Beauty canons: current beauty standards and their evolution in history

The beauty standards of each of the cultures cannot be separated from the role played by their members in them.For this reason, in addition to the particular concepts, their restrictions or freedoms and their beliefs are an essential part of beauty canons.

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Beauty canons in the world

Beauty is subjective and has been conceptualized by different thinkers.An excellent definition is that of the philosopher of the Enlightenment David Hume (1711-1776) who said that: "Beauty is a sensitive pleasure that is externalized in a perfect representation".But one thing is beauty, which is still something ethereal and relative to those who look at it, and another are the canons of beauty.

What is a beauty canon

A fee is a model, or also a group of rules, which of course someone establishes.Therefore, the definition of beauty canon would be: "The set of standards that are used to express beauty".In this case, beauty ceases to be something subjective and becomes rather a symbol, which means an idea that is valid in a specific culture and for a certain historical time.

How the beauty canon was created in each culture

Every canon needs a diffuser entity.We currently have powerful means of communications, but it was not so in prehistory.For this reason, in most cultures beauty canons were disseminated through art, either a statuette, a painting or a sculpture.This also means that it was the artist himself who decided, in the first instance, what were those attributes that he was going to capture in his work.

Why beauty canons change

Beauty canons can last a long time, or not.It all depends on whether what they transmit is still representative for those who interpret it.But it happens that, being the beauty canon a cultural product, usually when society changes it loses validity because they begin to deprive new values.

Beauty canons through time and cultures

Next we count nine cultures, reflecting their canons of beauty according to each historical moment, which obeyed the set of attributes described.In this case, it refers specifically to female or male beauty standards.

Female beauty in the Paleolithic

At this stage of prehistory it is observed how the canons of female beauty were related to the role of women, as well as the way the world was interpreted.It is believed that in these very remote times the male sex was not aware of their participation in reproduction, and motherhood was perceived as a mystery of nature.Therefore, the female was considered a kind of goddess capable of giving life, which was essential to perpetuate the species.

In this sense, the most attractive women were the best endowed for motherhood, which is evidenced in the collection of discovered statuettes, being the most famous Willendorf's venus that dates back to more or less 20.000 years.The woman represented through this figure is obese, with a large amount of fat as a necessary energy reserve.In addition, he has very wide hips, shows his ability to house a being and give birth without inconveniences, as well as great breasts to guarantee adequate milk to his offspring.

Egyptian beauty canon

In ancient Egypt the female sex was considered equal to the masculine and they retained their civil rights after marriage, so many women dedicated themselves to their own businesses or continued to exercise their professions.They could be priestesses, and even some came to assume the role of faraones.For this reason, intelligence was a quality that was appreciated in the female sex, which was associated with having a long neck.

For this civilization, beauty went beyond the simply aesthetic, and the word that described it, which is Nefer, referred rather to perfection in every way.The Egyptian beauty canon assumed a thin figure, with small hands and feet as well as the breasts, but the wide hips.Something that was considered essential was the softness of the skin, so they used to bathe with milk and honey.

Both women and men shaved their entire body, since hair was considered something ugly and dirty, and for this reason they wore wigs.Likewise, both sexes make up their eyes exaggerated with different types of paint, especially with black, green and blue tones, which also served as protection against the sun.

Greek beauty canon

In classical Greece an ideal of female Greek beauty was imposed based on arithmetic proportions.This also applied in the case of man, since in this society a male beauty canon emerged almost more categorical than that of women.

The Greek beauty canon established relationships of body measures with respect to the head.THE POLICLETO SCULPTOR (480-420 A.C.) determined that a perfect body was one that measured seven heads, although another sculptor called Lisipo (390-300 to.C.) and determined that there were eight.These mathematical relationships also applied to the face, establishing specific dimensions between the lips and the nose, as well as in terms of the right distance between the eyes.

The ideal female beauty considered a thin woman, wide hips and prominent thighs, although with rather small breasts.The face should be oval shape, sharp nose and large eyes, with light and curly hair, which is considered the classic Greek profile of women.And another relevant detail was the pale complexion, for which the women applied a white chalk powder that apparently was quite toxic.In addition, their eyes were outlined and their lips were painted.

