The ideal of beauty in different eras .
Beauty has always been a valuable content of human nature. But beauty is as multifaceted as man is multifaceted, and therefore the ideal of beauty in different eras and in different nations was so different that sometimes even completely opposite! I wonder how the ideal of other eras and peoples compares with the modern one?
The Ideal of Beauty of Ancient Egypt
A slender and graceful woman, close to our modern understanding of the ideal of beauty. Delicate facial features with full lips and huge almond-shaped eyes, the shape of which was emphasized by special contours. To dilate the pupils and add shine to the eyes, juice from the sleepy stupor plant was dripped into them!
The contrast of heavy hairstyles with a graceful elongated figure evoked the idea of an exotic plant on a flexible, swaying stem. Today we are trying to create approximately the same effect using high heels.
The Ideal of Beauty of Ancient Japan
The beauties of Japan thickly whitened their skin, covering up all the defects on the face and chest, outlined the forehead along the edge of the hair growth with mascara, shaved off the eyebrows and drew short thick black lines instead. Married women In feudal Japan, teeth were coated with black varnish. It was considered ideal to collect hair in a high, heavy knot, which was supported by a long patterned stick. Well, as for sticks in the hair and hiding skin defects under powder, even now you won’t be surprised by this, but black varnish on the teeth is not yet in fashion. But oriental motifs in outfits and makeup are in fashion.
The Ideal of Beauty of Ancient Greece
It was in Ancient Greece that the main canonical foundations of beauty were formed. The ideal of beauty is captured in many works of art of this era. The body had to have soft and rounded shapes. Standard beautiful body The Greeks began to have a sculpture of Aphrodite (Venus). This beauty was expressed in numbers: height 164 cm, chest circumference 86 cm, waist - 69 cm, hips - 93 cm.
The ideal of beauty of the Renaissance
During the early Renaissance pale color faces and long silky strands of blond hair became the canons of beauty for women in Florence. The great poets Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch and others glorified snow-white skin. A slender “swan neck” and a high, clean forehead were elevated to the rank of standard. To follow this fashion, to lengthen the oval of the face, women shaved the front hair and plucked their eyebrows, and to make the neck appear longer, they shaved the back of their heads. Leonardo da Vinci left us a wonderful standard of medieval beauty and formed a unique system of the “golden ratio”, which is still relevant today.
The ideal of beauty in modern times
It is noticeable that in the alternation of beauty ideals there is a noticeable tendency from naturalness to artificiality. Thus, with the decline of Rome, the era of the glorification of beauty was replaced by a cult of asceticism, detachment from worldly joys. In the Middle Ages, earthly beauty was considered sinful, and enjoying it was prohibited. The body was draped with heavy fabrics that hid the figure in a tight bag (the width of the clothes to the height is 1:3). Hair was completely hidden under the cap; the entire arsenal of means to improve appearance, which were so popular in ancient times, was consigned to oblivion. Blonding hair, already known in those days, was considered an unholy practice.
The ideal woman was personified by the Blessed Virgin Mary - an elongated oval face, emphatically high forehead, huge eyes and small mouth.
In the 13th century, the worship of the “beautiful lady” flourished. Troubadours praise the queens of jousting tournaments, their thin flexible figure, like a vine, blonde hair, an oblong face, a straight thin nose, lush curls, clear and cheerful eyes, skin like a peach, lips redder than a cherry or a summer rose. A woman is compared to a rose - she is tender, fragile, graceful.
An interesting beauty formula developed in modern times is now somewhat outdated. U beautiful woman of that time there should be: Three whites - skin, teeth, hands. Three black ones - eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes. Three red ones - lips, cheeks, nails. Three long ones - body, hair and arms. Three wide - rib cage, forehead, distance between eyebrows. Three narrow ones - mouth, shoulder, foot. Three thin ones - fingers, hair, lips. Three rounded ones - arms, torso, hips. Three small ones - breasts, nose and legs.
The ideal of beauty in the 19th century
“Wasp waists” were considered the ideal of beauty, pale faces, elegance and sophistication. What we now call aristocratic beauty. A beautiful woman was compared to a thoroughbred horse; she should have an elegant body and thin ankles. But at the same time, everything natural was considered rough and primitive. Healthy blush and tan, strong, strong body were signs of low origin.
