Look How The ‘Ideal’ Female Body Has Changed Through The Years.

The 1600 and 1700s were about abundance.
The best way for a man to display his wealth was by showing off his robust wife. Fuller hips, large bosoms, and a plump stomach not only signified beauty but also the social standing and wealth she belonged to.

Tiny waists were the norm in the 1800 and 1900s.
During the Victorian era in Europe, women wrapped their torsos tightly in corsets to make their waists appear as small as possible. Studies today show that these corsets not only made the average sized waists measure just 22 inches, it also deformed the ribs, and misaligned the vertebral spines.

The rise of the Gibson Girl in the 1900s.
The Gibson Girl was athletic with a large bust, wide hips but still had to have a small waist. Women were still wearing corsets but not to the extreme of the past generation.

The feminine and boyish look was the style of the 1920s.
Perhaps as a rebellion against the corset, women in the 1920s wore, long "flapper" dresses that hid their hips and waists. The long, boxy dresses were more boyish than curve-hugging.

Women's hair also had a revolutionary moment.
Rather than keep long tresses, most women preferred a short, bob cut. Instead of displaying their cleavage, arms and legs past the knees were shown off.

The 1930s saw the end of the flapper girl.
In 1938, LIFE magazine described the ideal body of the time."The perfect 1938 figure must have curves but it differs from the perfect figure of past decades in relationship of curves to straight lines … Now, though, the ideal figure must have a round, high bosom, a slim but not wasp-like waist, and gently rounded hips," it explained.

Dolores del Río may have been the first Latin bombshell in Hollywood.
In 1931, Photoplay magazine hailed Dolores del Río as having the best body in Hollywood. The Mexican actor stood 5' 4.5" tall and weighed 120 lbs. Her measurements highlighted the hourglass figure; 25 inch waist, 36 inch hips, and 33 inch bust.

Marilyn Monroe's physique was considered perfect in the 1940s.
It wasn't just her platinum blond hair, luscious red lips, and the mole on her cheek that made her the exemplary woman. Monroe was considered to have the ideal figure as well. Her measurements were 36-24-34, she stood 5’5” tall, and weighed 118 lbs.

Nonetheless, her dressmaker revealed that the blond bombshell struggled with her weight, flunctuating from 118 lbs to 140 lbs.
Monroe revealed to Pageant Magazine in 1952 that she exercised every morning for 15 minutes; lifting five pound weights.

The 1960s paid homage to the boyish look of the 1920s.
The only problem is that the models and actors like Twiggy and Audrey Hepburn had an androgynous body that not many women could attain. While the body was slender and statuesque, the eyes, makeup, and even fashion was contrastingly big and bold.

The 1970s saw the rise and obsession with suntanning.
The long haired blond with a "natural" tan was the essence of California beauty. Farrah Fawcett was the "it" girl of this era even though she had yet to make her mark as one Charlie's Angels on the classic TV show.

The 1970s saw the feminist movement grow.
The women's liberation in the 1970s saw women choosing both careers and families, they felt they no longer needed to make a choice. Despite the bra burnings and adopting a more au naturel look, women still fell under the pressure to look healthy by getting skinnier. Body shapers like Warner's were in demand to help achieve the skinny and athletic all in one.

Women starving themselves to be skinny came to light with singer Karen Carpenter's death in 1983, she was only 32.
Anorexia nervosa was identified as early as the 1870s, but it wasn't until the 1970s and 80s that the medical community began to take the mental illness seriously. It is estimated that 30 million people suffer from an eating disorder today in the United States.

Strong and fit women like Olympian Florence Griffith Joyner shifted society's view of femininity and strength.
On one end of the spectrum models were getting thinner in the 1980s, but athletes were proving that strong, athletic body were also sexy.

When acclaimed actor Jane Fonda released her 1982 workout video, a new industry exploded.
Women could work out in the comforts of their home by popping the latest workout tape to achieve the sculpted body celebrities had. Fonda's first video alone sold 17 million copies.

And it wasn't just about the videos either.
Bright, colourful unitards, leggings, crunchy socks and hair ties, you name it, women were putting it on to work out. Within a couple of years, the work-out videos grew into a billion dollar industry.

The 1990s saw the arrival of the "heroin chic."
British model Kate Moss was the face behind the latest trend where models didn't just look thin, they had a waif-like, strung out appearance with protruding hips and collarbones, thus the, "heroin chic" term.

Brazil has exported most of the supermodels of the 2000s like Giselle Bundchen, Adriana Lima, and Alesandra Ambrosio.
The women continue to be ultra-thin but with the power of Photoshop, their body measurements have been minimized to anatomically impossible numbers.

"Big, big booty, what you got a big booty..."
Jennifer Lopez can take credit for making a curvaceous body in vogue again. JLo's booty is just as famous as her romantic dalliances. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj, Amber Rose, and Iggy Azalea have made big butts a desirable body part.

If anything history has told us is that every body is ideal. Thick, skinny, curvaceous, athletic, and naturally thin are all beautiful.
Jennifer Lopez will never achieve the flapper girl body, nor should she. It's all about embracing your natural body physique and highlighting its beauties rather than live a life where your build is in today but out tomorrow.