is a Baoulé-language term from

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

meaning "queen of beauty", which refers to women who have plump and curvaceous bodies featuring large buttocks and wide hips. An is characterized by having buttocks that are visibly fuller and plumper compared to the rest of her body, so that her body resembles a distinctive "guitar shape". Ivorian photographer Joana Choumali describes as "beautiful women of impressive dimensions: a face with fine features, large breasts, a well-defined waist and, above all, big buttocks". Since 2011, locally manufactured

mannequin A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off dif ...

s depicting the body shape have become a familiar sight throughout numerous clothing shops in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

, Ivory Coast and they are distinguished from foreign imported mannequins that depict slim women (described as ''Taille Fine'', meaning "thin waist").

Miss Awoulaba

Miss Awoulaba is a

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

that started in Abidjan, Ivory Coast during the early 1980s which was stated to reward "physical harmony and natural charm, with an inclination for women with prominent posteriors" and to showcase "authentic African beauty". Miss Awoulaba was organized as an alternative to Miss Cote d'Ivoire (Miss Ivory Coast), which was accused of favoring Western beauty features. The women of Miss Awoulaba have curvier bodies compared to women of most Western beauty pageants and they are required to wear thick, black hair along with traditional hairstyles and clothing.

Prizes

First Lady Dominique Folloroux-Ouattara of Ivory Coast offered a cash prize of 5.5 million CFA francs to be shared among the top three winners of the 2015 competition and 1.5 million to the top three winners of the 2017 competition. The top winner of the 2019 competition was promised a Citroën C4 vehicle from Al Moustapha Toure, president of the Collective of Economic Operators of Côte d'Ivoire (COECI). Mayor Jean-Marc Yacé of

Cocody Cocody (, ) is a suburb of and one of the 10 urban communes of Ivory Coast, communes of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is upmarket and has an abundance of mansions. Cocody is where most of the wealthy businesspeople, ambassadors, and other affluent peop ...

offered 4 million CFA francs to be divided among the top three winners of the 2019 competition.

Winners

* 1999: Bouah Opportune * 2000: Idah Corneille * 2001: Diaye Judith * 2002: Kouamé Adjoua Félicia * 2007: Dogo Gbaza Roselyne * 2013: Marie Flore Ozoua Ourigbalé * 2014: Doukouré Sagnon Millenne * 2015: Laeticia Ines Kouakou Oussou * 2016: Tatiana Ahoua Beugré * 2017: Lehi Marcelle Okobe * 2018: Stephanie Tapé Lou * 2019: Yomb Josée Carène * 2021: Tatiana Marie Alloua Yankey * 2022: Mafata Bérété * 2023: Aboya Koua Constance * 2024: Kouachi Apo Ruth

Beauty industry

The beauty industry of Ivory Coast provides "Awoulaba" products for women desiring to enlarge their buttocks. Similar products such as creams and pills that are advertised as enhancing the buttocks exist in other West African countries. Also popular are butt augmentation surgeries, as well as padding giving the appearance of larger buttocks. This beauty ideal of a curvier body with larger buttocks has been cited as being a possible factor in the existence of some health risks in West African women such as overweight, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure,

metabolic syndrome Metabolic syndrome is a clustering of at least three of the following five medical conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high serum triglycerides, and low serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Metabolic syndro ...

, and the use of

carcinogenic A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and Biological agent, biologic agent ...

beauty products.

References

{{reflist Culture of Ivory Coast Beauty pageants Female beauty Fat acceptance movement Beauty pageants in Ivory Coast Beauty pageants in Africa Buttocks

Miss Awoulaba

Prizes

Winners

Beauty industry

See also

References