Throughout time, women’s body image has been considered controversial to many. In various parts of the world there are different opinions of what the “ideal” woman’s appearance should be. The “ideal” woman in the United States has been changing throughout the past one-hundred years and more than likely will continue to change depending on the media’s influence on the younger generations of women in our society.
At the beginning of the twentieth century the “ideal” woman was referred to as “The Gibson Girl”. The Gibson Girl is a women depicted to be slender and tall with “voluptuous” bust and wide hips. Women that were not naturally “blessed” with such a figure attempted to get this look by wearing corsets to show off their bust and slender waist. Another feature that was viewed as highly sexualized for a Gibson Girl was their ankles. Originally this look was an invention made by an illustrator but many actresses such as Camille Clifford as well as many others brought it to life. This fad lasted from the beginning of the 1900’s to around the ending of World War I where the next idea of an American beauty was introduced. (Pictured Right) Beginning in the 1920’s the “ideal” woman was known as “The Flapper”. This was a product of the “Roaring Twenties” where women were perceived as much more casual than the formal Gibson Girls. This look showed the widespread disagreement of the Prohibition era. The Flapper was a look that was for women who had little regard for the uptight behavioral norms and was more for an immature young woman or young adult. This look consisted of flashing of the ankles, knees, and legs and the dresses were supposed to be loose fitting and were meant to show off a woman’s legs while typically dancing to jazz music. These woman had shorter hair and busts were no longer as attractive so the bras that were worn were meant to flatten the chest of women. Cosmetics became popular during this time as well; women wore lipstick that drew attention to their lips, dark eye make-up, and a lot of blush. Women who had this appearance were deemed desirable and women went to great lengths to achieve this look and as a result women began to diet and exercise. (Pictured Right) With the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930’s, a new look began to arise due to the impact this time had on people. This was known as “Fashion during Wartime”, and it brought a more traditional style back to women’s image. The skirts that women wore once again became longer and clothing that showed a natural waist was in style. The width of women’s shoulder was being emphasized more than before and the clothing was highlighting specific contours of their bodies. When World War II began the women went for looks that were more practical because the use of materials such as silk, nylon, and clothing dye were being demanded during wartime. While the men were away at war, women were instructed to tailor the suits of their men in order to remake them into everyday women’s wear and the women aspired to embrace and emphasize their feminine figures. At this time, the average woman was in reach of having that “celebrity look”. (Pictured Right) In the 1950’s, after the war, the “ideal” body image for women that was prized was a busty women with a voluptuous hourglass figure and two of the most iconic women of this time that portrayed this look perfectly was Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly. Women were expected to never leave the home without looking their best because after the war rationing was no longer necessary so that led women to be more extensive with their clothing options. Having flawless skin was expected as well as taking full advantage of beauty products during this time in order to insure that they never left home without looking their best. Being busty and having a voluptuous hourglass figure was no longer the “ideal” look for women when the 1960’s came around. The new look during this decade was called “Twiggy”. This image of women was completely reversed from the look in the 50’s, this look consisted of women having both male and female characteristics while also being very thin. This look partly resembles the image that was popular in the 20’s, known as “the Flapper”. Twiggy was a major supermodel during this time who only weighed about 112lbs, and had very minimal chest, small , slight frame and short hair giving her that boyish look that was desired by most women. This look deserted the hint of a mature look and rather going for an almost prepubescent appearance. In the late 60’s, a look known as “hippie” became popular among some, where the women had straight, long hair and a more full-figured hourglass look, which was portrayed by many high profile actresses including Jane Fonda. Then in the 1970’s, “thin is in” continued the Twiggy-like idea of thinness which caused many women who were looking to change their appearance to have many health issues, mainly anorexia nervosa. During this decade the singer Karen Carpenter dieted at starvation levels in order to claim this look and eventually lead to claim her life in the early eighties. Layered hair and one-piece swimsuits rose to be seen as a sex symbol at that time due to the actress Farrah Fawcett. Her image consisted of a natural look, wearing little to no make-up and long hair. Fitness was very big in the 1980’s and this was the time that body image was known to be called “Supermodels and Hard bodies”. This time told women that they should be toned but not too muscular, causing many exercise videos to be a widespread trend allowing women an alternative to dieting to get the figure they desire. The media depicted that the “ideal” body image for women to be more slender and taller than in previous decades. In the 80’s, about sixty percent of Playboy magazine consisted of model that weighed fifteen percent less than the healthy average American woman. This decade was the rise for supermodels like the famous Naomi Campbell. Going into the next decade, women were expected to look like Pamela Anderson when she was in the hit television show of the 1990’s, “Baywatch”. Women were expected to look even thinner and maintain that thin look while also having large breasts. Another popular fashion image portrayed in the 90’s was called “heroin chic”. Model Kate Moss, appeared in many Calvin Klein advertisements for the heroin chic look which focused on a bony appearance rather then thinness of the model. In the 2000’s, the media’s depiction of women’s body image became direr and the women being glorified in media were consistently below the average American woman when it came to weight and proportion of these female icons. In this decade the Victoria Secret Angels became what the average American woman desired to look like. These women are tall, thin, and leggy with big breasts and long hair with toned bodies. These women are currently what the average woman aspires to look like, it is the media’s idea of “perfection”. |
Sources
Body Image and BMI:100 years in the US. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2014, from Body Image and BMI website: http://www.rehabs.com/explore/womens-body-image-and-bmi/
In this source, I found a lot of information on the body mass index's of the women through out the decades starting in the early 1900's. All of the different trends that women wanted to experience to fit in were mentioned and what they had to do to achieve this look.
The Ideal Woman Through the Ages: Photos. (2012, December 12). Retrieved November 3, 2014, from Discovery website: http://news.discovery.com/history/art-history/history-beauty-120412.htm
All of the images that are on this site for the most part are from this source. I found this site to be useful and it had a lot of interesting pictures that i felt acturately showed the women of that time.
Body Image and BMI:100 years in the US. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2014, from Body Image and BMI website: http://www.rehabs.com/explore/womens-body-image-and-bmi/
In this source, I found a lot of information on the body mass index's of the women through out the decades starting in the early 1900's. All of the different trends that women wanted to experience to fit in were mentioned and what they had to do to achieve this look.
The Ideal Woman Through the Ages: Photos. (2012, December 12). Retrieved November 3, 2014, from Discovery website: http://news.discovery.com/history/art-history/history-beauty-120412.htm
All of the images that are on this site for the most part are from this source. I found this site to be useful and it had a lot of interesting pictures that i felt acturately showed the women of that time.