THE

EVOLUTION OF THE
IDEAL FEMALE BODY IMAGE
1900-2014
Danielle Muntyan
THE
EVOLUTION OF THE
IDEAL FEMALE BODY IMAGE
1900-2014
Danielle Muntyan
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THE EARLY 1900S, AND THE PREVIOUS DECADES,
HELD AN ALMOST UNKNOWN IDEAL BODY IMAGE IN
COMPARISON TO PRESENT DAY.
THIS ERA WAS KNOWN FOR THE IDEAL REPRESENTING
THE NATURAL BEAUTY, ECHOING FREEDOM AND
CELEBRATION OF EXPRESSION. CURVACEOUS, TALL
FEMALES WITH SOFT LINES, CONTOURS AND
VOLUPTUOUS BREASTS WERE SEEN AS THE IDEAL
BEAUTY OF THE TIME. CURVES MEANT WEALTH,
SOCIAL STATUS, CLASS AND POWER. BEING WELL FED
AND WELL DRESSED WERE SIGNIFIERS OF DOING WELL
IN LIFE AND CELEBRATING GOOD TASTE.
IN THE 1910S THE CORSETRY TREND WHICH WAS
PROMINENT THROUGH EDWARDIAN AND VICTORIAN
TIMES CAME BACK INTO FASHION ALLOWING FEMALES
TO TAKE ON AN HOURGLASS FIGURE.
IT WAS COMMON FOR THESE TO BE MADE FROM WHALE
BONE, AND BE FITTED SO TIGHT, OVERTIME WEARING
THE CORSET ITSELF COULD CAUSE INTERNAL DAMAGE
AND BREATHING PROBLEMS.
IT WAS AT THIS POINT IN TIME WHERE WOMEN BEGAN
TO SUFFER TO BECOME THE PERFECT SHAPE, SIZE
AND WEIGHT. WOMEN WERE BEING EXPOSED TO MORE
CULTURES, FASHIONS, MEDIA AND ADVERTISING THAN
EVER BEFORE, SUBSEQUENTLY ALLOWING FOR A
PREDETERMINED PRECONCEPTION OF WHAT IS AND
ISNT THE IDEAL BODY IMAGE.
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THE ROARING TWENTIES SAW A DRAMATIC
CHANGE IN THE IDEAL BODY IMAGE, WHICH
CELEBRATED LOOSE FITTING CLOTHES DRAPED
OVER A BOYISH FRAME.
COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS OF CORSETRY
AND VOLUPTUOUS BREASTS, THE 20S
BOASTED BARE ARMS, MINIMAL BREASTS AND
SHORT HAIR, REPRESENTED THE FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION.
THERE WAS A GREAT SURGE OF ANDROGYNOUS
YOUTH AND GENDER BLENDING THROUGH
FASHION AND PERSONAL INTERPRETATION.
THE 20S WERE KNOWN FOR THE FLAPPERS AND
THEIR ENVIED STYLE, TASTE AND CLASS.
DRESSES WERE BEADED TO ADD WEIGHT AND
MOVEMENT TO THE FABRIC. SIDE SLITS, LOW
WAIST LINES AND DARING CUTS, ALLOWED
FOR FLASHING ANKLES, KNEES AND
ACCENTUATED LEGS, HINTING AT SEXUALITY.
THIS FREEWHEELING LIFESTYLE CAME TO AN
ABRUPT END WITH THE ONSET OF THE GREAT
DEPRESSION IN THE EARLY 1930S.
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THE 1930S SAW BOTH THE GREAT DEPRESSION
AND THE ONSET OF WWII. WITHOUT MOST NOT
REALISING AT THE TIME, THE FASHIONS AND
BODILY CHANGES WERE INFLUENCED BY THESE
SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND POLITICAL CHANGES.
THE ERA ALLOWED CURVES TO NATURALLY COME
BACK INTO FASHION, AND STYE BECAME MORE
TRADITIONAL.
