I recently happened upon some interesting photography books—pin-up pictures classified by decade.
As I perused through the 30’s, 40’s, 50’, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, anyone watching saw my mouth drop open. I noticed that with each decade, perceptions of beauty and sexiness profoundly and clearly changed.
A recent blog in the Huffington Post, “Note to Self: Love Your Body,” written by Debbie Gisani, reminds us of our ever-changing standards for beauty.
Beauty norms change from generation to generation. At one point in history, dimpled flesh was considered beautiful. In the 19th century, a super thin waist was in, and so women squeezed their internal organs out of shape to fit into a tight corset. In the 1920s, women bound their breasts flat — it was the accepted look while dancing the Charleston! Fast forward to the 1990s through today.. . . The way I see it, you’re left with two choices — accept and love your body as it is naturally or continue to loathe it for not looking as the current media says it should. You have to draw the line somewhere. What if it was suddenly decided that women’s feet over a size six were deemed grotesque? Would you start binding your daughter’s feet as a child or cutting off some of your toes as an adult?
For both men and women, physical beauty is usually an unpredictably moving target. If you’re chasing it, what are the costs? How will you feel the next time the target moves?
