Every time I'm faced with the topic of feminine beauty, I'm reminded of a class I took at Slippery Rock University. I've since transferred to Chatham, which was ultimately a completely refreshing decision regarding self-worth, but there remain a few benefits regarding the larger university.
After discussing the subject of beauty ideals, the professor (who remains a favorite, and, of course, was only kept under contract for a year and left when I had), looked to the men in the class. They were all riled up after discussing big breasts and tight waists, models and bikinis, Jessica Simpson and other mutants.
My professor laughed along with them, almost cynically, and then his stare intensified. He looked at the class, hard, and stated, "Beauty? That's how we define beauty? What ever happened to the image of a pregnant woman?" They were all silent then, and I think I saw two or three of the boys mature before my eyes.
But really, when did we move from the beauty of producing life, and especially, to simply having the incredible female form, in any form, as opposed to constantly finding ways to adjust it?
Maybe I just have a fetish, but I look at some renaissance art, some Victorian replications of ladies covered in robes and sporting flowing and frizzy hair, some modest photographs of women in dresses buttoned up to their chins, and I see a beautiful modesty that I'm dying to emulate.
Showing posts with label Body Image. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Body Image. Show all posts
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Speaking of standards of beauty...
I saw this video over at Shakesville. It morphs "500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art."
In the comments section at Litbrit's post, some found the video awe inspiring and others found it creepy -- especially that for the first couple of centuries, it seemed like the women all had the same face (the noses seem to be identical through the entire video).
Now there does seem to be a universal female beauty ideal and it does correspond to what is in essence a baby-like face: large eyes, small nose and chin, pouty mouth. Similarly there's also an ideal female body type. It mostly has to do with proportion of hips to waist: Twiggy and Marilyn Monroe -- while very different in weight -- both had the same hip to waist ratio.
Now I could get all scientific on your ass and quote all kinds of theories on beauty: how babies are all kind of cute because people are more likely to love /like cute things (and therefore more likely to care for them); or that a smaller chin on a woman indicates a higher level of estrogen; that the waist to hips ratio may also tie into signals that the woman is better built to bear children; how both people and butterflies have a marked preference for symmetry when choosing a partner and how symmetry may be an indication of good health; etc., but that's just how my mind works when I view a video like this.
What do you think of it?
In the comments section at Litbrit's post, some found the video awe inspiring and others found it creepy -- especially that for the first couple of centuries, it seemed like the women all had the same face (the noses seem to be identical through the entire video).
Now there does seem to be a universal female beauty ideal and it does correspond to what is in essence a baby-like face: large eyes, small nose and chin, pouty mouth. Similarly there's also an ideal female body type. It mostly has to do with proportion of hips to waist: Twiggy and Marilyn Monroe -- while very different in weight -- both had the same hip to waist ratio.
Now I could get all scientific on your ass and quote all kinds of theories on beauty: how babies are all kind of cute because people are more likely to love /like cute things (and therefore more likely to care for them); or that a smaller chin on a woman indicates a higher level of estrogen; that the waist to hips ratio may also tie into signals that the woman is better built to bear children; how both people and butterflies have a marked preference for symmetry when choosing a partner and how symmetry may be an indication of good health; etc., but that's just how my mind works when I view a video like this.
What do you think of it?
BBW and All That
Today, the lovely Ledcat and I were headed for Kennywood. As I rushed around fretting about which tee shirt to wear, she shook her head and told me that I needed to shake out a little more of the straight woman in me and chill about clothing.
The straight woman comment aside, she's probably right. I spend waaaay to much time obsessing about how I look in what I wear. I am not a clotheshorse or fashionista by any stretch of the imagination. I simply buy tons of clothes hoping I'll magically find just the right outfit to make me look beautiful. My closets overflow so this year, I agreed to thin the herd when I changed out winter/summer stuff. I sent 7 bags to Goodwill.
I admit that I wear fat chick clothing ... long loose button down shirts over tank tops and tee shirts, pants with elastic discreetly tucked under belt loops and really large tee shirts. But no matter what I wear, I obsess that I look fat and unattractive.
Well, the truth is, I am fat. I gained 60 lbs when I took Prozac back in the early 90's (more on that some other time) and it has never come off. I am far more healthy psychologically speaking than I was at 21 and 130 lbs so it is a trade I wouldn't reverse. But the lesson just about everyone has driven into my head over the past 15 years is that fat = unattractive. I've heard it all ... you have such a pretty face, you would feel better, you could buy nicer clothing, I don't date fat chicks, blah, blah, fucking blah.
No one has ever asked why I went from a size 10 to a size 18. No one. It is not like I went on an all-butter cream diet for two years. I can only assume they jumped to conclusions or that they don't care. The reason doesn't matter; the outcome is all they see and all they assign value to.
And this morning, I could clearly see that I had lost sight of the why as well, focusing only on that oft-repeated message that fat = unattractive, unvalued, unwanted and unlovable. So against my impulse, I walked out of the house in the first tee shirt I grabbed from the closet.
Tomorrow? We'll see.
The straight woman comment aside, she's probably right. I spend waaaay to much time obsessing about how I look in what I wear. I am not a clotheshorse or fashionista by any stretch of the imagination. I simply buy tons of clothes hoping I'll magically find just the right outfit to make me look beautiful. My closets overflow so this year, I agreed to thin the herd when I changed out winter/summer stuff. I sent 7 bags to Goodwill.
I admit that I wear fat chick clothing ... long loose button down shirts over tank tops and tee shirts, pants with elastic discreetly tucked under belt loops and really large tee shirts. But no matter what I wear, I obsess that I look fat and unattractive.
Well, the truth is, I am fat. I gained 60 lbs when I took Prozac back in the early 90's (more on that some other time) and it has never come off. I am far more healthy psychologically speaking than I was at 21 and 130 lbs so it is a trade I wouldn't reverse. But the lesson just about everyone has driven into my head over the past 15 years is that fat = unattractive. I've heard it all ... you have such a pretty face, you would feel better, you could buy nicer clothing, I don't date fat chicks, blah, blah, fucking blah.
No one has ever asked why I went from a size 10 to a size 18. No one. It is not like I went on an all-butter cream diet for two years. I can only assume they jumped to conclusions or that they don't care. The reason doesn't matter; the outcome is all they see and all they assign value to.
And this morning, I could clearly see that I had lost sight of the why as well, focusing only on that oft-repeated message that fat = unattractive, unvalued, unwanted and unlovable. So against my impulse, I walked out of the house in the first tee shirt I grabbed from the closet.
Tomorrow? We'll see.
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