Ideals of Beauty

the-earth-mother-of-all-neolithic-discoveries

from an article in The Independent:

Could the "lady of Villers-Carbonnell" represent the neolithic ideal of female beauty, long before the coming of fashion magazines, airbrushes and Photoshop?

Now there's a fascinating question. Look at that body. Nothing like the ideals of feminine beauty we've come to culturally admire. The breasts are too small and the hips too wide. Yet through the ages prior to our own recent past, round hips were admired and breasts did not have to be large and bursting out of clothing.

There have been more and more articles recently addressing our cultural obsession with slim-hipped, busty female figures. We seem to forget that the wide pelvis (translating to rounder hips and buttocks) generally provides more space and protection for a growing offspring.

Yet I find myself wanting to balance the picture too. Some women naturally fit the cultural ideal; others do not. Perhaps what we need to do is design the cultural norm to be less of a singular image and more of a sliding scale. Allow for the diversity of our human population. Stop attempting to squeeze or stretch everyone into the same mold. We allow that for men. It'd be great if we could allow it for women as well.

How do you feel about the ideal of beauty in our culture today? What do you think of the different standards for men and for women? What does the neolithic statue express to you?