Over the years the concept of beauty has changed. To a certain extent, current beauty is somewhat questionable due to all the health issues involved in wanting to have the “perfect body”, a stereotype imposed (perhaps) by cinema, television and the media dreamed of by millions of women.
In 1930, a woman with a “perfect body” would not be the target of a modeling agency or production company today.
The rehab site for addiction and eating disorders, Rehabs.com worked with the digital marketing agency Fractl in a project that will make us analyze and review the origins of the Body Mass Index (BMI) , and how the bodies of the “ ideal women” have changed over time. In this analysis, the results show that models and movie stars are increasingly having a lower BMI than the average woman.
BMI measurements don’t distinguish between fat and muscle, so they’re pretty inaccurate in determining whether a person is obese or not, BMI data from the past makes for pretty interesting comparisons. According to the Center for Disease Control, the BMI of the average American woman has increased steadily over the past half century, from 24.9 in 1960 to 26.5 today.
In a similar vein, Rehabs.com found that the difference between “model weights” and the weight of the average woman has grown from 8 percent in 1975 to more than 23 percent today. The bottom line? There is more than one noticeable gap between the bodies of idealized women and ordinary people.
Picking up on this disparity, brands like Dove, Debenham and H&M have made efforts to include various body types in their catalogs and advertisements. There are organizations that have dedicated themselves to educating women and girls about media literacy and how to deal with the sexualized images of women we see on television, billboards and the Internet.
In addition to the work that some brands and certain organizations have done, taking a look at the past we can see that the “ideal” women throughout the last century tell us how arbitrary the vision of the “perfect body” is.
It is surprising how the women considered “sex symbols”, “perfect women”, who marked the stereotype in their respective times, have varied in terms of body shape, height, weight and skin tone; from the hourglass figure of Mae West to the woman with the body of a girl, Kate Moss . Despite the diversity of these icons, they are all white and none could fit into what is considered “plus size or plus – zize”, it is gratifying to see that different body types have been interpreted as sexy, and will probably return to be.
Gibson’s Girl, 1900-1910s
The “Gibson Girl” was the brainchild of cartoonist Charles Dana Gibson , a type of woman who became the epitome of ideal feminine beauty at the turn of the century. Gibson describes the figure as tall with a large bust and wide hips, but a narrow waist. This developed him as part of a composite of young women he had observed. In 1910, he told a reporter for the Sunday Times Magazine: “I will tell you how I got what they have called the ‘Gibson Girl’. I saw her on the street, I saw her in the theatres, I saw her in the churches. I saw her everywhere. parts and do the whole.”
Las Flapper, 1920
The Flappers were known for their short hair, shorter dresses, and “outrageous” behavior, such as smoking public places and vehicles. Flappers rarely wore corsets, downplaying their breasts and waist, and frequently showing off their ankles or knees.
Mae West, 1930
Hollywood star Mae West couldn’t have been more different from the Flappers. She emphasized her waist and hips, flaunting her figure through skintight dresses. West reportedly once said: “Cultivate your curves – they can be dangerous, but they can’t be helped.”
Rita Hayworth, 1940
During World War II, the ideal shifted away from Mae West’s unattainable curves and carefree attitude. Stars like Rita Hayworth had flawless skin and lean, healthy bodies.
Marilyn Monroe, 1950
Sex symbols of the 1950s include Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and the Betty Page , known for their long legs and hourglass-shaped body with prominent bust. Pin-up girls like Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot exuded glamour. “The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up,” Monroe once said. She had a glamorous lifestyle.
Twiggy, 1960
Along with the sexual revolution, the 1960s brought with it a new ideal of beauty – slim and long-legged. High fashion model, Twiggy Lawson became famous for her petite body and her-her “androgynous” appearance. Twiggy stands against the ideal of thinness while acknowledging her own role in perpetuating she.
The 1970s beauty was a tanned woman with long delicate hair, an athletic looking slim toned body with minimal makeup, very natural. Actress Farrah Fawcett was considered one of the most beautiful women of the decade. In the 70s, anorexia nervosa also arose and the increase in women who made an effort and became ill in order to be thin.
Jane Fonda, 1980
As an athletic body type became more popular, “Hardbodies” – The ’80s body was incredibly toned and lean. Women with this phenotype are considered incredibly attractive. Being thin was ideal, being thin and strong was even better. According to Rehabs.com, 60 percent of 1980 Playboy models weighed 15 percent less than the average healthy weight for their size.
Kate Moss, 1990
In the 1990s, models became drastically skinny. The look of “girl body” like that of Kate Moss in her Calvin Klein campaigns in 1993, coined the term “heroin chic” -. Pale skin, angular bone structure, and very thin limbs. Moss once commented that “Nothing tastes as good as feeling skinny.”
Adriana Lima, in the early 2000s
The 2000s brought us the reign of the Victoria’s Secret Angels: tall, slim, long-legged and full-breasted, with flowing hair and toned bodies. Brazilian model Adriana Lima has been a VS angel since 2000.