1. Introduction
Everything changed, yet nothing really did. From the Roman and Greeks' appreciation of pale complexion and curvy female body shapes to the 21st century's promotion of tan and extra-skinny female bodies, seemingly everything about the standard of the "ideal" body changed. We humans prefer variation, leading society to define the "ideal body" differently in distinct eras; We humans prefer novelty, leading society to promote new body standards that were never encouraged before. However, under the changing dynamics of body ideals shaped by social expectations lies the constant nature of human interaction with societal pressure. No matter the time period, social pressures drive people to follow expectations, which perpetuates body shaming—including prejudices against one’s weight, body shape, age, height, and skin. Societal pressures promote body shaming, thereby damaging the victims’ health.
In contrast to the standards for the ideal male physique, which through most periods were primarily focused on strength and masculinity, those for the ideal female body varied significantly more and had greater effects. To present the changes in body ideals and illuminate the harmful impacts of body shaming, this essay examines the historical development of the ideal female figure by exploring how the female ideal body has changed throughout four distinct periods in history: the Classical era, the Song Dynasty era, the Victorian era, and the modern era. Each period represents particularly notable and significant change in societal norms, values, and aesthetics that had a significant impact on the women of the time and place. The essay also explores both western and eastern emphasis on bodies, holistically representing historical development. The essay starts by following a chronological order, investigating how the “ideal body” was defined and how body shaming was influenced by societal pressures in each era. It also introduces the harms associated with the issue. The remainder of the essay examines what individuals can do to address the issue.
2. Historical Evaluations, Societal Pressure, and Body Shaming
Through the ages, detrimental beauty standards have been upheld by favoring some body types over others and excluding others based on cultural standards of desirability. People who don't meet these norms have experienced discrimination and marginalization, which has resulted in mental and physical health issues. In order to create a society that is more welcoming, it is crucial to comprehend the historical roots of body shaming.
2.1 Ancient Greece and Rome
Ancient Greece spans from roughly the 9th century BCE to the 6th century CE and Ancient Rome from the 6th century BCE to the 5th century CE(BTE, nd)(MPM, 2000). They are the earliest civilizations with detailed records showing strong preferences for female appearances since intellectual records and artistic developments expanded rapidly at the time.
Standards for ideal body concentrated on skin during the era. Women in ancient Greece and Rome were pressured to have pale skin, which stood for higher social rank and attractiveness since female slaves typically had tanned complexion and could not afford to have their faces painted white (Wichmann, 2023). Those who seemed tanned were stigmatized as inferior and savage. They were unfairly treated as slaves and were more likely to be rejected for marriage (Wichmann, 2023). In fact, some ancient books advise ladies to apply lead-based powders to their skin in order to keep a pale complexion. A Roman philosopher, named Pliny the Elder, advised ladies to "add lead to restore scars to their natural color" in order to obtain a light complexion (Conte, 2023). Other writers such as Ovid and Galen also urged women to do so (Conte, 2023). These thinkers illuminate the strong social pressures on women to apply their makeup with lead while ignoring the dangers of lead exposure. With so many recently established preventive strategies, such as clothing intended to isolate lead exposure, lead exposure still accounts for 1.5% of annual global death in the 2010s (UNICEF, nd), making it difficult to imagine how many females and their prenatal children suffered from the issue in ancient times. Other women, especially the Athens, could only leave the house on the event of special festivals, which only happen once a few months, to limit contact with the sun (Britannica, nd).
2.2 Song Dynasty
Like Western societies, eastern women in the Song Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.) faced strict societal pressures regarding their bodies. Bai Sheng's invention of movable type enabled efficient printing and encouraged more to discuss female body ideals (HoI, nd). Unlike the Romans and Greeks, people emphasized more on body parts rather than skin appearance.
Foot binding was one method used to contort women's bodies. Toes were bent inward and under the foot's sole to produce a tiny, curled appearance resembling a lotus bud. Girls as young as 5 or 6 years old were subjected to this procedure by their parents (Foreman, 2015). In the dynasty, marriage was seen as the ultimate aim for women, and they were supposed to be submissive housewives (Brown, 2012). Women with unbounded feet were unfairly judged as inferior, ugly, and uneducated, and thus less likely to marry a desirable husband. Forced by the societal pressure, over 50% of the females in Song Dynasty bounded their feet (Louisa, 2007). In addition, women were generally considered “leftovers” if they did not get married before 20 (Brown, 2012). This discrimination against their age further encouraged the women to start foot binding at a young age.
Foot binding spread from China to other Eastern countries through trade (Hershatter, 2019). By the end of the 11th century, it had spread to nearly every region in the Eastern Hemisphere, demonstrating that many Asians, not only the Chinese, were subjected to pressure and shame as a result of this societal expectation (Hershatter, 2019).
Most women subjected to foot binding in the era had lifelong injuries such broken bones and diseases (Cartwright, 2017). 10% of those females died from gangrene, death of body tissue due to a lack of blood flow or a serious bacterial infection (Stewart, 2014). Societal pressures forced women to cripple themselves in the pursuit of beauty.
