These pictures show that having curves was considered beautiful at one time. The exotic dancers also seem quite covered compared to the exotic dancers of today.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The Concept of Beauty in American History
Send any info. including pics. of what America viewed as the typical beauty, and at what time.
In The Early 20th Century
Target: Council of Fashion Designers of America, IMG Modeling Agency, and Women Management
Goal: Require modeling agencies to hire women with diverse body types and to screen all models for eating disorders.
Though the American population has shifted to be one that is largely unhealthy due to overindulgence, the prevalence of eating disorders in the United States is still astounding. Eating disorders affect an estimated 10 million women and 1 million men. These disorders are mental health issues which usually stem from poor body image and a lack of self-esteem. But where are these 10 million women getting the ideas that propel them to hate their bodies and undergo extreme measures to achieve unrealistic and unhealthy body weights?
Easy answer: the media.
It may not be shocking to know that 86% of those diagnosed with an eating disorder report that their disordered habits began before the age of 20. What is disturbing is that 33% of people with eating disorders developed their habits between the ages of 11 and 15 and 10% were affected before the age of 10. We need to stop sending messages to young girls and women that skinny necessarily equals pretty. This is not to say that women who are slender are not as beautiful as curvier women; rather, it should be promoted that healthy habits are what create a healthy and beautiful body.
Thus, women who are have severely low BMIs and are 15% or more beneath the average BMI for their height should not be allowed to walk the runway or be promoted in advertising campaigns. This is not to punish these women; rather it is to encourage the exposure of positive body images and dispel the myth of a set image of beauty. Women should not be barred from modeling if they are naturally slender, instead all models should be screened for eating disorders as a mandatory part of their employment. Companies should be encouraged to hire women of varying body types and they should not be allowed to portray women who are either severely underweight or severely overweight. A positive image of natural beauty must be promoted, and any person who is at an unhealthy weight should not be permitted to represent an ideology of beauty.
In The Early 20th Century
by Louise Wood
Definitions of beauty in the 20th century, when referring to human physical beauty, are nearly always constructed in terms of outward appearance and sexual attractiveness. Nancy Baker's definition is The Beauty Trap is more concerned with intangible personal qualities. “A truly beautiful woman makes the best of her physical assets but, more importantly, she also radiates a personal quality which is attractive.” In Beauty In History, Arthur Marwick defines a human physical beauty in more direct terms: “The beautiful are those who are immediately exciting to almost all of the opposite sex.”
Beauty in the Beginning of the 20th century and its Influences:
For the first two decades of the 20th century, many of the attitudes towards beauty associated with the 19th century remained. In Victorian society, it was considered a woman's duty to make herself beautiful. In the early 20th century, this was coupled with the idea of “self-presentation” as enjoyable, expressive and creative. However, some of the more bizarre and painful “beauty aids” of the Victorian age continued to be marketed well into the 1920s. A particularly unpleasant example is “M.Trielty's Nose Shaper”, described as a “metal object ... held over the nose by straps buckled round the head and adjusted with screws.”
One of the main elements of this century's perception of beauty that sets it apart from the 19th century is the polarity of cosmetics. In the last century, cosmetics were frowned upon in society as the mark of a prostitute. The cosmetics industry grew from the roots of the manufacturing of theatre make-up by Helena Rubenstein and Max Factor, who adapted their products for everyday use.
From puberty onwards, young girls use cosmetics in order to look older an attract older boys. Conversely, their mothers use cosmetics in order to disguise the flaws of age and maintain a youthful appearance. That is not to say that the cosmetics boom does not have its adversaries: many feminists believe the marketing of cosmetics, along with high fashion, to be an exploitation of women by male industry moguls. Some women resent having to use cosmetics in order to compete in the workforce. But for many women, the cosmetics ritual is not a chore or a necessary evil, but an enjoyable activity in itself. It is not purely for the benefit of men that women wear cosmetics, but for themselves and each other.
The cosmetics and fashion industries are interdependent with the medium of advertising. Cynthia White points out that the turnabout in opinions on cosmetics is women's magazines in the 1920s coincided with the increase of cosmetics advertising in the same publications. Advertising is often presumed to have little cultural value, but is a powerful way in which attitudes towards women and beauty are reinforced. The 20th century fascination with celebrities is a tool expertly used in the advertising industry. If a beautiful model, or more effectively a beautiful celebrity is used in an advertisement, the qualities associated with that person are transferred onto the product.
Another major influence on this century's attitudes towards beauty was the growth of the film industry. For the first half of the century, all the major beauty icons were film actresses. It was a medium that allowed women who would have previously been overlooked to shine. For instance, the 19th century aversion to redheads was still in place as late as the 20s. It was that black-and-white medium that allowed Clara Bow to be the exception. However, stars such as Bette Davis and Katherine Turner who could not be described as “conventionally beautiful” invariably came from middle or upper class backgrounds. Beauty was an essential attribute for a working class woman to become successful in Hollywood. This period was also the beginning of the ties between the film and fashion industries, which would continue for decades to come.
