is that something that fits one’s bottom might not fit the rest of you the same.

They believe a certain type of body structure fits clothes well as compared to some, hence the need to change anatomy.

“Most men have been fooled into believing that some women have certain type of structures, only to realise later that it was all fake, mahips dololo,” said Kindness Varaidzo, a student at the University of Zimbabwe.

Make up artist Sekai Nota said women have different structures, but some were trying other measures to enhance their beauty.

“Some women have wide hips, but their behinds do not match their structure, and there are those with huge backsides, with no hips.

“Then there are those who do not have both, and so they face discrimination and are given nicknames like ‘Wondi’ as in  ‘kuwonda’ which best describe their structures,” said Nota.

Home gate mall attendant Doc Richwell Chingwalo, who sells supplements, believes the reason why women want to change their bodies is because bottle-shaped structures draw men’s attention.

He said women had a tendency of comparing themselves with others.

Clientèle base in Doc Chingwalo’s business has a large proportion of ladies as compared to men, ranging from 20 to 30 per week or more when business is at its peak.

“There is no specific group of customers, all women seek my services, from slay queens, married women and the old,” he said.

“After all, every woman needs to stay fit.

“Some women are brand ambassadors and models, so they try by all means to keep in shape.”

Apart from supplements, there are also butt implants which involve fat transfer and sculptra butt lift. All these increase volume of the hips and butts over weeks and months.

London plastic surgeon Dr Foued Hamza says most patients want fat transferred from the tummy to the hips to create a small waist and thicker hips just like Kim Kardashian and Blac Chyna.

“It is not surprising that almost every lady in the city is bottle-shaped, we are living in the 21st century!” said a make up artist who identified himself as Comrade.

Some women are against hip and butt enlargement as they assume there are side effects and are against deceiving the world.

A vendor identified as Coconut 263 said nowadays women were opting for injections which cost US$150 as they were faster and consistent in hip enlargement compared to pads, which are easy to notice when one is not wearing them.

But the disadvantages of injections become evident when one fails to adhere to the type of food and exercises to be followed, some of which include drinking lots of water and sleeping on your stomach.

That is when situations in which one hip grows bigger than the other or they become jelly like arise.

For others, butt pads provide the necessary cushion for extra comfort.

Examples include people who sit all day, people who use wheelchairs, and people with tailbone pain.