The obsession over female beauty has been passed down throughout history. Since records began, there have been traces of beauty techniques, fashions, and male desire. The Egyptians (around 3150BC) believed that beauty came from a number of different sources; however, much of it affirms a specific model of beauty, particularly in females. In Egyptian art, the ideal form is a youthful and slim figure with narrow hips, which studies of pharaonic mummies have revealed is a fair representation of reality, at least in the case of Egyptian women. Furthermore, female hip-to-shoulder proportions do not differ greatly from those of male Egyptian mummies. While both sexes may be depicted in this way, representations of males are more likely to vary from the ideal, indicating that a standard was still expected during these times, with men having less rules and women sticking to a strict ideal.
Ancient Egyptian culture contained the seeds of much of what followed, be it cosmetics, perfumes, or clothing. It is rightly looked upon as an opulent historical period, and contributed much to our modern concept of beauty. However, I believe that their strong belief in beauty differs highly to our modern belief. An exception to most other ancient societies, Egyptian women achieved parity with Egyptian men. They enjoyed the same legal and economic rights, at least in theory, and this concept can be found in Egyptian art and contemporary manuscripts. The disparities between people’s legal rights were based on differences in social class and not on gender. This therefore proves that women were not undermined by men in general, and were not under severe pressure to look beautiful for their superior. This raises the question of where it all changed?
The Ancient Greek rights system of the time was totally different to the Ancient Egyptians: their father controlled them before they were married, and their spouse controlled them once they were married. At certain points in ancient Athens, citizenship could only be attained if both parents were born there, and so, for the passing on of legitimacy, women were protected and sheltered, even in their own houses, from the peeping eyes of other men. They had limited access to society and the activities that took place there. Despite this, the writer Simonides depicted women as different types of animals: women represented the force of chaos. Women were viewed as highly sexual beings, who could not control their sexual urges, and therefore had to be restricted for their own benefit. Compare this, however, to his paradox in which he explains to the ancient Greeks, ‘woman is the consumer of men, their sex, their strength, their food, and their wealth, and the instigator of all evils in the world; yet without her, society cannot continue’. You could suggest this created a negative effect on women’s perspective, and they felt that their purpose was to cater for man. The concrete and simple Greek concept of beauty was enlarged by Plotinus, who rejected beauty as being merely a formal property, and described it as not just symmetry, but rather as a quality that “irradiates” and moves us. Helen of Troy, the cause of the Trojan War, was seen as the paragon of beauty, exuding a physical brilliance; she was celebrated not for her kindness or her intellect, but for her physical perfection.
As an Ancient Greek woman, one method of looking beautiful was dying your hair. The most sought-after hair colour was blonde, since not many Greeks were naturally blonde, so light hair was probably perceived as beautiful because it was so different. Women would lighten their hair using plant extracts or arsenic, and wash their locks with a mixture of ashes, olive oil, and water. They also believed that the body should work around the theme of symmetry, meaning both sides of the body should be in sync. This means that if the breasts are large, the hips must be too in order to create a balance: a simple body standard that was believed to be beautiful by Ancient Greek artists.
This ‘standard’ changed throughout history. For example, as the 16th century dawned, it was believed that you must be small at the top of the body, including breasts and waist, then have large hips and bottom. This was known as the hourglass figure, and was classed as beautiful. The waist must be as small as it can possibly be, hence the use of corsets and other controlling bodices. By this time, men were still highly dominant and powerful over women, and so women were often said to be there in order to make the man look good. This meant that women had to live up to the standard they were expected to. The pressures of sticking to this standard resulted in women breaking their ribs in order to achieve smaller waists. European women bound themselves into corsets of whalebone and hardened canvas, and a piece of metal or wood ran down the front to flatten the breasts and abdomen. This garment made it impossible to bend at the waist and difficult to breathe. A farthingale, typically worn over the corset, held women’s skirts out from their bodies; consisting of bent wood held together with tapes, it made such simple activities as sitting down nearly impossible. Queen Catherine of France introduced waist binding, with a tortuous invention consisting of iron bands that minimized the size of the waist to the ideal measurement of thirteen inches. The corset represents a fundamental shift in the concept of clothing and tailoring; instead of shaping clothes to the body, as had been done throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the body began to conform to the fashionable shape of the clothing worn.
Emma Blaken
Image Sources:
http://www.fashion-era.com/ancient_costume/egyptian_eye_make_up_cosmetic…