The ideal of beauty in our century
Thanks to various beauty contests, a special standard of a beautiful woman has been formed. The applicant must have a strong personality and sense of style, emotionality and grace, photogenicity and the ability to adapt to various situations. At beauty contests on a global scale, preference is given to girls with the famous measurements of 90 - 60 - 90, and the applicant must certainly be young. Youth has been elevated to the rank of ideal beauty modern society and the entire beauty industry is aimed at prolonging the period of youth.
Today we will talk about what is the ideal woman Russian man and what is the ideal man for a Russian woman.
Russians are ordinary people and dream of examples of soul mates with the same beautiful features, in their opinion, as people all over the world. And if for the majority of men everything is quite concrete and straightforward, then Russian women, like women all over the world, are more abstract in expressing their preferences.
An ideal always implies something unattainable in real life, existing somewhere in the imagination. Everyone has their own ideas about what kind of people should be next to them, but in reality, expectations and dreams do not always correspond to the embodied truth of life.
So, what kind of woman do Russian men dream of?
Even without VTsIOM infographics it is clear that the truth that men love with their eyes remains true . Of course, they love beautiful, attractive people (it is possible that everyone has their own standard of beauty). True, people who have lived a little in the world and have had a couple of buckets of bitter experience are already beginning to understand that beauty will not get you far.
And even if some divorce their “older” wives and marry younger ones, another truth may dawn on them: not only should a woman be beautiful, she should be kind, forgiving and... preferably not very smart (so as not to understand too much or even though to pretend). And, in general, the VTsIOM infographic once again confirms this:
37% of respondents honestly said that the priority quality of a woman for men is her attractiveness,
24% - noted kindness, responsiveness, mutual understanding, 18% - dream of seeing an educated, intelligent woman next to them,
14% - homely, economic,
10% value femininity; decency; loyalty,
devotion,
8% each - interested inner world, spiritual qualities of a woman;
just as many are looking for an honest one,
sincere, 6% - open, cheerful, sociable.
Reliability, stability, and confidence were noted by only 5% of the men surveyed.
Many people don’t know what to do with an intelligent woman, even those who want to see her around. What's happened " clever woman“is also a question, because many women are sure that they are smart.
Smart woman is different from smart woman. Wisdom is a different concept than intelligence. It’s probably difficult to get along with a woman who is not so much smart as belligerent, unfeminine, and it’s difficult to get along with someone who’s really smart, who knows everything in advance, sees right through it, who can’t be deceived, stronger than men, the latter feels it and feels uneasy.
No matter how much a woman hides her intelligence, a man is often not stupid either, and besides, he wants to be the head, not a pawn. After all, when it is clear that a lady is “playing a fool”, being aware of everything and maintaining insincerity, it is even more unpleasant, it is clear that she is not playing herself for a fool.
Although they dream of being smart, most people get along with those with whom family life is possible... or with those who are very smart and are able to adapt to the needs and character of a man (there are, of course, fewer of them).
As a rule, a charismatic, strong, independent, beautiful, strong-willed woman is capable of building strong family relations, but the opposite is much more common. It is difficult for them to get along with someone who should be the leader in the family; they will not be able to “conservate” their talents for a long time, sitting at home, washing diapers, cooking borscht: they will fall into depression, cease to be themselves, wither away and in the end will still leave for free fields . And a man who hopes to tame the shrew will only receive an unenviable experience.
It is also possible to combine motherhood and career; this is a more “gentle” option for everyone. And there are many women around who have become good mothers and wives, just at the expense of their careers.
I believe that in modern society priorities are incorrectly set and the younger generation is provided with distorted information about the possibility of choice, or rather about its impossibility. Motherhood is opposed to a career; a career destroys motherhood.
“Experts” are looking for the roots in the masculinization of women and the infantilization of men, that, they say, the weaker sex is forced to fight for life because the real representatives of the stronger sex have disappeared, and relying on someone who is not reliable is absurd. So women go into battle on their own, and cannot juggle a thousand complex tasks at the same time, something suffers, often motherhood.
Other “experts” say that a woman, like a man, needs social fulfillment, and she will not be happy if she realizes only part of herself, which is stronger sex I’m not very interested in housewives who stand barefoot at the stove all their lives, when everything around them changes, the world moves forward, in general, life does not end with borscht.
However, from the experience of those acquaintances who did stand at the stove for at least half their lives, I will say that those who judge are superficial and selfish and have no idea what kind of feat this is.
Men also don’t want to see dummies next to them. But according to surveys from other sources - “which woman would you prefer: attractive or with a rich inner world?” — the majority say with confidence that the first.
