Is There an “Acceptable” Female Body Shape?

Throughout history women’s bodies have been cherished, criticized and molded into “perfection.” However, what is considered “perfection” if beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

Is perfection thin, curvy, big breasts, small breasts, or a tiny waist? The popular Internet news media company Buzzfeed created a video compilation in January titled “Women’s Ideal Body Types Throughout History” to explore what perfection and beauty standards were for women during different historical periods.

All of the women in the video wore white leotards to showcase and focus solely on the female body. The video starts out in Ancient Egypt and takes the viewers through various time periods, like the Renaissance and Flapper Period, until it reaches modern day and reveals today’s ideal body shape. According to current standards, the epitome of perfection is a large butt and breasts, flat stomach, “healthy skinny”, and the thigh gap.

Today’s “beautiful”. Image courtesy of buzzfeed.

However, today’s beautiful will be tomorrow’s “ugly” and that is what Buzzfeed’s video tries to demonstrate to viewers. Ideal body types are simply trends, and as we all know, trends go as quickly as they come. In the clip we see that in only a matter of a few decades a woman is praised for how plump she is, and then later scoffed at for not being thin enough.

The video received lots of positive, as well as harsh, feedback. The people who commented negatively on the clip seemed to have missed the point of the compilation, and preferred to focus on criticizing the women by comparing them to contemporary beauty norms.

Women have gone through extreme measures for millennia to try to obtain “perfection” according to what society, culture, as well as the media deem appropriate. Although today’s “ideal” or “acceptable” female body type is nearly impossible to achieve without the help of plastic surgery and extreme diets, the good news is that many people are fighting back and are tired of trying to live up to challenging standards. Some companies like Dove for example, empower women through their “Real Beauty” campaigns by showing us that all bodies and races are beautiful, and that no one should be ashamed of how they look.

Dove Real Beauty Campaign. Women are celebrated for their beauty no matter their size, shape or race. Image courtesy of visiblemeasures.com

So, the question still remains: What is the “ideal” or “acceptable” body type that a woman should strive for? You are all gorgeous Green Goddesses, fierce women inside and out and we at Maxim Hygiene strive to help you feel and believe that. That’s why we also make feminine hygiene products that not only range in absorbency but also in shape and size to fit the needs of all you gorgeous ladies.

We personally believe that there is no “ideal” body apart from the one you already have. You do not need to conform to societal pressures to be “accepted.” The only person you need to accept is yourself. Feel strong and proud of who you already are! It is important to be healthy, so paying attention to what you eat as well as regular exercise are essential, but the actual shape of your body and “what your mama gave you” should just be “shaken” and needs not to be altered to make you feel beautiful.

Go out and rock that fierce woman in you and don’t let any negativity from society stop you from feeling anything less than fabulous!