Having the "perfect body type" is something that many people have strived for.
Who hasn't looked in the mirror and wanted to change what they see?
But what's considered "perfect" today might not be seen that way tomorrow.
Here's why the "perfect body" is always changing.
Differences between generations cause many disagreements over politics, economics, and
of course, beauty standards.
According to a study by Beautycon Media, 82 percent of individuals between the ages of
13 and 34 agree that their physical and digital identities are, quote, "one and the same."
Young people have grown up seeing themselves through pictures posted to social media.
And that looking glass has no doubt changed their relationship to their bodies.
While some may see this as a problem, Beautycon's study found that people's relationship with
social media actually increases the diversity of aesthetic standards.
Younger generations don't believe that beauty is just about what society is telling them
to look like.
Bodies are becoming more owned by their owners and that puts into question whether or not
an "ideal" body even exists.
We've all heard the saying that opposites attract.
However, according to several studies, that's not actually true.
Researchers at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and the University of Kansas found that students
preferred to spend time with like-minded people rather than those with opposite views.
It turns out that humans are more attracted to what they're already comfortable with.
There's a phenomenon known as the mere-exposure effect, in which people simply like others
who are familiar to them.
So it's not unheard of for people to have a preference for partners that resemble their
family.
"Take a good look at her.
That’s what Sarah’s gonna like."
“Hi!”
“This is my mom.”
"Hi, so nice to meet you."
This apparent phenomenon isn't limited to just families.
Friends, peers, and neighbors also feed into our sense of familiarity and can make us feel
comfortable.
It's part of why everyone has a different idea of what an attractive body looks like.
After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
That's not to say that people can't find unfamiliar bodies attractive, but, in general, they often
gravitate towards what they already know.
Along with the mere-exposure effect, the media also plays a big role in our lives.
For example, if we see a certain image broadcast over and over again, it becomes familiar to
us.
It seems nearly impossible to be unaffected by the media and what images are promoted
on screens and on the printed page.
With that in mind, it's no secret that Hollywood often focuses on thin women, equating their
skinniness with beauty.
"We don't want you to lose weight.
We just want you to be healthy, you know, by eating less."
What's harmful, though, is that this focus can skew perception of the norm.
So it's important to remember that media outlets show what they think people want to see.
As people's priorities shift, advertisements have started promoting more diverse body types,
and that's something we can all get on board with.
Most studies on beauty and body image focus on Western countries, but that's only one
part of the world.
There are cultures like the Tsimané of the Bolivian Amazon that value women for having
heavier body weights, as noted by a 2014 study.
Similarly, other cultures focus on completely different aspects of the body altogether.
For example, Padaung women in Myanmar and Thailand wear brass rings around their necks
to make them appear longer, as long necks are considered ideal in their culture.
And even within the United States, the culture has shifted dramatically in the last hundred
years.
The quintessential, corset-wearing "Gibson Girl" that dominated the late 1890s and early
1900s might've had an hourglass figure.
Not many people would apply that same label to Kim Kardashian, for example, even though
she has a similar silhouette.
Clearly, there's a lot that goes into people's perceptions of beauty.
The way people live their lives could understandably influence their outward appearances.
One notable historical example is the flapper era of the 1920s.
Flappers were known for drinking alcohol, going to parties, and having more lifestyle
freedom than their elders.
The way they presented themselves with their straight, slim bodies appeared to be a rejection
of the Victorian images of corseted beauty.
Looking back at this era, it might seem that flappers and their contemporaries considered
twig-like bodies the ideal.
But while the flappers' draped dresses and short hairstyles are thought of as fashionable
today, they were considered rebellious and even immoral at the time.
The United States was so scandalized by these young women showing their skin that many states
tried to make their fashion illegal.
Virginia, for one, tried to ban any dress that showed off more than three inches of
a woman's throat.
While the image of a puffed-up bureaucrat chasing women around with a ruler might be
hilarious, it seems ridiculous that something so tame to modern Americans would be considered
so countercultural to those of the past.
It's not just health that's tied to beauty standards, but also a person's economic and
social class, something that's been true around the world throughout human history.
For example, during the Renaissance, having excess fat on the body was associated with
power, success, and wealth.
No wonder the paintings of the era depict large bodies.
That must've been nice!
But that isn't the case in contemporary American society, in which slender bodies tend to be
the ideal body type.
That's because food is plentiful and abundant for most people, and obesity has been linked
to health problems.
So it follows that those with more money have access to doctors, foods, and exercise regimens
that help them stay skinny.
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