On the other hand, for men it was important.Among the Greeks men, the custom of marrying only to have children was very common, while passionate love was given with another much younger man.

Roman beauty canons

The canons of beauty in the history of Rome are interesting, since the Romans considered that the outer beauty was related to the interior and, therefore, both sexes made up, combed in the hairdresser, and masks of different types of different types were appliedTo keep a perfect face.Additionally, men used.

In Rome, male beauty canons were based on a muscular body, high stature, and with an abundant hair that a symbol of power, so they used wig.Like the Egyptians also used to shave the hair of the body (although they did not eliminate it completely), and just as the Greeks had romances with young boys.

For their part, female beauties were those that had wide hips, thick thighs and small breasts.As for the face, large eyes, red cheekbones and long and abundant eyelashes were important, so they used a lot of blush and mask of eyelashes.In addition, they painted the hair of clear tones and always carried it collected, since only the prostitutes used to have it loose.

Beauty Canon of the Middle Ages

The feminine beauty canon during the Middle Ages was absolutely governed by Christianity, so the important thing was the soul and was considered sinful to take care of the body, especially if who did it was a woman.For this reason, the "decent women" did not wear makeup, nor did they see any part of their body, which was covered with a kind of saya that reached the feet, and obviously with long sleeves even if it were summer.

The female beauty standards of that time were a thin woman, with narrow hips and small breasts, very white skin and long blonde hair.As for the face, he was oval with nose and boys and virginal expression, although they were still considered sinful by nature just because they are daughters of Eva.

Renaissance beauty canon

The beauty canon of the Renaissance implies a return to the ideal of Greek classic beauty, with proportions and the symmetry of the human body, which this time disseminates Leonardo da Vinci through his man of vitruvio.Makeup also returns to women, which begins to use eyeliner and eye shadow, and lips paint.In addition, the eyebrows are shaved, as well as the entrance of the hair to give greater amplitude to the forehead, and hairstyles adorned with tapes and jewels are made.

Regarding the clothing, the suits are still used to the feet, but the typical wool fabric is changed to more luxurious ones such as silk and taffeta, and they are more discounted.On the other hand, for the special occasions, dresses with long lines are started.However, these changes happen in the greatest class classes, since one of the characteristics of this era is the great social contrasts.D

But the ideal of Renaissance beauty, which is expressed especially through the painting of famous artists, remains similar to that of the Middle Ages, although with new elements that recall classical Greece, such as proportions, symmetry and mythological themes.She is conceived as a very white woman, with long blonde hair, clear front, large eyes, long neck, small breasts, narrow waist and hips a little more prominent than those of the Middle Ages although not too much.

Baroque beauty canon

The Baroque is the period that passes immediately after the Renaissance and opposes the rigor of it, giving a total turn to the way of seeing the world.It is characterized by letting emotions out and is also a time of great contrasts, where on the one hand it deprives the spiritual and on the other the debauchery.An important point is that the Baroque begins shortly after a 30 -year war where the Catholic Church and Lutheranism face, winning the first.

Next, the noble lords became patron and hired great painters, although others continued working on their own.Hence, the Baroque has two aspects: on the one hand it returns to religious issues, and on the other the content is absolutely mundane, although in both cases there is an important change in the conception of the female beauty canon.Women have wide hips, as well as sturdy legs and arms, and in general they are much more fornid than those of the rebirth, although they remain blonde beauties with very white skin.

19th century beauty canon - Victorian era

This era corresponds to the mandate of Queen Victoria of England in the period 1837-1901, during which all habits changed, establishing a kind of new average age.It also coincides with the use of corset, a garment that served to raise the breasts and tighten the waist (sometimes even the limits of cutting breathing) giving the body body shape, which was considered of great attraction.

The corset was also used in other countries.An American activist women.By the way, the garment also had many detractors in England.From the doctors, who argued their negative effect regarding the ability to procreate, to the ultra conservatives who saw it as a dangerous provocation for men.

