Cellulite is Sexy

Cellulite is sexy. Not an unsightly annoyance to be overlooked,  but as much a defining, inherently feminine attribute as breasts, or the curve of a hip, or soft skin. But more on that later.  

 First of all, to be clear; I occupy a space in the same world as you do. I feel the weight of the same external measures of sexiness, and am well aware of the taut ideal to which I am expected to compare.  I haven’t always felt this way, and though I came up with my little theory quite a while ago I still chide myself from time to time to keep it in mind. I’m blessed with a little bit of modest dimple-age, nothing that I’ve ever been concerned about but enough to prompt second glances at my backside (my own), and to ensure that my hem hits low enough on my leg to keep my little lady dimples a secret from unknowing eyes.

The seed of this idea sprang up in my mind one day when, exiting the house in shorts that left everything out in the open, I made a comment to my boyfriend about the visibility of my…ripples (because cottage cheese is just a hideous term). He responded that it, my cellulite, was cute, and I started thinking about that. Why isn’t cellulite cute? Dimples on faces are cute. We’ve all read in Cosmo the assurances that men ‘won’t even see’ your ‘problem’ areas, that they’ll overlook what you deem as glaring flaws as they take in the positive attributes that make you a woman. But why isn’t cellulite cute? Why can’t cellulite be sexy?

The thing is, I’m of the (pretty incontrovertible, I think) opinion that what straight people find attractive in their mates/ objects of desire are exactly the traits that they do not have. I am drawn to muscle, bulk, dark skin, deep voices… let’s not let me get ahead of myself. Men like curves, small waists, breasts, hips, high voices, and soft skin. In fact, it is the difference in the quality of our skin, at the cellular level, that is responsible for the presence of cellulite on more than 95% of the female population, and less than 5% of the male. Our lower dermis layers have a structure that’s composed of parallel fibres, while mens’ are cross hatched in appearance. This results in the soft texture of ours and the rougher, thicker texture of theirs, and the condition of cellulite that we have been told so many times is an undesirable trait to be dieted/ exercised/ treated away. In fact, cellulite is as much a part of the natural female form  as having breasts is, and on most bodies it cannot be diminished with even the most extreme of efforts. Nor should it be. If we shifted the lens with which we looked at it, we would rightfully view cellulite as just another beautiful part of the distinctive composition of the female body.

So, to me, cellulite is sexy. Like finding emaciated bodies appealing, the tendency to view cellulite as an ugly thing is to me an unnatural one that’s shaped by our socialization. That’s what I tell myself when I find my eyes caught on mine, and I think that if more people told themselves the same it could easily shift from what seems a crazy proposition to a normalized one.