Body Image In The 1800s

It seems that during nearly any given time period in the history of mankind, the aesthetics of an individual has played an important role. Whether it was which single figure in a band of ancient hominins stood the tallest or whether is was which woman could better please the eye of a king with her hourglass figure, health and body image are often an underlying reason for success. The idea of proper health and image therefore seems to be a timeless notion that people of all time periods and social rankings gravitate to upkeep. The concept of positive health and ideal body image was very significant to the majority of people in Europe during the Modern Era. Healthcare was always a relevant topic to people, even if the practices were completely

Even during modern times, it appears that having a healthy mind and body, as well as having the ideal looking anatomy means you have better chances of prospering in society.
Modern day media is constantly portraying the "ideal body" look to people all around the world. This uninterrupted projection of the optimal body image causes many pressures to be placed on the people who are observing them. This made me wonder if this pressure was also present during the 16th, 17th or 18th centuries. Although there is a lack of technology such as television, newspapers and movies, the burden of looking a specific way was still on the shoulders of people in the Early Modern World. The people of Europe during the 1500's to the 1800's depended on material objects to showcase their wealth to other people. In order to fully take advantage of

During a time referred to as the Victorian Era, women were mostly involved in reaching their goal of the "perfect silhouette." Hair was the most important thing to women during this time period from 1837 to 1901. Hair pieces were made and were fastened to the woman's head. Having a better head of hair set the upper class aside from the peasantry. Woman even sometimes dyed their hair, which was of course very unhealthy for their hair and exposed them to many toxic chemicals. Blonde seemed to be the hair color everyone wanted. Trimming of pubic hair was a common practice. This was either done with a small scissors or burned with fire, showing that women would endure painful regimes to obtain beauty. Waxing was not invented until the 1850's. Unlike today, being pale was the sought after look during this time. Females always tried to stay out of the sun. It seems like the women of the Victorian Era were "elegant slaves" as their only job was to have children and look appeasing to their husbands. A well known attribute to body image during this century was the fact that the waist had to be as small as possible. The average waist size was 16-22 inches. Later into the 1800's women of the middle class were able to afford corsets and would begin to cinch their waists as well, trying to follow the lead of the women that were more rich and powerful than they were.