Let's talk about historical beauty standards (Body Projects, Part 1)

Let’s talk about “body projects.” 

You know, projects like “lose 10 pounds,” “finally fit into those jeans,“ “have better hair” or “improve my skin.”

The motivation behind a “body project” is that our body is representative of our identity.  

That idea feels so obvious in 2021 that it’s almost not worth saying. Of course, our bodies are intimately tied to our identities. It’s who we are — literally!  

And yet, Joan Jacobs Brumberg, a historian at Cornell University, argues in her book The Body Project that this emphasis is actually relatively new from a historical perspective.

This is not to say that adolescent girls had zero interest in appearance in, for example, the Victorian era. But, Brumberg argues, parents in that era “tried to limit their daughters’ interest in superficial things, such as hairdos, dresses, or the size of their waists, because character was considered more important by both parents and the community.”

These parents firmly believed, she argues, that “character was built on attention to self-control, service to others, and belief in God — not on attention to one’s own, highly individualistic body project.” (emphasis mine).

Of course, you could debate the merits of those particular values. But let’s compare self-improvement-oriented diary entries from adolescent girls from two different eras:

From 1892:

“Resolved, not to talk about myself or feelings. To think before speaking. To work seriously. To be self-restrained in conversations and actions. Not to let my thoughts wander. To be dignified. Interest myself more in others.”

Now here’s one from 1982:  

“I will try to make myself better in any way I possibly can with the help of my budget and baby-sitting money. I will lose weight, get new lenses, already got new haircut, good makeup, new clothes and accessories.”

Read those two diary entries again.

Like, really read them.  

Here’s my summary:

1892: Work on being a person who lives true to my values.

1982: Work on being a person who has an attractive image.

As Brumberg puts it: “Like many adults in American society, girls today are concerned with the shape and appearance of their bodies as the primary expression of their individual identity.” (emphasis mine).

Really think about what Brumberg is saying:

Our bodies don’t have to be the primary expression of our individual identity.

Even though that might feel impossible in 2021 — it’s actually relatively recent, from a historical perspective.

In my next essay, I want to talk about some fascinating historical reasons why this shift occurred, but today, I just want you to let this really sink in:

How would your life be different, if you spent your free time resolving to “be dignified.”

Or “interest yourself more in others.”

Or even “to think before speaking.”

How would your life be different if the key to your identity was not your appearance, but how true you were to your values?

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As always, I’m rooting for you. You’ve got this.

Katie