Elizabethan Era Beauty

The old saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” has always been the ideal of what society believes beauty to be; versatile and able to be interpreted as anyone likes because it is something that is unique to every person’s own taste. This sentiment, as true as it may seem, is just an illusion. Oxford Dictionaries may define beauty as “a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight”, which seems vague enough to be interpreted any way someone wishes, yet society has been instructing standards onto what is deemed “beautiful” for centuries. It is these mass opinions that then culminate in the “real” definition of beauty, which, though they can be ephemeral, is really seen

Through the progression of art, the ideals of an era, as well as how they changed overtime can be observed. The Ancient Greeks were some of the more lenient on what was considered beautiful, so long as they had “curved womanly features such as a swelling of the hips and evident breasts” (Ideals of Beauty in Greek and Modern Art), then they would exemplify the goals of that time. Fast forward a bit to the Elizabethan era and the focus completely shifts, where it is now all about being seen as a pure beauty, characterized by “light hair and a snow white complexion complimented with red cheeks and red lips“(Alchin). Moreover, looking even further ahead in the 1960s and 1980s, two time frames that are only two decades apart, yet saw drastic shifts in their idea of beauty. According to the people of the 60s, having a willowy figure with long, thin limbs and a flat chest was considered the peak of perfection, although if you asked the 80s they would say the opposite. With the rise in exercise during the time, tall athletic type bodies with just the right amount curves were all the rage, so they had easily said goodbye to the sticks girls of the

The United States has probably seen the most drastic transitions, seeing as how the American beauty now is one that is skinny, has an ample bosom and bottom, all on top of being fit and tan. The problem with this concept of beauty is that it presents an unrealistic expectation to people, but since it is the given expectation people will try any method to attain those features, no matter how unnatural. South Korea is a prime example of this idea, seeing the lengths they will go to in order to fit the opinion of beauty in their country. As it turns out, South Korea is the plastic surgery capital of the world and has the highest surgery rate per capita. It’s no wonder either, with their favor towards large eyes, pale skin, and v-shaped faces, Koreans are regularly getting surgeries done to enlarge the eyes and shave down the jaw, as well as using whitening products on their skin in order to bleach it. Even so, they are not alone, and many other countries' surgery rates are rising steadily, including the United