The Evolution of the Ideal Body Type
Pear-Shaped Bodies in the 1700s and 1800s
If you were living in 1700 and 1800s and were of the “perfect modern size”, you’d be out of luck. The women’s figures of those times looked round, pear-shaped, often with large breasts and thick hips. You may think it isn’t beautiful, but the scientists say that such figures represent a symbol of fertility, which was a high value of that time.
The “Roubenesque” Figure in the 1900s
In the times of Roubens, or 1900, curvy and voluptuous types were in vogue. Many women were wearing padded understructures around the lower body, to make their figure look more voluminous.
Venus de Milo , Greek Beauty of 1820s, on the opposite, had small breasts and an elongated body, which was “achieved” by women with the use of corsets holding the waste super tight. As you can imagine, such clothing caused more than one health issue, from poor digestion and fainting to back muscle atrophy and rib cage deformities .
Later, two “ideals” were combined, and in the magazines appeared an image of a woman with voluminous body and a narrow waste.
The Modern Body Image: The Impact of Magazines and Social Media
In the 20th century, there was a shift to an increasingly young and athletic body type, which the researchers described as a ‘women’s ideal’ that was the thinnest in the US history. Between 1901 and 1986, the bust-to-waist ratios among women in the magazines Vogue and Ladies Home Journal decreased by about 60%, according to a 1986 study from om the journal Sex Roles.
We’ve seen the social media promoting an equal size of bust and hips (athletic woman). Then with the growing popularity of Kim Kardashian larger hips became an obsession. Recently everyone has been into the so called “guitar” or “hourglass” shape with its super narrow waste.
Clothes sizes are designed, based on the current “normal” body type stereotypes, which has an additional impact on a woman’s self-image. It may be quite depressing to shop for a set of clothes when only top or bottom fits all the time, or when you need to buy clothes in a large or an extra large section. Tight style of clothing also makes you change it every time you gain or lose a few pounds, as well to be aware of every inch and “fold” of your body. This in itself make you feel inadequate. Many women evaluate themselves through comparison with small sizes, BMI charts, as well as the “perfect” bodies images on the screen.
As you see, first various artists, then magazines, and now social media and clothes industry greatly contributed to the women’s figure ‘standards’. Many women bought and are still buying into it. The slim body image originated a growing pandemic of eating disorders, as well as a host of other health problems (now and in the past). Now it started impacting young people and even children.
Body Image and Children: The Growing Pandemic of Eating Disorders
• According to a research nearly 1/3 of American children aged 5 to 6 choose a thinner body or bigger on when asked to choose the “normal one”, and by the age of 7 one if 4 children gets engaged in some kind of dieting behaviour.
• Twenty-four percent of children 3 to 5 suffer with body image issues .
• Among a sample of 6,411 South Africans 15 and older, 45.3% reported being generally dissatisfied about their body size, according to a study published in the journal BMC Public Health in 2015 .
• Between 1999 and 2006, hospitalizations for eating disorders in the US spiked 119% among children under age 12.
Unfortunately, there the social environment dictates to us one-for-all weight standards, and, sadly, our children get into this trap, too. There is no “ideal weight” number and has never been. People come in all shapes and sizes that are beautiful.
