Women reveal how they’ve overcome body image struggles to love their bums
We meet five brave women of different shapes and sizes who explain how they learned to love their very different bottoms
DOES my bum look big . . . enough?
The trend for larger, rounder bottoms is on the up.
There are even butt-boosting exercise classes and padded leggings to perk up flat posteriors. But should we rear-ly all be aspiring to the same look in the rump stakes?
Claire Dunwell hears from five women who explain how they learned to love their very different bottoms . . .
‘I still feel sexy with my boyish bum’
PERSONAL trainer Pollyanna Hale, 34, loves her boyish bum.
She lives in Chichester, West Sussex, with her husband, James, 39, a property developer, and their daughters Aurora, nine, and six-year-old Bella.
She says: "Women don’t need a big bum or big hips to feel womanly and I’m happy with the way I look.
"I have a boyish figure because my bum is small, but I feel just as sexy as someone who is shapely. Having a small bum means I look better in skinny jeans and short skirts make my legs look longer.
"During my pregnancies my hips widened but my bum stayed small. I was 24 and four months’ pregnant with Aurora when I was in a car accident and broke my femur in three places.
"I had nine hours of surgery and was left with a lump below my left buttock. The scar doesn’t bother me.
"I was 16 when I had the tattoo. It’s an oriental symbol which means desire. I’d photocopied my birth certificate and changed my age to 18. I don’t know how I got away with it.
"I love my tattoo. It sums up my teenage years which were fun and reckless."
‘Mine’s curvy, and I work hard to keep it that way’
PA Maria Redmond, 43, works out five times a week to keep her bum in shape.
The mum of four lives in Northampton with her husband Derek, 53, a motivational speaker.
She says: "Mine is a curvy bum and I work hard at keeping it that way. I pole dance, do yoga as well as weights classes, so I put the time in. I spend around eight hours a week in the gym and I enjoy it.
"I’m only 5ft 3in and my bum is big for my size. I have a personal trainer once a week. I’d considered surgery to make my bum pert, but the personal trainer convinced me I could get the same results in the gym.
"I’ve always been curvy but before the sessions my bum was flat and saggy. Now it’s bigger and more lifted. I feel a lot sexier with a firm, round bum.
"I like my hourglass figure and last year I competed in Miss Swimsuit UK. I was the only woman in her forties.
"It’s great to look and feel good but life is too short to get hung up about it.
"Women who feel confident in themselves look amazing, regardless of their shape."
‘As I’ve grown it just got bigger. It’s the favourite part of my body’
Maritza Ngumba works in customer services.
The 25-year-old lives on the Isle of Dogs, East London.
She says: "Before I hit puberty my bum was much smaller but now it’s bigger I love it just as much. It has grown naturally bigger and I see it as an asset. It’s my favourite part of my body. I wouldn’t change it.
"I’m a typical pear shape with a thin waist, wide hips and a round bottom. I gained almost 2st last year and the weight went on my bottom and chest.
"I’m as happy being a size 12 as I was a size 8. My bum is firm and I often get compliments on my figure, especially when I’m wearing a pencil skirt at work.
"Round bottoms run in my family and my mum and aunties are all the same shape as me.
"It seems everyone is talking about how bigger bottoms and curves are sexy, but there’s beauty in every shape and size.
"Women are under too much pressure to look a certain way because of photos on social media. I’d never aspire to look like a celebrity because I’m happy the way I am."
‘Curvier girls are sexy – and I’m happy to be one of them’
Support worker Kaylie Cooper, 32, lives in Ware, Herts, with husband Ben, 29, a bricklayer.
She loves her peachy bum, and says: "Ben is definitely a bum and legs man – and he’s married the right woman.
"I love my bum and legs the most and, although I’m slim on top, I like that I have a decent booty. I feel great when I wear tight-fitting dresses because I have curves and my bum is muscly.
"I’m on my feet all day, which helps keep my bum in shape. I feel sexy, confident, and I’m happy to show off my bum in a skimpy bikini.
"I’d never be frightened to go on a nudist beach because I’m not shy of my body.
"As a teenager I wasn’t as confident. Growing up in the Nineties was all about having big boobs. I’m a 32B and it’s only as I’ve got older that I’ve learned to love my body the way it is.
"If I lose weight, it’s never from my bottom and when I put on a few pounds it goes to my thighs and stomach. No matter what I do, my bottom stays the same.
"Curvier girls are the sexiest – I’m happy to be one of them."
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‘I think it’s the best part of me – I’m great at twerking’
Comedian Chloe Driver, 33, who lives in Borehamwood, Herts, was bullied as a child because of her curvy bottom.
She says: "My dad is half-Caribbean and I’ve inherited a bum that is round and sticks out. It looks a bit like a shelf, but I love it.
"I got the nickname “Chloe Fat Bum” at school because my skirt rode up at the back. The other girls said I walked like a duck.
"It knocked my confidence, but now I’m older I think it’s the best part of me. I like dancing and I’m great at twerking.
"I’m a 40E chest so having a larger bum and a smaller waist means I’m in proportion. I wear thong bikini bottoms on holiday and I go topless. I’m confident to let it all hang out.
"I’ve learnt to love myself – I wouldn’t be showing off my bum if I felt uncomfortable.
"Men compliment my bum and I wear tight skirts to show it off. I’ve never been with a guy who didn’t like it and my-ex boyfriend loved seeing me in tight jeans.
"We should all love the bum we were born with. Life would be boring if we all looked the same."
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