You've heard the saying, "Girls always want the type of booty they don't have." Today, that statement could easily be changed to "Girls always want the type of booty they don't have." With the rise of Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj, the "ideal" butt has definitely changed over the past decade. Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it's great that big butts get to enjoy moments like this - because they're beautiful. But the whole concept of an "ideal" butt (or ideal body) leads to women and girls wanting to have different body types in the first place.
If you are plus-size, society will tell you to be thinner. If you are thin, society says you are not a "real" woman because "real women have curves." In addition to our culture's obsession with women's shapes and sizes, our standards of beauty are constantly whitewashed. Before Beverly Johnson graced the cover of Vogue in 1974, there had never been a woman of color on the cover of the magazine—and that was 40 years ago. The public was outraged last year when Nicki Minaj posted her sexy Anaconda cover, but when Victoria's Secret angels wear thongs on the runway or on the cover of Sports Illustrated , they're basically She is revered as a goddess in human form.
How can women and girls not care about the shape of their backs (or anything else for that matter) when the "ideal" female body shape continues to change, is primarily centered around white women, and remains out of reach for most women part) feel dissatisfied? ? This is crazy. All butts are good butts, and the "ideal" butt has changed so much over the years that there's no point in stressing about it.
To prove it's all for naught, here are 11 examples of how America's "ideal" butt has changed over the years.
1. 1910s, big and round
By the early 1900s, our beloved hustle and bustle had gone out of fashion, but that didn't mean Padang Kadonk was no longer valued enough. The "perfect butt" is part of the hourglass shape, which became popular thanks to Charles Gibson's illustrations. Gibson used his talents and influence to enhance the firm, round buttocks of his ideal woman, the "Gibson girl." Since Gibson's illustrations are the equivalent of today's high fashion photographs from the 1910s, they had a strong influence on what hips "should" look like at the time.
2. 1920s, plain.
As The Flappers began to emerge on the pop culture scene in the roaring 1920s, Gibson's curvy hips were no longer the beauty ideal they once were. With the popularity of androgynous fashion, flat, “boyish” buttocks have become the new sexy element.
In fact, everything goes flat was the beauty ideal of the 1920s. Curvy women wear special bras to flatten their breasts, and they even starve and diet to look as curvy as possible. oops.
3. 1930s, slightly curved
The 1930s ushered in the Golden Age of Hollywood (1930s to 1950s), so the 1930s introduced curves, but only slight curves, back into popular culture's standards of beauty. Beginning in the 1930s and continuing into the 1950s, weight-gaining pills were promoted in magazines as a way to help women achieve curvier buttocks, while also making other areas more curvier. During that time, being called "skinny" was an insult and flat butts were officially phased out.
4. 1940s, angular — then curved
In the early 1940s, women were working outside the home more than ever before to fill the workforce gap left by men entering the war in World War II—and as a result, strong, chiseled bodies were idealized. However, when American soldiers began returning from World War II in the mid-1940s, rounded hips and buttocks became increasingly popular and encouraged as a visually pleasing way to welcome soldiers home.
5. 1950s, very curvy
Big curves were the dominant style throughout the 1950s. In fact, hip and butt padding began to be sold in stores, and those weight-gain ads that started appearing in the 1930s are more popular than ever. Thin women are shamed for their lack of body shape and encouraged to take weight-gaining supplements to bulk up.
The hourglass figure is almost idolized, which means women should have boobs and a booty...while somehow maintaining a tiny waist. (Sound familiar?) Marilyn Monroe and Liz Taylor set the standard for "ideal" butts in the 1950s, and as I'm sure you already know, they were some beautiful curvy ladies. White women continue to dominate mainstream pop culture.
6. 1960s, small
Well, can you look at this – white women are still at the center of fashion and Hollywood beauty ideals. As you can see, the "perfect butt" changed dramatically from the 1950s to the 1960s. This is partly due to the more revealing fashion trends such as miniskirts that became popular in the 1960s. If you have a smaller butt, miniskirts are easier to wear, but small butts are also becoming more popular as the most popular trend of the decade. Model Twiggy is super small all over.
7. 1970s, fitted and slightly curved
Farrah Fawcett was a staple of mainstream pop culture in the 1970s. Ever since "Charlie's Angels" had athletic butts, "toned butts" have become popular and slight curves have become "." OK". That said, women in the 1970s were "supposed" to strive for a slim figure, which also meant slim hips.
One good thing about the 1970s, however, was that popular culture in the 1970s began to consider the concept of overall beauty "ideals" to be slightly more diverse, thanks to the black pride and "Black is Beautiful" movements of the 1960s. ”. Beverly Johnson becomes the first black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue, and the gorgeous Darnella Thomas stars in her Charlie fragrance campaign.
8. Super fitness in the 1980s
I don’t know if it’s all the influence of fitness pioneer Jane Fonda (and the seemingly endless series of aerobics videos she inspired) – but just like the 1970s, the 1980s also celebrated and encouraged women’s exercise Hips. However, the fitness craze of the 1980s encouraged much more than just toned, slimmer butts. By the 1980s, women's muscles had become not only accepted, but desirable - hence muscular booties.
9. Supermodel butts in the 1990s
The supermodel butt (whether small and flat, small and round, or large and round) was the ideal butt type in the 1990s. At the time, supermodels like Kate Moss and Elle Macpherson popularized the "tramp" look (aka "heroin chic"), which basically meant that, for some, It seems that the ideal butt in the 90s was super small and flat. However, other famous supermodels of the '90s, such as Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, were also known for having the ideal butts of the time - although their butts were not necessarily Large, yet round enough to easily fill hot pants.
Additionally, the '90s ushered in a new era in which the buttocks of women of color finally began to be idealized in mainstream pop culture. In 1997, Tyra Banks made history when she became the first black woman to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated , and artists like Jennifer Lopez and Sir Mix-A-Lot Big butts are also encouraged as the ideal butt type. public way. From the release of Baby Got Back in 1992 to the sex appeal JLo exuded in the mid to late '90s, big boots were also considered sexy AF. So, basically, the '90s were all about the ideal butt—and it was awesome.
10. 2000s, hues and circles
When Britney Spears, Beyoncé, and Christina Aguilera began to dominate pop music in the '00s, their toned, round (but not oversized) buttocks became pop culture's most idealized buttocks . Of course, this booty standard still sucks because regular women don't get paid to do squats like these celebrities do, but at least women are no longer encouraged to look like they're on heroin.
11. 2010 to present, big and round
Over the past five years, successful women like Nicki Minaj and Kim Kardashian have used their influence and their "assets" to help big butts finally become the "ideal" butt type. (In fact, I think it's safe to say that these two might have the most idealized butts of our time.) Most recently, Minaj's ode to big butts in Anaconda , and Kardashian's controversial (and Big Butts)'s paper covers openly celebrate big butts, and the women who have them, in a way that mainstream pop culture hasn't seen in a while.
Personally, while I know my butt will never be as big as current butt standards dictate, I still think it's pretty awesome that big butts are making a comeback - because for decades, women with big butts have been Demands feel they need to shrink themselves. However, if all the crazy variations on what we consider the "ideal" butt can teach us anything, it's that there should be no such thing as a "perfect butt"—and trying to achieve it will only lead to body shaming and unhappiness. So, take care of your body and do squats if you want, but don’t stress about getting the “perfect butt” – because you already have it.
My Mage: Ameryllis Sternweiser, /Flickr; ABC; Jiffy / (8)
