This funny little trend was picked up by the French media source Franceinfo in June 2019. In South Africa, in the townships of Cape Town, many members of the biracial population have a rather confusing physical characteristic: a gap where their two front teeth should be. And they love to proudly show it off.
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The 'Cape Flats smile'
As Franceinfo revealed, instead of being a result of poor dental health as some people might think, this obvious and visible characteristic, which is commonly known as the ‘Cape Flats smile’, is in fact the result of a ‘cool’ trend that comes from local tradition and was named after a suburb in Cape Town. It was first started a long time ago by South African slaves, who used to change their physical appearance in this way as a way of identifying their ethnicity.
And many people have since followed suit in order to feel more attractive. 31-year-old Samuel explained:
Two years ago I pulled them out. I did it myself. It is a fashion statement, many of my friends did it before for the same reason. It hurt a lot but I think it looks cool so the pain was definitely worth it. My grandfather was a fisherman and pulled them out because he could whistle much louder without these teeth, which is useful out on the sea.
A gangster initiation challenge or a way to improve your sex life?
But not everyone shares Samuel's opinion, 23- year-old Geraldine stated:
I was twelve when I asked the dentist to remove my four front teeth. I said it was because the cold was hurting me but it was actually so I could be like everyone else. It was the biggest mistake of my life.
And there are several other reasons for this strange trend as well. Some people had their teeth removed because they wanted to join one of the several gangs that exist in the region. However, other people had it done specifically for… kissing. It turns out that some people think the 'passion gap', as some South Africans call it, actually makes your make-out sessions better.
