Curves Ahead - Photo Essay
Added 2021-11-22 08:50:31 +0000 UTCThe ideals of beauty have changed over time, with the pendulum swinging from skinny to curvy and back.
The US first became obsessed with waiflike thinness a hundred years ago during the 1920s. The “flapper” was a slender woman with a boy like straight figure.
Some women even went so far as to tightly bandage their breasts so they could appear more flat chested. That was also the first time it became acceptable for women to start cutting their hair short to mimic the boys. Corsets went out of style, because women did not want to emphasize curves. Dresses were cut straight down, with no cinching at the waist.
Following Second World War, hourglass figures came back into style. The ideal of beauty shifted to Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.
Then in the 1960s an appropriately named British model, Twiggy, brought back the waif look with a vengeance.
Twiggy became one of the very first supermodels with a worldwide influence and recognition. With hundreds of magazine covers, and countless appearances in film and TV, she made the skinny look the new ideal of beauty.
After the drugs and mayhem of 1970s, the nation swung towards fitness and healthy living. By the 1980s Jazzercise and Aerobics had become part of the culture. Being fit and slender solidified the tendency to equate skinny with beautiful. Calling someone “fat’ became the ultimate insult.
But beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Fortunately with the rise of the internet, there has been a great democratization of what is considered beautiful. Curvy women have massive followings on social media.
In my own art photography I strive to show people of all shapes, colors and creeds. When Lillias mentioned she was coming to Los Angeles I was delighted to shoot with her.
