Exam 5: The Self

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Periods of history tend to be characterized by a specific "look" or ideal of beauty. For example,in sharp contrast to today's emphasis on health and vigour,in the early nineteenth century it was fashionable to appear delicate to the point of looking ill. The poet Keats described the ideal woman of that time as "a milk white lamb that bleats for man's protection."
In much of the nineteenth century,the desirable waistline for American women was 18 inches (45 centimetres),a circumference that required the use of corsets pulled so tight that they routinely caused headaches,fainting spells,and possibly even the uterine and spinal disorders common among women of the time. Although modern women are not quite as "straightlaced," many still endure such indignities as high heels,body waxing,eye lifts,and liposuction. In addition to the millions spent on cosmetics,clothing,health clubs,and fashion magazines,these practices remind us that the desire to conform to current standards of beauty-whether right or wrong-is alive and well.
The ideal body type of Western women has changed radically over time,and these changes have resulted in a realignment of sexual dimorphic markers-those aspects of the body that distinguish between the sexes. For example,using heights and weights from winners of the Miss America pageant,nutrition experts concluded that many beauty queens are in the undernourished range. In the 1920s,contestants had a body mass index (BMI)in the range now considered normal-20 to 25. Since then an increasing number of winners have had BMIs under 18.5,which is the World Health Organization's standard for undernutrition.