I ran across a picture of Marilyn Monroe today and looking at I was struck by how our standards of beauty can change so drastically. Don't get me wrong, I think she is gorgeous, but there is no denying that if she were a model today she would be "plus size model". Monroe is called by some the "original sex icon" and it's obvious why. She had a stunning face, gorgeous figure, alluring smile, yet by today's standards she would be considered "thick".
I then started thinking about how much what is considered "beautiful" has changed over the course of the centuries. Just in western civilization alone, the last 1000 years has seen such a dramatic change in what was consider beautiful.
1400-1500s
1700s
Early 1800s
Late 1800s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
Today
Notice a shrinking trend? Of both body weight and fabric amount. And then there's the standards from other cultures, practices that seem completely barbaric to us but were/are the standards of beauty in their own culture.
Warning graphic pictures!
Foot Binding
Neck Elongation
Body Mutilation
Obviously the definition of beautiful is not a universal thing. It makes you wonder where standards of beauty come from and how they evolve. Obviously they evolve dramatically, but how their change and progression is influenced is a truly interesting question.
well,natural is beauty.
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