For the first impression and the emergence of love, a beautiful wrapper is enough, however, as the same men clarify, there is too little external data to continue the relationship. And they are looking for one that will have a more complete set of desired ideal feminine qualities
, fortunately, the alternative choice is incomparable with the female position.
In general, the mind does not exclude ease of character, sociability, and not falling into depression in the spring and autumn.. Hypochondriacs and those who complain about life are hard to bear by representatives of both sexes, but, of course, hardy women are more courageous and resilient. Something remains in the middle:
periodically stupid, fragmentarily smart, brilliantly wise, forever young, beautiful, homely, never sad female creature. Opinions of men (from forums) about the ideal of girls: “Smart, very beautiful, blonde, silent, doesn’t ask for money, agrees with everything, calm, homely, loves only me and our child, doesn’t even want to leave the house, the most important thing for her is - family hearth
and wait for my husband. She forgives betrayals and never even thinks of committing betrayal herself...”
The Ideal Girl must have a higher education. It is clear that this is actually a drawback, but you have to come to terms with it. A girl with intelligence, but without education, will be tormented by psychological problems about her own inadequacy, and this will distract you from the global problems of humanity in the form of the European Football Championship and new episodes of Comedy Club.
A modest girl of Slavic appearance, speaking Russian, loving lard, dumplings and vodka, and wearing skirts - that’s what you need.”
Blondes are also considered the ideal of beauty by those who posted photos of Ordie Hempburn and Angelina Jolie.
In general, the appearance requirements for men are standard: slim (with different variations), well-groomed, pretty, etc.
By the way, questions about the female ideal are readily answered by married men, that is, the ideal simultaneously exists in their head with the image of a wife, or they still do not stop looking for “the one,” even having acquired offspring.
According to many men, a woman should not smoke, drink alcohol, or have other bad habits.
She should not command, shout, be domineering, she should be meek, sweet, easily able to find a prestigious job, and it is desirable that she generally be the idle muse of her beloved man, however, if the ideal of a representative of the stronger sex changes, she will be able to quickly grow wings and fly away .
In any case, do not forget the popular phrase “if you want to marry a beautiful, smart and decent woman, you will have to do it three times.”
What kind of man do Russian women dream of?
First of all, about reliability. This is evidenced by the VTsIOM infographics:
In second place (17%) with a large gap from reliability are kindness, responsiveness, empathy,
16% of women surveyed value smart people
educated men, 15% decent,
and only 9% of women focused on the young man’s appearance.
In general, how strikingly different are the ideas about the ideal soulmate of the stronger and weaker sex: what women value in men is in last place in the ranking of qualities that men value in women. Also, everything is reversed in situations with other qualities.
Reliability, which women so actively value in men, is ranked last in the ranking by the stronger sex. best qualities ideal woman. External data by which most men choose their companion - women in the ranking of the most important masculine qualities placed on one of the outer lines. In general, women are looking for someone who is reliable and not very handsome, and men are looking for someone who is beautiful and not very reliable (though a little faithful and devoted).
As for appearance, there is a good point: men perceive the object as a whole, women notice the details.
Men, implying that a woman should be beautiful, mean that she should be beautiful. What to do for this - women think. Many people do not divide beauties into blondes and brunettes; the overall image is important.
Naturally, many understand that in addition to beauty, such parameters and nuances as a beautiful gait, well-groomed appearance, hair, skin, nails, etc. are important.
It happens that I am driving or walking along the streets of my city - and I notice this thing: many ladies are very attractive, but they are dressed tastelessly or ugly, they slouch, have an unfeminine gait, a dull look, and an untidy hairstyle. There are a lot of combed, cute ones, and at the same time they, of course, look more advantageous, although everyone’s external characteristics may be the same. I once read on an Internet resource about how a fairly well-known psychologist conducted “Bitchology” courses (explained how to become a bitch ordinary women). They came to him different girls
, all ready to immediately transform into self-sufficient and independent people.. But he
I started the training by sending some people to wash their hair, get a manicure, and buy more beautiful clothes. In general, the psychologist said that they are looking very deeply for the reason for their loneliness. Usually in such courses women are simply “divorced”, it’s like instructions to “earn a million in five minutes”, you can’t learn this in a couple of weeks.? What does reliability mean, implied by women as the most desirable thing they want to see in opposite field On Wikipedia - let's turn to encyclopedic sources - it is indicated that“personal reliability is a positive spiritual and moral quality of the individual, expressing stability and firmness
moral principles her behavior. Trustworthiness as a quality of character is considered a virtue, along with honesty, benevolence and justice." Also, reliability is inextricably linked with responsibility; a reliable person is often associated with a developed sense of responsibility.
