The expedition to attain the ideal female image is something every woman or girl has tried to undertake. From corsets in England to neck rings in Africa to feet wrapping in China, women have been trying for centuries to look the way their culture has deemed ideal. But it was not until the twentieth century that the ideal female body experienced rapid shifts. Until the 1900's though, rubenesque women were the ideal image because their “extra weight and look voluptuous was a sign of good health and wealth” [5].
A period of immense growth, the twentieth century introduced a new fashion fads and film styles that “encouraged a massive '”unveiling”' of the female body, which meant that certain body parts...were bared and displayed in ways they had never been before” [3]. This development induced the American obsession with thinness and slenderness. Women, especially those in high school and college, began to slim down drastically in the hopes of wearing new fashion and becoming popular. In The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls, an example of this is shown through diary entries of a teenager by the name of Yvonne Blue. As a young girl in the Flapper Era, she was exposed to the pressures of ideal beauty through movies and magazines. The summer before her senior year of high school, Yvonne decided to lose over thirty pounds. She meticulously counted calories, sometimes eating no more than fifty calories per day--it should be noted that, for a woman, the lowest intake of calories medically advised is 1200. She continued this all through college, and, wracked by frustrations because of her fluctuating weight, she was never satisfied with her body.
In the 1950's, a resurgence of the 'curvy woman' was brought about by Marilyn Monroe [5]. However, the curvy figures were accompanied with slenderness and can not be compared to the carefree voluptuousness of the 1800's. This period only lasted ten years before the “waif-like look became popularized by the supermodel Twiggy Lawson” [5]. The boyish figure of Twiggy soon disappeared, but the thin ideal remain. In the 1970's, emphasis was on being thin, yet fit, and having curves while at the same time, being toned. There was also a lot of pressure to have large breasts despite the thinspiration that was sweeping the country. The invention of the Wonderbra, the independence that women were gaining, and the fact that "women no longer regarded as child-bearers" all contributed to this radical change [13]. In the 1980's, fitness was reemphasized and women were now expected to be thin and toned, a trend that is still going strong. And in the 1990's, the thighs, sexy boobs, and buttocks took center stage, as “sleek thighs and a sculpted behind [became] objects of desire and symbols of success”[3]. The term “thunder thighs” also came into play and women felt an increase in anxiety about how they looked.
For more information on the history of body image, click on the book shelf button at the top of the page. It will take you to a list of books, both non-fiction and fiction, that explore body image in the past and present.
A period of immense growth, the twentieth century introduced a new fashion fads and film styles that “encouraged a massive '”unveiling”' of the female body, which meant that certain body parts...were bared and displayed in ways they had never been before” [3]. This development induced the American obsession with thinness and slenderness. Women, especially those in high school and college, began to slim down drastically in the hopes of wearing new fashion and becoming popular. In The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls, an example of this is shown through diary entries of a teenager by the name of Yvonne Blue. As a young girl in the Flapper Era, she was exposed to the pressures of ideal beauty through movies and magazines. The summer before her senior year of high school, Yvonne decided to lose over thirty pounds. She meticulously counted calories, sometimes eating no more than fifty calories per day--it should be noted that, for a woman, the lowest intake of calories medically advised is 1200. She continued this all through college, and, wracked by frustrations because of her fluctuating weight, she was never satisfied with her body.
In the 1950's, a resurgence of the 'curvy woman' was brought about by Marilyn Monroe [5]. However, the curvy figures were accompanied with slenderness and can not be compared to the carefree voluptuousness of the 1800's. This period only lasted ten years before the “waif-like look became popularized by the supermodel Twiggy Lawson” [5]. The boyish figure of Twiggy soon disappeared, but the thin ideal remain. In the 1970's, emphasis was on being thin, yet fit, and having curves while at the same time, being toned. There was also a lot of pressure to have large breasts despite the thinspiration that was sweeping the country. The invention of the Wonderbra, the independence that women were gaining, and the fact that "women no longer regarded as child-bearers" all contributed to this radical change [13]. In the 1980's, fitness was reemphasized and women were now expected to be thin and toned, a trend that is still going strong. And in the 1990's, the thighs, sexy boobs, and buttocks took center stage, as “sleek thighs and a sculpted behind [became] objects of desire and symbols of success”[3]. The term “thunder thighs” also came into play and women felt an increase in anxiety about how they looked.
For more information on the history of body image, click on the book shelf button at the top of the page. It will take you to a list of books, both non-fiction and fiction, that explore body image in the past and present.