And most people can relate.

Who hasn’t looked in the mirror and wanted to change what they see?

However, these aforementioned fashion trends show that there is no objective perfect body.

models

Here’s why the “perfect body bang out” is always changing.

The differences between generations may cause many disagreements over politics, economics, and of course, beauty standards.

Young people have grown up seeing themselves through pictures posted to social media.

Woman taking selfie

And that looking glass has no doubt changed people’s relationship to their bodies.

And, according toscientists, women are continuing to get more and more attractive generation after generation.

On the other hand, that also means that beauty standards may be raised with each new generation.

Khloe and Kim Kardashian with Kris Jenner

What is considered healthy?

It is more what isperceivedas healthy that shapes our attitudes about certain body shapes.

Since then, having extra weight has been a major focus of the health community.

Woman on scale

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)spent a billion dollarsin 2018 researching obesity alone.

However, weight might not be the most accurate barometer for a person’s health.

“Obesity management is not about treating numbers on a scale.

Magnetized people

It’s about improving people’s health.”

We like what we know

We’ve all heard the saying that opposites attract.

However, according to several studies, that’s not actually true.

Ariana Grande at the billboard Women in Music 2018

It turns out, humans are more attracted to what they are already comfortable with.

For example, growing up, a person generally sees their family members a lot.

This apparent phenomenon isn’t limited to just families.

Actress

Friends, peers, and neighbors also feed into our sense of familiarity and can make us feel comfortable.

It’s part of why everyone has a different idea of what an attractive body looks like.

After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Kayan woman

Most people today consume media through television shows, computers, smartphones, and even magazine covers.

Similarly, other cultures focus on completely different aspects of the body altogether.

Even just in America, the culture has shifted drastically in the last hundred years.

Woman posing with cigarette holder

Clearly, there’s a lot that goes into people’s perceptions of beauty.

Changing lifestyles

The way you live your life could understandably influence your outward appearance.

The best historical example of this might just be the iconic flappers of the 1920s.

New York Fashion Week 2019

Therefore, we imagine that flappers and their contemporaries might have seen twig-like bodies as the ideal.

No longer was the “perfect body” considered to be delicate and soft.

But this wasn’t the only case of fashion influencing society’s perception of the ideal body.

Shoppers carrying Victoria Secret Bags

And seeing skinny models walk the runway, of course,shapes what we see as beautiful.

A large reason women shave their armpits and legs is because ofGillette’s past marketing tactics.

Clearly, companies make money off of body dissatisfaction.

Every Beautiful Body Symposium

Though, they do appear to acknowledge when change is on the horizon.

More and more companies seem to beembracing body positivity in their advertising strategy.

Luckily, there are large organizations that are trying to give the voice back to the people.

woman sitting poolside

The dialogue around bodies and body image is changing.

The modern body positivity movement is still young, but we’re already seeing its effects.

Brands are starting toban altered photoson their products,increase their clothes sizing options, andhire more diverse models.

Thin women at the beach

In the future, maybe there won’t even be a strict vision of the “perfect body.”

That’s why theartwork from that timedepicts emperors and other powerful individuals as robust and filled out.

Anyone have a time machine handy?

two women chatting at the beach

Having excess fat on the body was associated with power, success, and wealth.

No wonder thepaintings of the eradepict fleshy, large bodies.

That must have been nice!

three genderqueer people

That also explains why thinness is almost universally equated to beauty hence the perfect body being a lean body.

That’s certainly different from how things are stateside.

Finally, some good news!

doctor and senior woman

That’s proof that you’re never too old to find love, and we’reherefor that.

That means that youthful bodies and faces aren’t the only beautiful options out there.