SWIMWEAR CAME TO A PEAK AT WOMEN BECAME
MUCH MORE CONFIDENT IN THEMSELVES.
HEMLINES DROPPED ADDING FEMININITY TO
OUTFITS, WHILST FLORALS AND COLOUR WERE
USED TO DEFINE MEN FROM WOMEN. SKIRTS
BECAME LONGER SHOWING AND HIGHLIGHTING
A NATURAL WASITLINE.
THE CELEBRITY IDEAL IN THIS ERA WAS
HARD TO REACH DUE TO AN AVERAGE US BMI
OF 23.6.
CELEBRITIES WOMEN ENVIED AND ASPIRED TO
LOOK LIKE WERE BARBARA STANSWICK WITH A
BMI OF 18.5, AND LENA HORNE WITH A BMI
OF 20.3.
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THE 40S ALLOWED WOMEN TO BECOME
SEXUALISED AND IN FULL GLORY. THE IDEAL
BODY IMAGE THROUGHOUT THE DECADE WAS
SEEN AS SEXY, CURVY, LARGE BREASTED,
WITH A FULL FIGURED, HOURGLASS SHAPE.
PIN-UP GIRLS AND PLAYBOY WERE SEEN, PRO-
MOTED AND TALKED ABOUT EVERYWHERE
ADDING A SENSE OF PERFECTION TO THE
IDEAL BODY IMAGE WHICH MOST ASPIRED TO
LOOK LIKE, OR AS A MALE, BE WITH.
NEWLY INTRODUCED BEAUTY PRODUCTS SUCH
AS MAX FACTOR PANCAKE FOUNDATION,
LIQUID SILK STOCKINGS AND PILLAR-BOX
RED LIPSTICK, ADDING A FLIRTACIOUS, AND
SEXY VIBE TO THE ERA. ALL OF THESE
PRODUCTS ARE SEEN IN PRESENT DAY TO DAY
LIFE, INTERNATIONAL BEAUTY TRENDS AND
FASHION MAGAZINES.
WOMEN OFTEN ASPIRED AND WORKED TOWARDS
LOOKING LIKE MARILYN MONROE AND GRACE
KELLY. BOTH OF THESE WERE SEEN AS THE
BEAUTY IDEALS OF THE DECADE DUE TO THE
INCREASED POPULARITY OF HOLLYWOOD AND
ENTICING VISAGE.
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THE 50S EXAGGERATED THE 1940S IDEAL
FEMALE IDEAL WITH AN OVER EMPHASISED
WAIST, PERFECT HAIR AND FLAWLESS
MAKE-UP.
THE GLAMOUROUS IDEAL YET AGAIN STEMMED
FROM FAMOUS HOLLYWOOD ICONS AND FILM
STARS SUCH AS PETITIE AUDREY HEPBURN,
SOPHIA LOREN AND MARILYN MONROE, WHOSE
BMI THROUGHOUT THE DECADE AVERAGED AT
A LOW 20, WITH THE AVERAGE BEING 23.6.
THE 50S SAW THE BEGINNING OF MAJOR
BODY INSECURITIES, IN REGARDS TO
COMPARING ONESELF TO THE IDEAL AT THE
TIME.
THE PRESSURE TO LIVE UP TO THIS IDEAL
WERE TOUGH AND DEMANDING, COMPARING
THE 50S TO THE PRESENT DAY IDEAL BODY
IMAGE. ICONS AT THE TIME WERE THAT
SUCH AS SHIRLEY MACLAINE WHO HAD A
LOW BMI OF 18.8, AND ELIZABETH TAYLOR
WHOSE BMI WAS 20.5.
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THE 1960S WAS NICKNAMED THE SWINGING SIXTIES AND
THE HEIGHT OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION, REFLECTING
THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF FASHIONS AND THE IDEALISED
50S BODY IMAGE.
THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE 50S AND 60S IN TERMS OF
BODY SIZE AND IMAGE IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE
BIGGEST CHANGES IN HISTORY REGARDING THE EVER-
CHANGING IDEAL.
FASHION, MUSIC, ART AND THE SURROUNDING
SOCIOCULTURAL ISSUES OF THE ERA, CHANGED THE SHAPE
OF THE DECADE.
RATHER THAN HIGH-END GLAMOUR AND CURVES, A SKINNY,
PREPUBESCENT LOOK TOOK OVER THE HYPE SURROUNDING
BODY IMAGE. THE IDEAL WAS VERY SLIGHT, SLIM FRAMED,
PETITE AND BOYISH, OFTEN WITH SHORT PIXIE-CROP HAIR
AND LAVISH EYE MAKE-UP EXPRESSING PERSONALITY AND
STYLE.
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 20S WOMEN AND MODELS
WANTED TO BECOME SLIM.
TWIGGY HAS BEEN NOTED AS THE STEROTYPICAL IDEAL OF
THE 60S IN TERMS OF BOTH FASHION AND BODY IMAGE.
THE MODEL WHOSE WEIGHT AVERAGED AT 112LBS, HAD A
DANGEROUSLY LOW BMI OF 15, ALMOST INVISIBLE BREASTS,
SLIGHT FRAME, SHORT HAIR AND A FRESH, BOYISH CHARM.
THE AVERAGE US BMI HAD RISEN FROM 23.6 TO 25.2,
WHILST IDEALS SUCH AS SOLEDAD MIRANDA AND JESSICA
LANGE, HAD BMIS OF 17.6 AND 20.4, BEING ALMOST
IMPOSSIBLE TO BOTH OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN NATURALLY.
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THE SLENDER IDEAL OF THE 60S CONTINUED ON
THROUGH THE 70S. TOWARDS THE END OF THE
DECADE, WOMEN WERE ENCOURAGED TO DRESS WITH
MORE FREEDOM ALLOWING EXPERIMENTAL DRESS.
GARMENTS TESTED WERE SUCH AS MAXI SKIRTS,
ALLOWING PARTS OF THEIR BODY TO BE COVERED.
AN UNKEPT, TOUSLED LOOK VISAGE WAS COMMON
AND IDEALISED AT TIMES BY MANY, WHILST
FEMALE SEXUALITY CONTINUED TO SOAR.
IN ORDER TO KEEP UP WITH THE CHANGES IN BODY
IMAGE, DIET PILL SALES ROSE DRASTICALLY
OVERTIME. AT THE SAME TIME, KAREN CARPENTER
WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ANOREXIA NERVOSA HIGH-
LIGHTING TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE FIRST TIME
SINCE 1945 WITH THE CASE OF ELLEN WEST, HOW
EATING DISORDERS CAN BE INFLUENCED THROUGH
ASPIRATIONS AND ONES ENVIRONMENT.
THE AVERAGE US BMI DROPPED SLIGHTLY TO 24.9,
WITH IDEAL BEAUTIES MORGAN FAIRCHILD AND
JONI MITCHELL BOASTING BMIS OF 18 AND 20.5.
EVEN WITH THE BMI AT AT A LOWER FIGURE, THE
IDEAL ONE WOULD WANT TO REACH IS STILL
ALMOSt IMPOSSIBLE WHEN COMPARING ONESELF
TO THE CELEBRITY STATS WITHOUT EXCESSIVE
DIETING, EXERCISE AND/OR PURGING.
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IN THE 80S THE IDEAL CELEBRATED
LEGS IN HIGH-CUT SWIMWEAR AS WELL
AS SHOULDER PADS TOWARDS THE END
OF THE DECADE, BEING USED AS
SYMBOL OF FEMALE POWER.
60% OF PLAYBOY MODELS THROUGHOUT
THE DECADE WEIGHED 15% LESS THAN
AVERAGE FOR THEIR HEIGHT.