“Responsibility is the subjective obligation to be responsible for actions and actions, as well as their consequences” And although men can counterargue that there are few real women left either, the cause-and-effect relationship rightfully begins with the stronger sex.
The despair of the weaker sex is that many, through evil experience, come to the realization of the unimportance of a man’s appearance, to the priority even over the internal qualities, first of all, of the man’s reliability - “so as not to run away... keep his word, be able to provide, etc.”
Hierarchy of qualities ideal man gradually begins to bend, many requests change places, what previously seemed unimportant after a couple of mistakes rises to the pedestal.
A woman already does half the work if she looks good (without vulgarity), by this she shows her activity in terms of desire to find a companion or maintain a relationship. If we assume that a man is a conqueror, then he must show persistence; a woman’s position is more passive, but more significant. Men love with their eyes, but there is another truth: women love with their ears...
Men often (in more than 50% of cases) talk about what they really want, while women imagine a supposed ideal, which is often far from reality. Because in life, ladies often choose men with qualities completely opposite to those that are emphasized as the most important in surveys and conversations. They look for reliable ones, get bored without the strong ones, and fall in love with bandits or lazy people, slobs, irresponsible or unreliable and cute.
Which proves another ancient truth: women often don’t know what they want. They dream of one thing, but choose another... Because they live more by emotions. After all, it is not without reason that love (which is a feeling) often arises in spite of all dogmas and ideals cut out for the frame. As they say, “when you love someone for something, it’s no longer love”... And for men, it turns out that initially there is a calculation on the basis of which feelings already develop; it is often easier for the stronger sex to control feelings.
And women, no matter how they hide it, but for the most part they are not inclined to make calculations... they want one thing... they think that they want one thing, but they act completely differently and fall in love with someone with whom they did not think to fall in love in a cold mind more often than men.
Moreover, reliability in the understanding of many ladies does not mean the above terms at all, but financial solvency, a “big wallet,” the ability to buy whatever your heart desires or at least much more than is necessary. This is where we get exaggerated models of popular modern relationships: a beautiful, stupid blonde and a wealthy man. He “drinks” her beauty, she is his money.
But we are still talking about another part of the people, the sensible one, where even if there are stupid claims and unclear requests in their minds, on the whole everything is more unspoiled.
For ten girls there are nine boys...
A song from Soviet times states an ever-existing fact: “for nine girls, according to statistics, there are nine boys.”
“According to the State Statistics Committee, in 2010 there were 65.6 million men and 76.2 million women in Russia, that is, a difference of 10.6 million. The number statistically means that for every thousand men there are 1,160 women.”
The expected life expectancy of men is 11-13 years less than that of women (in Russia). At the same time, 1.5 times more boys are born than girls, that is, the former simply do not live to see adulthood, as if nature were experimenting on a strong field, or the population was being defeated precisely through the destruction and neutralization of men.
Men are more likely and more at a young age than women die from strokes, heart attacks (most common cause deaths on the planet), there are more male babies with developmental pathologies than girls, boys are less tenacious, boys are 4 times more likely to be affected by such a disease as autism, which has been gaining momentum lately.
And if previously the physical sphere suffered mainly, today mental complications in men and boys are much more common. Women, despite the fact that they are fragile, in the majority endure psychological trauma more easily and are more resilient, perhaps partly this is the effect of a defense mechanism.
In general, full-fledged, healthy and worthy men Far fewer survive to adulthood than women. As a result, the weaker sex lives by fictitious ideals, and due to the lack of abundance of choice, they prefer those who exist. Men, realizing that women are ready to do a lot for anyone more or less worthy, and realizing that enough women, especially single ones and not knowing what they want, can easily change an unsatisfactory soul mate for another.
Finally, an anecdote on the topic:
“There was one man who avoided marriage all his life, and when he was dying at the age of ninety, someone asked him:
“You never got married, but you never said why.” Now, standing on the threshold of death, satisfy our curiosity. If there is any secret, at least reveal it now - after all, you are dying, leaving this world. Even if your secret is found out, it will not harm you.
