There’s an exhibit in Los Angeles, on display through Fall 2011, that sounds intriguing. It has pictures from popular media and advertising that show how the female ideal of beauty has changed over the decades.
Click here to read about the “Beauty Culture” exhibit.
I certainly have noticed that the female ideal of beauty has shifted a bit during my lifetime. I agree with the article that it has become more inclusive with respect to some broader racial qualities.
I remember quite well,during my teen years in Southern California, the beauty dominance of the perky blond, blue eyed supermodel Christie Brinkley. I remember hating my pasty pale skin and putting lemon juice in my dark hair in the hopes of getting a couple golden highlights.
Actually, I remember the very first time I saw a hint of what was to come. It was a photo spread, (in one of those damn woman’s magazines of course!), of a brand new kind of girl.
Nastassja Kinski.
I remember thinking how strikingly beautiful and different she seemed with her pale skin, incredibly full lips and sleek dark chocolate colored hair. She was in a shoot wearing all sorts of weird gypsy clothing from some surely obscure and avante guarde designer.
So then I went on to feel like an ordinary white girl from the suburbs who wished she were more exotic.
This article suggests curvier bodies have also become more desirable. I don’t agree. One lone flirtation with J-Lo or Kim Kardashian’s rounded butts isn’t enough.
Now, more than ever, I still see the stick thin Hollywood actresses and models as the norm. More than the norm, the ideal.
Take Angelina Jolie. She’s still a beautiful face, but now it’s more gaunt than ever. She was always thin but now she’s a bag of bones. She’s still idolized.
Obviously, we still have a long way to go.
