At no time had the perfection of the external appearance such a value as in the present. The body plays a very large role in the self-esteem of people. However, the pursuit of beauty is not an invention of modern times. It has accompanied people since ancient times, perhaps even since humans have existed, reported Doctor Lutz Kleinschmidt, senior physician at Parkklinik Schloss Bensberg, at the 4th International Dietetics Congress of the Society for Nutritional Medicine and Dietetics e.V. in Aachen.
Beauty ideals: as old as mankind?
From time immemorial, people have tried to change their appearance, for example, by jewelry or painting, that is, to beautify. What has changed is only the ideal aspired to. Each culture and each time has other models, which differ quite extremely.
However, the beauty ideals of modern times are becoming more and more similar even between different cultures. The reason lies in the general globalization, mainly influenced by the global spread of the media and their protagonists such as stars from film and television as well as models. The current beauty ideal of the female body shows very slender, sometimes even bony, by the preferred broad-shoulderedness in a certain way androgynous forms.
In the past, “chunky” was considered beautiful
For millennia before this change, obesity was considered the ideal of beauty. Here, there was a preference for voluminous bellies and large breasts. At that time, the fat reserves stood as a guarantee for the rearing of the next generation. In the Greek classical period, male and female beauty, especially proportions, were at the center of the ideal. The spread of Christianity in the Middle Ages changed the ideal of beauty, so that for centuries there was no unveiled representation of women’s bodies.
Beauty ideals: from the industrial age to the 80s.
It was not until the 20th century that the beauty ideal changed fundamentally. Women developed a new independence during this time. As an external sign, they cut off their hair and aimed for a very slim, androgynous figure. By the Second World War, the more feminine forms reasserted themselves. Maternalism and well-fed women were considered rich and beautiful in the postwar deprivations.
The 50s and 60s were initially characterized by women with long legs, narrow waists and large breasts. But dress size 44, as worn by Marilyn Monroe, for example, no longer fit into the image of social upheaval and feminism at the end of the 60s. The Twiggy model finally shaped a new ideal. With her 42 kilograms at 170 centimeters, she also gave numerous women a new disease, anorexia. From the 80s came as a beauty ideal next to the narrow hips a broader shoulder and a larger bust again.
And what about men?
For men, the beauty ideal has not changed so much. Broad shoulders and a tall stature have always been aspired to. However, beauty care, which was also common for men until the 18th century (wigs, makeup at that time) has been generally accepted again for men for a few years and is no longer considered unmanly as it was for the most part in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to women, “man” is also doing something for his appearance again.
Nowadays both sexes try to emulate the beauty models by aerobics, fitness and diets. In addition, for the first time in the entire history of mankind, it is possible to approach this desired ideal through a surgical procedure.