1900-1910s:
Up to the 1910s, the “Gibson Girl”, invented by Charles Dana Gibson in the 1890s, was still considered to be the ideal of femininity. The Victorian ideal of “the chaste and delicate woman” continued to be embodied in the form of childlike, virginal film stars such as Lillian Gish and Mary Pickford. A more typical 20th century contrast was provided by Theda Bara, who was perpetually cast in the role of the Vamp.
By the second decade of the century, fashion was losing its Victorian austerity, and giving way to soft, draping, Oriental-inspired fabrics. However, corsets were still worn, and the fashion for long, narrow skirts prompted the popularity of the “hobble garter”, a device worn around the calves to stop women from taking long strides and splitting their skirts.
One reason given by Fred E. H. Schroeder, quoted in Women In Popular Culture, for the continuing popularity of long skirts was the bulky menstrual cloths worn by women until the advent of disposable feminine hygiene products in the 20s.
1920s:
1920s fashion placed more importance on “natural endowment” than any time in the preceding centuries. although cosmetics were worn to conceal natural flaws, their main function was to draw attention to women's natural features. Skirts became shorter than they had possibly ever been, but in contradiction to the atmosphere of freedom in fashion, feminine curves became unfashionable. Women wore “flatteners” to minimise their busts, and waistlines were lowered to hip level. The ubiquitous bobbed hairstyles of the 20s were originally cut in barber shops. When barbers failed to meet the demands of fashionable young things, beauty shops sprang up everywhere. the new technique of permanent waving was immensely popular: American women spent $250m on perms alone during the 1920s.
The icons of the 1920s were represented, again exclusively in the cinema, by the up-front sexuality of Jean Harlow, Clara Bow and Mae West, together with the “mysterious androgyny” of Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. The theme of androgyny was to be continually repeated throughout the century, particularly in the 60s and 80s.
1930s:
The Production Code enforced on Hollywood films in the 1930s put an end to the sexual content of the films of the 20s, however tame, including a ban on miscegenation. Although sexuality was played down, the change in content meant that roles for women became more realistic, resulting in the rise of “wholesome” stars such as Katherine Hepburn and Jean Arthur. 1930s fashion favoured tall women with wide shoulders and narrow hips, a type exemplified by Greta Garbo. Hem-lines dropped and waistlines returned to their normal position, and the “erogenous zone” shifted from legs to the back, coinciding with the increasing popularity of sunbathing.
1940s:
World War II brought strict controls on clothing production for the following decade. The principal 1940s look was a practical and masculine style (“the Utility Lines”) with padded shoulders and knee-length hem-lines. Shortage of materials for stockings led to the popularity of trousers for women. In the late 40s, as a reaction to wartime austerity, Christian Dior launched the “New Look”, with corseted waists, padded hips and billowing skirts, using far more fabric than most women's rations would allow. Despite its exclusive nature, Dior's look revolutionised fashion and influenced the return to overt femininity in the next decade. The cinema continued its influence throughout the war years; icons of the 40s were as diverse as Vivien Leigh, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Rosalind Russell.
http://barneygrant.tripod.com/p-erceptions.htm
Change the Model of Beauty in America: Demand that Modeling Agencies Promote Healthy Bodies
By Jaclyn BauerTarget: Council of Fashion Designers of America, IMG Modeling Agency, and Women Management
Goal: Require modeling agencies to hire women with diverse body types and to screen all models for eating disorders.
Though the American population has shifted to be one that is largely unhealthy due to overindulgence, the prevalence of eating disorders in the United States is still astounding. Eating disorders affect an estimated 10 million women and 1 million men. These disorders are mental health issues which usually stem from poor body image and a lack of self-esteem. But where are these 10 million women getting the ideas that propel them to hate their bodies and undergo extreme measures to achieve unrealistic and unhealthy body weights?
Easy answer: the media.
It may not be shocking to know that 86% of those diagnosed with an eating disorder report that their disordered habits began before the age of 20. What is disturbing is that 33% of people with eating disorders developed their habits between the ages of 11 and 15 and 10% were affected before the age of 10. We need to stop sending messages to young girls and women that skinny necessarily equals pretty. This is not to say that women who are slender are not as beautiful as curvier women; rather, it should be promoted that healthy habits are what create a healthy and beautiful body.
Thus, women who are have severely low BMIs and are 15% or more beneath the average BMI for their height should not be allowed to walk the runway or be promoted in advertising campaigns. This is not to punish these women; rather it is to encourage the exposure of positive body images and dispel the myth of a set image of beauty. Women should not be barred from modeling if they are naturally slender, instead all models should be screened for eating disorders as a mandatory part of their employment. Companies should be encouraged to hire women of varying body types and they should not be allowed to portray women who are either severely underweight or severely overweight. A positive image of natural beauty must be promoted, and any person who is at an unhealthy weight should not be permitted to represent an ideology of beauty.
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