The beauty canon during this period was based on a woman in rounded shapes, with prominent breasts and wasp waist.As for the face, no makeup was used, since its use was abolished and it was only for prostitutes.The "decent women" only applied a facial powder to accentuate paleness, which was fashionable.The eyebrows were shaved, they dyed blond hair using hydrogen peroxide, and in the eyes a eye was applied that dilated the pupils, which was part of the ideal beauty.

Current beauty canons

The issue of thinness as a perfect body type apparently began at the beginning of the last century.But much more significant was the influence of the English actress Lesley Lawson, better known as Twiggy, winner of the Golden Globe in the 1960s.

According to several studies, the current female beauty canon corresponds to a tall and thin woman, with pronounced hips and large breasts.As for the current male beauty ideal, it would correspond to the prototype called Metroexual, which is an athletic man, with the muscles marked in the abdomen, well careful appearance and with the shaved body.

However, as it is being observed, advertisers are changing strategy and more and more frequently advertisements are airing with “real people”, which are not professional models or have perfect figures.

Consequences of beauty canons

The beauty canon throughout history has been transmitted mainly through art, but from 1941 in which the first television commercial comes to the air, this medium begins to gain strength in the dissemination of advertising campaigns that have positionedAn ideal of beauty in a massive way and through all countries, with negative consequences especially in the population of young women.

According to several investigations, and especially that of the American Psychiatric Assiionion (2014), there are worrying figures regarding problems of eating disorders.On the other hand, plastic surgeries have also fired in recent years, sometimes with results that are not the most desired.

Eating disorder

Eating disorders obey psychological causes (even if they have consequences on body health) and therefore are treated as such.The two disorders are anorexia and bulimia, which sometimes occur simultaneously in the same individual.

Anorexia is a psychological problem that manifests itself as a self -perception of overweight, although it is below normal, as well as irrational fear of fattening.The latest statistical figures indicate that in the world there can be approximately between 1% and 2% of the total population suffering from this disorder, which tends to increase.People who suffer from anorexia do not ingest the amount of calories that their body needs, and also usually undergo physical exercise sessions, which aggravates the picture.

On the other hand, bulimia is characterized because people eat excess food in a single meal, and immediately induce vomit or use laxatives to quickly expel what they have eaten.The estimated percentage worldwide with this disorder exceeds the previous one, since it is estimated that it can be around between 2% and 3%.The figure takes much more relevance, when these numbers are considered to refer to women between 12 and 30 years, both in the case of anorexia and in the bulimia.

In addition to the issue of poor nutrition, and therefore the propensity to contract other diseases, people who suffer from anorexia or bulimia have low self -esteem, they find it difficult to establish relationships with others and have a tendency to severe depression, so they are veryprone to commit suicide.

Plastic surgeries

According to the available statistics, the number of operations that have been carried out in recent decades is impressive.Mainly those who undergo them are also young women and among the most usual interventions are: implantations of breast prostheses, liposuction and rhinoplasty.Only in 2018, according to the international of plastic surgeons (ISAPS), 23 million interventions were carried out and Spain is among the first countries of the world.

On the other hand, more than 10 million breast implants have been made in the last decade, indicating that the number has increased.The problem is that this operation has caused complications of various kinds, including 25% of the prostheses have been broken and that since 2011 an associated disease called Anaplastic Lymphoma of Large Cells (LACG) was detected, which is akind of cancer that was already recognized by WHO.

As for rhinoplasty, which is another of the most required procedures, there are many patients who are not satisfied with their new nose and, on the other hand, liposuction is lost if body weight is not maintained.

It is evident that all these operations that are carried out, running serious risks only for the pleasure of releasing a new physique, are influenced by the beauty stereotypes that have instilled in the unconscious through advertising messages.

After making this tour and knowing female beauty standards, and in some male cases, of the nine most important cultures in the western world, it is appropriate to highlight the intimate relationship that beauty canons keep regarding the religious submission of women duringThe Middle Ages and Victorian era.

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