The old man replied:
- Yes, I keep one secret. It's not that I'm against marriage, but I've always been looking for the perfect woman. I spent all my time searching, and that’s how my life flew by.
- But is it really possible that on the entire huge planet, inhabited by millions of people, half of whom are women, you couldn’t find one single ideal woman?
A tear rolled down the dying old man's cheek.
He replied:
- No, I still found one.
The questioner was completely perplexed.
- Then what happened, why didn’t you get married?
And the old man answered:
— That woman was looking for the perfect man...«
Questions, of course, for unmarried people.
Men, what is your ideal woman?
Women, what is your ideal man?
Over time, many things change, and the ideals of women were no exception.
Judging by the photographs, in the Stone Age they loved bigger and fatter ladies, with huge seats and hanging sides.
Well, to each his own.
Let's see what happened next...
However, in later periods among prehistoric sculptors there were aesthetes who were not inspired by huge busts: these focused exclusively on outstanding ladies' fillets.
The ancient Egyptians, who had a developed culture, encouraged slimness and long legs, but without excessive thinness. Beauties were required to have broad, sculpted shoulders and well-developed muscles.
In addition, they generously used cosmetics, painting themselves bright attractive lips and elongated eyes: big eyes were an indispensable attribute of femininity.
The ancient Greeks created their aesthetic ideal not so much on the basis of beauty as on pure harmony and physical perfection of the body. And physical perfection in Greek is the Olympic Games, Spartan education.
If we turn to mythology, then, say, Hercules once pretended to be a girl for quite a long time, hiding among the Ionians. And nothing like that - it’s just that the girls then were a match for Hercules: powerful, muscular, with broad shoulders, strong arms and hips, so that in women’s clothing the great hero and demigod could not be distinguished from young future housewives.
The ancient Greeks especially valued beautiful rear areas. They didn’t need a lush bust: they have at least some, and that’s fine, but a beautiful butt – yes, that’s our way.
As for other signs of beauty and impeccability, widely spaced eyes and foreheads no narrower than those of a cow were considered beautiful. For example, the goddess Hera was called a cow-eyed goddess as a compliment (in our time, ideals have evolved so far that if you tell a girl “You have eyes like a cow,” you risk getting hit in the horns).
Well, classic Greek noses, how could we be without them, no barbaric snub nose was allowed! In addition, Greek women absolutely completely removed any vegetation on their bodies. No hedgehogs.
The Romans were not far from the Greeks in terms of canons - or rather, they simply copied Hellenic models. True, the ideal of beauty acquired a hump on the nose, which has since been considered aristocratic.
The Middle Ages created their own unique female type. He was characterized by deathly pallor and chicken-like thinness, caused by many hours of standing in prayer, walking pilgrimages, fasting and other mortifications of the flesh. In addition, noble ladies specially shaved the hair on their temples and foreheads to make it appear taller and give them a spiritual look.
If we look at the works of medieval art that have come down to us, we will find that these ladies do not have breasts. From the word “absolutely”. Artists depicted mostly maids with somewhat defined forms - girls from the common people were not forbidden to have a bust, it only served as another confirmation of their rudeness, depravity and general lack of culture. The noblewomen could not allow such an indecent and ungodly detail in their appearance.
There was no talk about makeup in those dark times, nor about hygiene. The example of Isabella of Castile, who, as a vow, did not wash for 25 years, speaks volumes.
The nightmare ended with the advent of the Renaissance. The Renaissance man shook off the memories of his dark past in the company of skinny, unwashed fear people and began to enjoy life. Joy, of course, found its expression in the views of the fairer sex. Women of the Renaissance gradually acquire flesh.
Pale skin is still valued. In addition, the ideal of beauty must be blonde or red: the women of the Renaissance are a whole poem of long, magical, flowing hair light shades.
Gradually, ideal women's shoulders become wider and wider and rounder, their necks become long and slender, and their figures become cheerfully plump.
The Baroque era went much further in its love for pronounced physicality: the then feminine ideal– a real triumph of cellulite and fat deposits.
A woman was chosen like a ham, so that there would be as many of her as possible. Beauties of that time, it seems, were measured exclusively in width.
A short period of light, erotic rococo put an end to this horror. Thin, but at the same time rounded faces with a barely outlined double chin and pleasant cheeks, piquant slightly upturned noses and small plump mouths, emphasized by cosmetics, have come into fashion.
