Fashion is an industry that relies heavily on visuals and the models seen in fashion reflect the current beauty ideals in society. What has been considered beautiful through time shows a pattern of preference for thin and tall individuals. This bias causes some people to experience feeling shameful or inadequate for not fitting the beauty ideal. This ideal has gradually become more out of reach and has turned into an unattainable goal thus normalizing insecurities and dissatisfaction relating to the body. In this very digital age ideals of beauty are actively being pushed as people are constantly being exposed to images of bodies that represent the latest beauty ideal (Hoskins, 2022).
Capitalism’s new rules of how to look and behave were never intended to accommodate the infinite range of human bodies and experience (Hoskins, 2022).
The body type of the models used in the fashion industry only represents a very small amount of women and the images shown of these models are often retouched, making the ideal shown even more unrealistic to attain. These unrealistic ideals and expectations contribute to a negative body image that can result in an unhealthy relationship with food and body. Ideals of body size are largely about women’s bodies rather than men’s due to the sexist idea that appearance is a very important part of women. By teaching women that their worth somehow depends on how close they come to looking like these ideals which they are constantly being exposed to, it weakens them and makes it less likely that they will fight back against these established beauty ideals even though they may be harmful to their physical and mental health (2022).
It seems that no one wants to take the responsibility of pushing the ideal of smaller being better - model agencies claim that designers only want thin models and designers claim that model agencies only supply them with thin models (Hoskins, 2022).
A commonly used excuse for why thin models are used is that this body type supposedly displays the clothes in a more flattering way than a larger body type. But if clothes only look good on one body type, is it really that well-designed? Diversity and inclusion are often used as tools in the fashion industry with the aim of attracting more customers for purely economic reasons. Research also shows that when women in adverts reflect the appearance of the audience it is more likely that the advert will have the intended effect (2022).
In a historical perspective ideals for the body seem to be ever-changing and repeating itself. If you look at the body ideals that dominated from 1900 to 2010 they alternate between different extremes:
Beauty and body ideals from 1900 to 2010's
Around 1900 the ideal for women was a very feminine look with curves but also a slim waist, which gave an hourglass effect often accentuated with the use of corsets (Costume, 2016).
In the 1910’s the ideal became more relaxed and mobile as a result of the First World War and the women’s liberation movement (2016).
In the 1920’s with the rise of the so-called flappers, the more feminine and curvy look got exchanged for a more androgynous look and a boyish figure was the new ideal (2016).
During the 1930’s the previous ideals of the 1900’s and the 1910’s gradually returned and more classically feminine features like breasts and hips were once again emphasized (2016).
The ideal of the 1940’s was largely influenced by the Second World War. While the men were at war, the women looked after the traditionally masculine jobs and as a result women gained wider shoulders and bigger muscles (2016).
In the 1950’s after the war the ideal was once again a very feminine silhouette with a slim waist and accentuated breasts and hips. The desired figure was one like Marilyn Monroe’s and to emphasize the more feminine look, pointy torpedo bras and stilettos were used (2016).
In the 1960’s the curves got replaced by the ideal of a very slim silhouette that still continues to be desired (2016).
In the 1970’s the desired body was natural looking, but still slim and tall. The more natural look also meant letting the hair grow and going braless (2016).
In the 1980’s it was all about fitness and health and that meant a slim but toned body became the ideal along with big shoulders, a defined waist and narrow hips (Christensen, Hansen, Lentz, 2016).
In the 1990’s there were contrasting ideals. More diversity in body types were introduced but simultaneously women had to be slim and look androgynous similar to the ideal of the 1920’s. This new ideal would come to be known as ‘heroin chic’ (Costume, 2016).
In the 2000’s the ideal was still a slim body, but much like in the 1980’s the ideal of this decade was about being healthy and strong (Christensen, Hansen, Lentz, 2016).
In the 2010’s the ideal is a healthy and strong body that looks natural but still slim with an hourglass shape (Costume, 2016).
With ever changing ideals of what is considered beautiful it keeps women in a loop of altering their bodies with the aim of achieving one extreme look only for them to be expected to look the opposite after a period of time.
Women are too profitable a market to be allowed to relax into their physicality. Instead, they are given an impossible quest for self-perfection which keeps them spending money (Hoskins, 2022).
Bibliography:
Hoskins, T. (2022). Chapter six, The Body Politic. In T. Hoskins, The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion (pp. 158-194). London: Pluto Press.
Christensen, M. F., Hansen, R. F., Lentz, M. (2016, December 11). GRAFIK: Se tidens skiftende kropsidealer. Retrieved November 3, 2023, from DR:
https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/grafik-se-tidens-skiftende-kropsidealer
Costume.dk. (2016, July 19). Se, hvordan kropsidealet har ændret sig gennem 100 år. Retrieved November 8, 2023, from Costume:
https://costume.dk/mode/modenyheder/se-hvordan-kropsidealet-har-aendret-sig-gennem-100-ar
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