The ideal body type for women drastically change every decade. As Tina Fey wrote in Bossypants, “Now every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits.” Before I lay into my personal thoughts on this large and looming topic, check out this a recap of the body and beauty standards for women over the last 100 years:

Ever notice that every decade the beauty ideal seems to shift back to the opposite of what it was before? From the flapper to curves, to twig back to hard-bodies, to extreme waif and back to bodacious curves. It's almost as if each decade rebels against the last. Who decides what these beauty standards are? Is it us women or our peers? Is it men? Is it the fashion industry or Hollywood? Who validates and perpetuates these ideals?

In the age of Instagram and the social media addiction of posting selfie's and counting likes, finding validation in our bodies has become easier than ever. When I say "finding validation in our bodies" I'm not talking about sharing selfies or outfit shots for your blog, I mean using your body as a primary way to get attention and feel good about yourself. Let's take a look at how social media validation has affected the Kardashian/Jenner family

Kim created an entire book of selfies, including many photos where she's completely naked. "Selfish", appropriately named, was a platform for which to gawk at her body and literally nothing else. Following a similar suit, her little sisters Kendall and Kylie started posting non-stop images of their bodies in bikinis and revealing clothes at the young age of 15 years old. Perhaps their way of proving to the world they are beautiful and worthy of fame too. Please note that I am by no means saying that sharing photos of yourself when you're feeling yourself is a bad thing but when it's the only content that you are putting out to the world, it strikes me as a red flag.

Kylie finally admitted to having lip fillers at the young age of 17, why at such a young age, when her body is still forming into an adult, did she feel it necessary to change her appearance? Where did she learn that she wasn't beautiful as she was? One would think that the positive affirmations and increasing fame status she was receiving for her looks and style would make her more confident, yet for some reason it seem to have had the reverse affect. After admitting to insecurities about her lips, she's now using more lip fillers than ever and has also been rumored to enhance and alter parts of herself. When we aren't our primary source of validation, we can lose ourselves into impossible and unhealthy demands of the people around us.

Growing up, one of the beauty trends that affected me the most was the "thigh gap" (see photo right). This is when your legs are so thin that they don't touch at all when you stand with your feet together. Being short and having muscular legs, this ideal was never something that I would healthily obtained. It seems unachievable for most but in fact many girls I grew up with had just that. Many of those same girls also suffered from anorexia and bulimia. With that being said, there are also women who has naturally occurring thigh-gaps.

In 2015 we have this new body trend emerging, more than just a big butt, it's now seen as desirable to have a line of skin fold on the top of the legs and hips. This is called the "thigh-brow" (see photo left). No surprise that it's being made popular by the Kardasian/Jenner clan. Even though this ridiculous fad finally fits my body type, I'm upset. Already within my lifetime I've experience the beauty trend cycle through one ideal to the next, like described in the first part of the article. The cycle of body and beauty trends never seems to end.

Every human is uniquely different and it's time we as a culture we learn to let go of these strict body trends that keep changing every decade. There is no way we can or ever should want to conform to one ideal standard of beauty. Why do we limit ourselves when there are so much to celebrate ? At the root, I'd say humans are afraid of not fitting in. Belonging is one of Maslow's higher hierarchy of needs, and something we 1st world beings fear these days, is not being beautiful or accepted. As these body fads continue to cycle through and we feel like we can't live up the ever changing demands, let's focus on our most beautiful feature of all, our ability to love.

Find parts of your body, face, skin, hair, teeth, and muscles to love. Marinate in your beauty, pamper and take care of yourself. When we're struggling to accept or forgive ourselves for being a certain way, let's turn inwards and allow, accept, embrace, celebrate, let go, grow. Relish in yourself, nothing has ever felt so good. Then, share your love outwards and explore new ways to find beauty in others and the world around us.

Information and images on the female beauty ideals through the century from the following sources:

Thanks for reading, FJ