Body Shape Through the Ages.

By Alex in Everything Else on Apr 17, 2007 at 2:03 am

Surprise! Models and actresses are skinnier than the general public. But how skinny and how do their body shapes change throughout history?

Diet Blog has the timeline:

The 1920s and 1960s both bucked the trend of the curvaceous woman. Ann Bolin, an anthropologist at Elon College suggests that "during periods of liberation, like the 1920s, when women had just gotten the vote, and the 1960s, when the Pill became available, the ideal shape for women deemphasized their reproductive characteristics–the nourishing breasts, the wide, childbearing hips."

Other measures of physical beauty show a very clear trend towards slimness.

* Waist measurements of winners of the Miss America pageant went from just under 26 inches (1920) to around 24 inches (1980s).

* During the period from 1979 to 1988, 69% of Playboy models and 60% of Miss America contestants weighed 15% or more below the expected weight for their age and height category.

Link – Thanks James!

Neat stuff from the NeatoShop:

jami
Apr 17th, 2007 at 2:17 am
the photo you show is of a woman in a corset. she likely suffered from fainting spells because all her reproductive organs (including your treasured reproductive organs) are squashed into less space than nature intended.

please stop trying to oppress women with horrifying beauty ideals.
Tinkergirl
Apr 17th, 2007 at 3:35 am
Not all corsets create fainting spells or organ shifting – some are very good for posture and back pains.

Over and above that, it’s a photograph from the 1900′s linking to a very even article about how body shape perceptions have changed over the decades. It’s not oppressing women in the slightest, indeed it serves to give quite an interesting perspective on how the ‘fashion for bodies’ changes.

Thank you, Neato.
Sid
Apr 17th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Jami, if you don’t like corsets, don’t wear one. Just recognize that a lot of guys think that women look hot in them or in other clothing that accentuates the female shape. So, if you want to compete, you’ll need to step up your game in some other area. If not, you may need to resign yourself to spinsterhood.
A
Apr 17th, 2007 at 11:45 am
If I understand correctly, they aren’t saying one is better than the other, just letting everyone know the history of body shapes.
Robert Aronson
Apr 17th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Man Sid, that was a horribly cruel thing to say. It’s that sort of attitude which pressures women to keep completely screwing themselves over just so shallow guys can get it up. It’s not about being prettier, it’s about being yourself! If a woman never meets a guy who can accept her for who she is and not how well she sexually competes, then she’s a lot better off being an old maid. She may be alone, but at least she didn’t become some guy’s object (a far worse fate).
jenny
Sep 7th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I have always struggled with finding clothes that fit me just right. I don’t know how many times I have gone to the mall only to come home in total frustration, vowing to never shop again. Usually, I try on 50 different things and find something wrong with each one of the items I pick.

For some reason, the clothes always look better on the hanger, only to make me want to scream when I try them on. Completely frustrated after a recent shopping nightmare, I did some research.

I found a website that has really helped. It helped me understand my body type and why certain things look better than others. They used a very creative way to describe my body shape. As it turns out, I am a Sapphire.

If you are like me, and hate shopping because of the frustration involved, check it out. The website is http://www.holobi.com. I am not sure if I will buy any of the clothes from the site because I like trying things on first, but I did buy the holobi product and love it.

Can’t wait to go shopping!!!
Selene
Aug 5th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
uhm doesn’t wearing a corset make any shape woman look hourglass?? cus i heard that was the point of wearing it to get that shape…

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