We all have a mirror in our homes in which we look every day to reassure ourselves that we are good-looking. But what is “good” in the eyes of society? We all have at least one thing we would like to change about our appearance, but what if I told you that one trait you are not satisfied with was the definition of beauty 200 years ago?
Beauty standards for women have changed numerous times over the years. Though today it is normal to say that every body type is beautiful, it has not always been the same, women being criticized over their weight, size of their nose, or the color of their skin even before the invention of mirrors.
The ideal women in Ancient Greece had to be plump and fair-skinned. The bigger and curvier they were, the wealthier they were considered to be. Of course, the supreme beauty standard of this time was Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who is depicted with a round face and a pear-shaped body. Also, redheads were considered to be heavenly beautiful, Helen of Troy herself being thought to have red hair.
During the time of the famous Louis XIV, at the court of France, the most beautiful people were the ones with pale, untouched by the sun skin showing they don’t have to move a finger, having others doing their outdoor works for them. For women, the chubby ones were still very admired, with a plus for double-chin and dimples. The ideal face during this time was oval, with very dark or very blue eyes, small and round lips, and the more curls in the hair, the better. Men should have not been too muscular, because that again was a sign of hard work, hinting that the person did perform tasks that were beneath his rank.
Things are about to change in the Victorian Era when corsets appeared and women with an ill aspect were considered to be noble and intelligent. Shockingly, tuberculosis became the beauty standard at the Victorian English court, many of the beauty icons of the time being portrayed with red, flushed cheeks, glinting eyes, and very thin, silky hair, all of them being symptoms of the wide-spread but fashionable disease. Make-up started to be used in this period, but secretly and very subtle because women who used make-up were said to have something to hide.
Of course, there are plenty more beauty standards among history, some more mind-blowing than the others, but in these modern times, we have to accept others and most importantly accept ourselves as we are, the purpose of this article is to show others that beauty is nothing else than a subjective topic.
Editor- Thea Vochita
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