Beauty has no size, no skin tone, no hair colour, no eye colour, no facial features, no muscle definition… For we are all uniquely beautiful, and the standards are unreal.” – Anonymous
A woman reflects on the ever-shifting landscape of beauty standards, acknowledging that these norms should never be considered as fixed standards. Over the years, society has embraced various ideals of beauty, each decade introducing a new benchmark that people strive to meet.
In the 1950s, during Marilyn Monroe’s reign, blonde hair and fair skin took center stage, with less emphasis on body shape. In the 1960s, a youthful appearance reminiscent of high school days was highly sought after. The 1980s celebrated women with well-defined arms and shapely figures, while the 1990s leaned towards extreme thinness and flawless skin.
Since the early 2000s, doctors and popular culture have emphasized certain attributes for a woman to be considered beautiful, including ample breasts, a round derriere, a flat stomach, a slender waist, a thigh gap, and flawless skin. Iconic figures like Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner have seemingly epitomized this beauty ideal, regardless of the means they employ to attain it.
