A Look at Beauty: Past and Current
Beauty has been desired by women throughout the ages. Beauty is the thing that attracts men. Beauty opens doors that are closed to the ‘non-beautiful’. Eve of the Old Testament was the beautiful temptress. Delilah and Cleopatra each used their beauty to wield power over men.
Concepts of beauty have evolved over time even though the desire to be glamorous has remained the same as always. In the past, European women carried parasols whenever they went out. These were not just a fashion accessory but had the very functional purpose of keeping the sun off the female’s skin in order to preserve her youthful skin. White skin was the ideal; any hint of a tan was considered lower class and decidedly unbecoming. Girls would pinch their cheeks in order to make them look rosy as was considered attractive at the time.
In the modern age, tanned skin is now thought to look healthy and beautiful. Rather than avoid the sun, women court it enthusiastically in order to achieve the sun-kissed glow. Where there is no sun, women can still achieve the same effects with bottled tan lotions or they can bathe under a sunray lamp in a tanning booth for that all important requirement of the modern beauty regimen.
Unfortunately, the European concept of beauty was not very good news for everyone. As these ideals spread to America it was a blow to the self esteem to women of colour. They would go to extraordinary lengths in order to achieve lighter looking skin and in some countries, bleaching has persisted right up till today. However, the 1970’s brought ushered in the ‘black beauty’ concept and from then onwards, beauty has become achievable for everyone in America regardless of race and complexion.
Today things have changed completely. Anyone regardless of race can be considered beautiful. Indeed, some of the modern beauty icons are black women including Tyra Banks, Halle Berry and Michelle Obama. Beauty relies much more on a clear complexion and youthful skin. There are certain standards that must be reached to possess Hollywood style good looks. These include pristine white teeth, perfect but understated makeup and a wardrobe to befit.
A female can have the most pretty looking face in the world but if she is overweight then she is not considered beautiful. Since the days of corseted dresses women have sought to be slim or appear slimmer than they are in order to achieve optimum looks. Corsets were tied so tight that in some cased damaged the woman’s structure permanently. Today, weight loss pills and weight loss programs have taken over where the corset left off.
A multi-million dollar weight loss industry has been spurned by women’s desires to be skinnier and more attractive. Also fashions have also evolved to reflect the skinny beauty ideal. In the 1960’s it was the mini skirt to show of toned legs and thighs. Today it is the belly top with a woman’s midriff exposed to show her flat and toned abs.
Age seems to have everything to do with the modern concept of beauty. In order to be gorgeous you must look young. This is one of the hardest things to keep up with for the beauty conscious individual. There are literally thousands of anti wrinkle skin care products that claim to help women restore their lost beauty through rejuvenation of young looking skin. Most simply don’t work while others are marginally more effective. For girls for whom being pretty is everything, there is always the cosmetic surgery option.