2.3 Victorian
In contrast to the foot-centric standards of the Song Dynasty, the Victorian Era (1837–1901) imposed stricter body ideals, focusing especially on the waist, hips, and breasts (Steinbach, 2019). The era coincided with the Industrial Revolution, which was characterized by rapid mechanization and factory-based production (Steinbach, 2019). Thus, new and complicated clothes can be mass produced, encouraging more women to follow ideal body norms.
Victorian ladies were expected to be delicate and have a small waist, which they did by wearing dresses with high necklines, bustles, and crinolines to give them an hourglass figure (Steinbach, 2019). Female rights activist Amelia Bloomer broke from this tradition by creating the "Bloomer costume," including a knee-length dress with pants for ease of wear and functionality (Norwood, 2017). Her decision drew harsh criticism and was mocked in "Punch" magazine (Punch, 1851). Bloomer persisted in her activism, displaying the fortitude to go against society norms and body shaming even in a time when there were many constraints.
The era's pursuit of traditional body ideals came at a high price. The physically constricting corsets frequently caused pain, limited mobility, and even resulted in health problems like squeezed organs and weak muscles (Isaac, 2017). In 1890, The Lancet, a well-known medical journal, published a number of letters to make the point that the corset constituted a health hazard by compressing the ribs and other internal organs (Isaac, 2017). Rib compression can limit the area available for heart muscles to bump, thus interfering with heart blood circulation and cause breathing issues and even death (Isaac, 2017).
2.4 Modern
In the modern era (from late 20th C.E. to now), social media development allows information to spread at the fastest speed throughout history. It becomes especially easier for people to share their opinions regarding body ideals.
In today's society, the perfect body is described as being extremely slender, having young features and an hourglass figure with a tiny waist (Esquivel, 2022). In contrast with previous eras, tan skin is highly valued in the modern society, motivating many women to expose themselves to sunlight (Esquivel, 2022); many even get sun-burnt. Abundant popular fashion brands like Brandy Melville and Chuu often only provide clothes in small sizes (北京日报, 2023). Such a trend then motivates women to pursue extreme thinness. 57% of females between the ages of 12 and 20 have experienced cyberbullying due to their physical appearances (Lickteig, nd). These unfavorable evaluations hurt people psychologically and threatens their life since 35% of adult women report experiencing depression as a result of body shaming, and chronic depression raises the risk of suicide by 70% (Osbourne, 2022).
Due to the cultural pressure pushing women to look younger and thinner, more women seek plastic and liposuction surgery to alter their appearance. Over 1.9 million women had liposuction surgeries in 2021, and about 100,000 of them had complications like blood clots, heart conditions, and even death (Foula, 2022). Similarly, plastic surgery carries risks. Even the American Society of Plastic Surgeons stresses the dangers of plastic surgery, such as infection and scars, highlighting the significance of making educated choices (ASPS, 2018). These surgeries damage women’s health and expose them to unnecessary risk.
2.5 Summary
She needs to see, she needs to walk, she needs to breathe, she needs to live.
Throughout history, women’s basic needs were depressed due to body shaming fostered by societal pressures and unfair treatment. Social pressures set standards too plentiful and difficult for women to meet, which subject women to unfair treatment. Although body ideals varied from eras to eras, women constantly suffered from physical and emotional damage caused by body shaming.
3. Solutions
Through examining historical trends, it is safe to conclude that all incidents of body shaming attribute to biases: People were biased to think pale skin, bounded feet, curvy shape, or skinny body is better than any other appearance. To eliminate or at least weaken biases, there are two things people should do. First, enact rules to discourage actions of body shaming. Schools should punish those who negatively judged others’ appearances and reward those who equally praised peers with all body types, and parents should require their children to read articles about the harms of body shaming. These straightforward rules are helpful to weaken explicit biases, attitudes and beliefs we have about a person or group on a conscious level. Second, people should intentionally remind themselves that they should embrace each body type equally. This is especially effective in weakening implicit biases. If both explicit and implicit biases can be eliminated or greatly weakened, body shaming will happen significantly less often (Myers, 2018).
Based on psychological studies, victims of body shaming should prioritize self-compassion and understand they are valuable regardless of how they look (Myers, 2018). To manage emotional turmoil, ask friends, family, or mental health specialists for assistance. This does not imply, however, that people should not make any efforts to change their physical conditions. People should prioritize their health: eat diet, do exercises, or do anything necessary to improve their health.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, there have been many changes in the ideal female physique throughout history. Both eastern and western civilizations imposed challenging expectations on female bodies. Body shaming is encouraged by societal expectations, which harms women's health. Women struggle when they strive to conform to the standards society has set for their physical appearance.
Although this paper mainly focused on changes in body ideals, there are similarities between standards of ideal physique valued by each era: the ancient Romans and Greeks, people in the Victorian era, and people in the modern era all preferred curvy female body shapes. In addition, although the paper takes a female perspective, males also faced societal expectations about their bodies throughout history, though the standards were usually less harsh than that of females: for example, ancient Roman and Greek men were expected to be athletic and muscular.
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