Information Awareness in the Black Community: An Evaluation of the Literature and Social Media Content Related to the Brazilian Butt Lift Procedure

Abstract

This study aimed to synthesize the emerging research evidence of Black women’s experiences with the Brazilian butt lift (BBL) procedure from published articles, social media content related to BBL surgery, and community consumerism behavior related to a personal decision to undergo BBL surgery. The study utilized a mixed-methods design combining a scoping review (Aim 1), content and thematic analysis (Aim 2) and correlational analysis to determine the state of the emerging evidence regarding African American women’s BBL surgery experiences; theory building (Aim 3) through consideration of case study data from social media community groups for BBL surgery. Text mining was utilized for the content analysis and regression analysis for the associations between consumer social identities and their BBL experiences. Only 4.5% of 168 articles for the scoping review provided a clear identification of race and ethnicity and definitions were not concise. There were no articles specific to black women’s experiences with cosmetic procedures and scoping review findings revealed no racial disparities in empirical literature regarding cosmetic and aesthetic literature, especially regarding BBL surgery. The content on TikTok and YouTube indicated that, when considering elective cosmetic procedures, social media might be considered as a health information resource by patients. The findings on the association between social media community, consumerism behavior related to the BBL surgery, suggest social identity oriented personal decisions behind choices to undergo BBL surgery. Social identity combined with social community explained a significant proportion of consumerism behaviors specific to BBL surgery. Black women’s experiences with the BBL procedure are underrepresented in the literature. Social identity and social media community appears to drive BBL surgery choices. Social media is a main source of information for BBL surgery patients. This study’s findings are important for informing the public, social media, and medical professionals on the significance of social identities in consumer health and health information related to BBL surgery