What The Ideal Female Body Looks Like Around The World
Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder?
Superdrug Doctor Online Beauty can come in many different forms. What one person finds attractive or beautiful in another is entirely subjective, but how does one country or culture's perception of beauty differ from another?
Is what's considered beautiful in Italy the same as in Mexico?
The first thing you think of on an ideal woman's body are large breasts, a slim waist, and skinny legs, right? That's because modern media has reinforced that idea throughout our society.
Yet while just a few decades ago in the United States, super skinny women in low-rise jeans were the "it" trend, after women like Kate Upton, Kim Kardashian, and others influenced film, TV, music videos, and social media, the ideal "skinny" body type went became less favored. People now rave about being curvy or "slim thick" — having a tiny waist and a big butt.
What is considered the "perfect" or "ideal" female body type around the world?
The answer varies by country, and the folks at Superdrug Online Doctors wanted to know more about global perspectives on what each considers to be perfect or ideal female body types.
To do so, they conducted a study they called Perceptions of Perfection Across Borders, wherein they commissioned graphic designers in 18 countries to take part in their effort to investigate perceptions of beauty around the world.
What is an ideal woman?
The "ideal" woman has a great personality and is smart, honest, enthusiastic, funny, and loving. But, according to societal standards, this ideal woman should also have certain physical features: big eyes, long hair, a skinny waist, and so on.
Luckily, some men see the ideal woman as someone who is confident and loves their own body; in fact, that makes women more attractive to men. While some men only look for a certain body type, just remind yourself that you don't need a man who makes you feel insecure.
But the truth is that there is no ideal woman because all bodies are different, and all bodies are beautiful.
There's no way to have an ideal body because every woman has a different body shape. But what are the qualities of an ideal woman aside from her physical traits? The qualities of an ideal woman should be based on her personality and nature, not her body.
As the creators of this project said, "The goal of this project is to understand potentially unrealistic standards of beauty better and to see how such pressures vary around the world."
The selected designers were given the same image of one woman, along with these instructions: "Photoshop her form. The idea is to Photoshop and add retouches to this woman to make her more attractive to the citizens of your country. We are looking to explore how perceptions of beauty change across the world. Multiple designers are involved. You can modify the clothing, but her form must be visible. No nudity. All other changes, including those to her shape and form, are up to you."
This is the original image:
The study's creators initially sought only female graphic designers, saying they wanted "a woman's view of what her culture finds attractive and to understand more about the pressures they face."
However, to get more entries from a broader range of countries, they eventually accepted contributions from four men, with the caveat that they "first seek input from women and base their design changes on this feedback."
Here are the resulting images showing 18 "perfect" female body types around the world, by country.
1. Argentina
2. China
3. Colombia
4. Egypt
5. Italy
6. Mexico
7. The Netherlands
8. Peru
9. Phillippines
10. Romania
11. Serbia
12. South Africa
13. Spain
14. Syria
15. United Kingdom
16. United States of America
17. Ukraine
18. Venezuela
Once the results were in, the researchers also conducted a brief survey to estimate the weights, heights, and BMI measurements of the body sizes depicted in each image.
All photos: Superdrug Online Doctor
If it were possible, it would be fun to do this kind of study — but instead of the ideal woman from various countries, instead, focus on the ideal look for women throughout the centuries. What was considered beautiful in the time of Henry VIII certainly doesn't match the ideal beauty from the 1800s, as each historical period had its own ideas on what they considered beautiful.
And, of course, let's bring on the men!
Christine Schoenwald is a writer and performer. She has had articles in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, Bustle, Medium, and Woman's Day.