Snatch Me Up: A Critical Feminist Discourse Analysis on Black Womens Motivations for Undergoing Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery

The present study performed a critical feminist discourse analysis (CFDA) on narrative-style YouTube videos created by Black women while on their Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) surgery journeys. Specifically, this study aimed to answer the main research question: What are Black womens motivations for undergoing surgery? Additionally, it takes interest in examining the ways undergoing BBL surgery has impacted individual Black womens mental health and wellness. Upon coding for the discursive objects motivations and mental health impacts, the following discourses and counter discourses emerged and were subsequently analyzed using a critical Black feminist theoretical framework: <em>doing it for me</em> empowerment discourse versus <em>self-preservation</em> counterdiscourse, postop satisfaction discourse versus postop regret discourse, <em>mental obstacle</em> discourse versus <em>psychological resilience</em> counterdiscourse and support system discourse. Conclusively, this study suggests that Black womens decision-making and motivations for choosing BBL surgery is a topic of complexity and intricacies which suggest a need for further academic research and analysis.