NAOMI CAMPBELL, CINDY CRAWFORD
AND CLAUDIA SCHIFFER WERE
IDEALISED THROUGHOUT THE DECADE,
EVEN THROUGH CRAWFORD HAD A LOW
AND UNHEALTHY US BMI OF 19.
THE AVERAGE US BMI HAD RISEN
SLIGHTLY ONCE AGAIN TO 25, WITH
IDEAL BEAUTIES SUCH AS CHERYL
TIEGS AND BO DEREK HAVING A BMI OF
17.6 AND 20.4, MAKING THE IDEAL
YET AGAIN DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE.
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WOMEN IN THE 90S TOOK A TURN FOR A
HEALTHIER PHYSIQUE. TONED MUSCLES AND
SLENDER BODIES WERE CLASSED AS THE IDEAL
SHAPE, WITH WOMEN BEGINNING TO TAKE
EXERCISE AND HEALTH VERY SERIOUSLY FOR
THE FIRST TIME. SHARING A GYM WITH MALES,
ALSO PROVOKED THE THOUGHT OF WANTING TO
APPEAL TO THE OPPOSITE SEX, AND THE NEED
TO WORK FOR IT.
WOMEN WANTED TO BE THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
CHARACTER, SHOWCASING A FRESH AND
NATURAL APPEARANCE.
KATE MOSS BECAME AN ICON OF THE 90S
CLAIMING THE COVERS OF FASHION MAGAZINES
SUCH AS VOGUE AND BAZAAR SHOWCASING THE
WAIF LOOK WHICH BECAME REMINISCENT OF
THE DECADE. MOSS HAD A BMI AT THE TIME
OF 16, PROMOTING AN UNHEALTHY IMAGE TO
HER FANS AND FASHION CULTURE AS A WHOLE.
IMPOSSIBLE IDEAL STATISTICS CONTINUE
TO DROP, WHILST THE AVERAGE US BMI IN THE
90S ROSE TO 26.3. IDEALISED AND PROMOTED
FIGURES SUCH AS TARA REID AND PENELOPE
CRUZ RANGED FROM 17.5 AND 19.6.
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THE NAUGHTY NOUGHTIES SHOWCASED AN ARRAY OF
ISSUES AND DEBATES REGARDING BODY IMAGE AND THE
IDEAL.
THE SIZE 0 TREND CONTINUED TO GROW EPIDEMICALLY,
WHILST OTHERS ARGUED PLUS SIZE MODELS SHOULD BE
USED MORE TO BALANCE THE PRESS AND THE
IMPRESSION ON THE READER.
SUPER SKINNY MODELS WERE SEEN ON THE CATWALKS
AND MANY ASPIRED TO BE AS THIN AS POSSIBLE IN
RESPONSE TO THE CHANGE.
SEXUALITY IS AT ITS HIGHEST IN REGARDS TO
FEMALES, EVEN THOUGH BODY SHAPE HAS CHANGED
DRASTICALLY FROM SEXY TO STICK THIN.
MEDIA, MAGAZINES AND PRESS BOMBARDED READERS
WITH DIETS, FITNESS REGIMES, CELEBRITIES AND
THE SKINNY IDEAL BEING PROMOTED.
IN 2014, ISSUES REGARDING WEIGHT AND SIZE
CONTINUE TO RISE, WITH ORGANISATIONS STEPPING
IN TO PREVENT, TREAT AND RAISE AWARENESS OF
EATING DISORDERS AND NATURAL BODY IMAGE.
THE AVERAGE US BMI IS 27.5 IN 2014, IS THE
HIGHEST IN HISTORY SHOWING A CONTINUED BATTLE
IN REGARDS OF WEIGHT AND IMAGE. IN COMPARISON
TO THOSE IDEALISED, KIERA KNIGHTLY BOASTS A LOW
BMI OF 17.2, WHILST NATALIE PORTMAN COMES IN
JUST HEALTHY AT 19.2.