usually I’m all “let’s talk about beauty standards and the unrealistic expectation they set for women” but hear me out about Gibson Girls
in the late 19th/early 20th century, this one dude, Charles Gibson, drew tons of illustrations of these ladies
they’re considered a “beauty ideal” because they all pretty much have one body type–huge, piled up hair, adding to their already statuesque height, long necks, corseted waists blooming into broad skirts BUT
a lot of that had to do with ushering in a new cultural ideal, the “New Woman,” who was encouraged to be more athletic and embrace her physicality more than previous decades
also if you’re not already swooning, the Gibson Girl is frequently seen honing her skills. here she is playing the violin:
ALSO these works were laced with satire and social commentary. Check out “The Weaker Sex”:
she is depicted as intelligent, aloof, absorbed in her aspirations to reach beyond what society has so far granted her, and not content to marry off quickly
(^^every time I look at this picture I say “me” about a different figure)
she’s also super in touch with her sexuality
these drawings maintain somewhat of a tongue-in-cheek, self-aware quality, as if aware that the “ideal” being sold is attainable and even somewhat odd
look here’s an acknowledgement of her vanity, but life can be shitty but at least she looks hot af while livin it
anyway there’s so much more to this than “some illustrator dude drew his ideal woman over and over and then it became a beauty ideal like the ones we’re familiar with today” Gibson did a remarkable job capturing a sentiment among women in a period of great change and chose to highlight their strength and their agency
and i’m so glad this exists:
the world needs to know about Gibson Girls
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