Almost every woman in today’s society feels like she has to live up to unrealistic modern body standards to fit the perfect image. Body trends throughout history have dramatically changed, targeting a new group of females each time. Along with every new body standard, there’s always a group of women left out who feel like they don’t portray that “perfect” image which results in self consciousness and body shame. In actuality, the majority of women do not fit that ideal image. We’ll be taking a closer look at the different body trends in the past century.
1910s: the first supermodel was credited to Evelyn Nesbit with the perfect round, soft body gathered together in a small waist. Corsets were all the talk in this decade to achieve that tiny waist; the tighter the cinch, the smaller the waist. Women in this era were told to walk with a bend in their back and strived to become the ideal “Gibson Girl”.
1920s: the curves from the last decade are gone and replaced with small bust and hips. The flapper was the ideal image: a petite woman with a flat chest, preferably short as well. One of the most popular actresses of this decade was Mary Pickford, who was barely five feet tall.
1930s-1940s; the waist returns and the “blonde bombshell” is the image to strive for. As the stock market crashed, so did hemlines; silhouette fitted dresses were all the rage and bra sizes continued to enlarge.
1950s; the era of the hourglass – he more curves the better. Stores even sold hip and body padding to round out women’s figures. Advertisements during this decade advised “skinny” women to take weight-gain supplements to fill out their curves. This decade was probably the furthest from today’s society, in which skinny girls are idolized and any sign of fat is shamed.
1960s-1970s; the curves are back out and skinny is in. Now that every woman is striving for this flat stomach image, Weight Watchers make their climb to fame in 1963. The 70s were similar; spandex were embraced and clothes were more revealing.
1980s; the supermodel. Tall, slim figures are ideal. This decade was all about legs and working out, hence the leg warmers and sports bras. Aerobics and jogging were a big hit and muscles are starting to seem more acceptable on women.
Early 2000s; working out became even more popular and women were striving for washboard abs and unrealistic airbrushed tans. Crop tops were in, which also brings pressured to having a toned midriff, a good example of which was Brittany Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards.
2010s-today; big butts, large breasts and a tiny waist. In today’s society we see models with barely any clothing on – Victoria’s Secret advertisements, for example – but when any other woman that’s not a model decides to show off some skin, it’s seen as scandalous or promiscuous. Although expectations have changed throughout the last century, it’s completely unrealistic to expect women to change their bodies to fit in with new body standards. There are always some women left out and usually the ones perceived as “ideal” or “perfect” are in the minority as well as photoshopped, which makes it even more unrealistic to expect average women to pull off this look.