Voluminous folds on the sides and bellies sagging under the weight of unjustly eaten food suddenly ceased to be valued. The weight was reduced to a slight plumpness: so that the lady, undressed and without a corset, would have a waist, but at the same time the gaze would not rest on the protruding ribs.
Madame de Pompadour finished off the fatties - small (one and a half meters with a wig and feathers), slender, with rounded elbows and graceful legs and high heels, which she herself invented.
The classicism that followed Rococo, with its desire for severity and harmony, in general also did not encourage either bodily excesses or lack of weight: something in between was required that would not offend the eye.
Facial features had to be regular, oriented towards the ancient ideal, and symmetrical, like Rossi Street in St. Petersburg. The ideal appearance clearly smacked of the Renaissance, but required greater rigor.
In the 19th century, beauties had to please the eye with the splendor of their bodies, protruding abundantly from their corsets, both above and below.
Of course, there were certain variations on the theme: the Impressionists, for example, preferred loose and plump ladies, whom you couldn’t grab with two hands at a run, and the Pre-Raphaelites tended to be more slender, but they both agreed on the obligatory presence of outstanding forms.
Those who were not generously endowed by nature and appetite had to wear whalebone products with padded busts and butts. Presumably, this did not arouse enthusiasm among the ladies.
Donuts reigned virtually unchallenged for almost a century, but in the 20th century their dominance came to an end. Art Nouveau style demanded new standards of beauty. Interesting women they simply had to be nervous, passionate and demonic.
Perhaps one of the most exciting topics is the ideal of a woman through the eyes of a man. And during its discussion, a long-legged blonde with magnificent bust, thin waist And plump lips. But we forget that this image was invented by women themselves and they constantly strive for it, exhausting themselves with diets, physical exercise resorting to plastic surgery and painful cosmetic procedures. In fact, through the eyes of a man, the real ideal of a woman is not a Barbie doll at all.
The ideal of female beauty for men
Talking about men's tastes, it’s difficult to compose one that absolutely everyone would like. Preferences are influenced by many factors, such as the physique and appearance of the man himself, his origin, age and position in life. In addition, there really are no comrades in taste and color, and in matters of choice everything is very individual. And, although Marilyn Monroe at one time managed to charm millions of the stronger sex, it is impossible to be desired by everyone. But, nevertheless, let’s try to summarize men’s wishes regarding a woman’s appearance and understand what we need to strive for.
The ideal female figure for men
As numerous surveys, interviews and voting show, ideal woman, according to men, is far from the parameters 90-60-90. Moreover, the importance of these parameters and their significance are greatly overestimated.
- Breast. In fact, most men don't like it at all. big bust, as is commonly believed. They prefer medium-sized breasts, but beautiful shape, elastic and toned.
- Waist. IN in this case Even men themselves are mistaken when they say that a woman should have a wasp waist and a flat tummy. During a survey using photographs, where representatives of the stronger sex were asked to choose the most attractive girls, the overwhelming majority of votes were received by women with a waist circumference of 65-70 cm. Moreover, they did not have sculpted abs, but captivated the respondents with a neat, feminine appearance.
- Hips. In a sense, preferences in terms of women's hips are determined by nature itself. The ideal woman for a man is the mother of his future children. Therefore, it is clear why the stronger sex mainly likes girls with rounded hips and elastic, convex buttocks.
- Legs. Women try by any means to visually lengthen their legs in order to appear more attractive. It turned out that for men this does not matter at all. The determining factor is the neat shape of the legs and the absence of cellulite on them.
The ideal beauty of a woman's face for a man
First of all, it is worth noting that the abuse of cosmetics not only does not appeal to men, but also repels them. The thought of what is hidden behind a lot of makeup scares the stronger sex. Therefore, it is advisable to simply make sure that the skin is well-groomed, clean and healthy. This will allow you to use a minimum of cosmetics and conquer with natural attractiveness.
The debate about the ideal of female beauty will continue forever, and the most important thing is to learn to love and accept yourself, taking care of your inner beauty. A confident, intelligent woman is the ideal for any man, regardless of her external characteristics.
The ideal of beauty in different eras .
Beauty has always been a valuable content of human nature. But beauty is as multifaceted as a person is multifaceted, and therefore the ideal of beauty in different eras and among different peoples was so different that sometimes even completely opposite! I wonder how the ideal of other eras and peoples compares with the modern one?
The Ideal of Beauty of Ancient Egypt
A slender and graceful woman, close to our modern understanding of the ideal of beauty. Subtle facial features with full lips and huge almond-shaped eyes, the shape of which was emphasized by special contours. To dilate the pupils and add shine to the eyes, juice from the “sleepy stupor” plant was dripped into them!
The contrast of heavy hairstyles with a graceful elongated figure evoked the idea of an exotic plant on a flexible, swaying stem. Today we are trying to create approximately the same effect with high heels.
The Ideal of Beauty of Ancient Japan
The beauties of Japan thickly whitened their skin, covering up all the defects on the face and chest, outlined the forehead along the edge of the hair growth with mascara, shaved off the eyebrows and drew short thick black lines instead. Married women in feudal Japan coated their teeth with black varnish. It was considered ideal to collect hair in a high, heavy knot, which was supported by a long patterned stick. Well, as for sticks in the hair and hiding skin defects under powder, even now you won’t be surprised by this, but black varnish on the teeth is not yet in fashion. But oriental motifs in outfits and makeup are in fashion.
The Ideal of Beauty of Ancient Greece
It was in Ancient Greece that the main canonical foundations of beauty were formed. The ideal of beauty is captured in many works of art of this era. The body had to have soft and rounded shapes. The sculpture of Aphrodite (Venus) became the standard for a beautiful body among the Greeks. This beauty was expressed in numbers: height 164 cm, chest circumference 86 cm, waist - 69 cm, hips - 93 cm.
The ideal of beauty of the Renaissance
During the early Renaissance, a pale complexion and long silky strands of blond hair became the canons of beauty for women in Florence. The great poets Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch and others glorified snow-white skin. A slender “swan neck” and a high, clean forehead were elevated to the rank of standard. To follow this fashion, to lengthen the oval of the face, women shaved the front hair and plucked their eyebrows, and to make the neck appear longer, they shaved the back of their heads. Leonardo da Vinci left us a wonderful standard of medieval beauty and formed a unique system of the “golden ratio”, which is still relevant today.
The ideal of beauty in modern times
It is noticeable that in the alternation of beauty ideals there is a noticeable tendency from naturalness to artificiality. Thus, with the decline of Rome, the era of the glorification of beauty was replaced by a cult of asceticism, detachment from worldly joys. In the Middle Ages, earthly beauty was considered sinful, and enjoying it was prohibited. The body was draped with heavy fabrics that hid the figure in a tight bag (the width of the clothes to the height is 1:3). Hair was completely hidden under the cap; the entire arsenal of means to improve appearance, which were so popular in ancient times, was consigned to oblivion. Blonding hair, already known in those days, was considered an unholy practice.
The ideal woman was personified by the Blessed Virgin Mary - an elongated oval face, a distinctly high forehead, huge eyes and a small mouth.
In the 13th century, the worship of the “beautiful lady” flourished. Troubadours praise the queens of knightly tournaments, their thin flexible figure, like a vine, blond hair, long face, straight thin nose, lush curls, clear and cheerful eyes, skin like a peach, lips redder than a cherry or a summer rose. A woman is compared to a rose - she is tender, fragile, graceful.
An interesting beauty formula developed in modern times is now somewhat outdated. A beautiful woman of that time should have: Three whites - skin, teeth, hands. Three black ones - eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes. Three red ones - lips, cheeks, nails. Three long ones - body, hair and arms. Three wide ones - chest, forehead, distance between eyebrows. Three narrow ones - mouth, shoulder, foot. Three thin ones - fingers, hair, lips. Three rounded ones - arms, torso, hips. Three small ones - breasts, nose and legs.
The ideal of beauty in the 19th century
The ideal of beauty was considered to be “wasp waists,” pale faces, delicacy and sophistication. What we now call aristocratic beauty. A beautiful woman was compared to a thoroughbred horse; she should have an elegant body and thin ankles. But at the same time, everything natural was considered rough and primitive. A healthy complexion and tan, a strong, strong body were signs of low origin.
The ideal of beauty in our century
Thanks to various beauty contests, a special standard of a beautiful woman has been formed. The applicant must have a strong personality and sense of style, emotionality and grace, photogenicity and the ability to adapt to various situations. At beauty contests on a global scale, preference is given to girls with the famous measurements of 90 - 60 - 90, and the applicant must certainly be young. Youth has been elevated to the rank of the beauty ideal of modern society and the entire beauty industry is aimed at prolonging the period of youth.
