Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Report says women's body shape be called Da Vinci, Rembrandt or Rubens

Women have never been happy about it, but now comparing female bodies to pieces of fruit has really gone pear-shaped.

Health experts are calling for an end to the labelling of bodies as apples and pears saying it dehumanises women and puts pressure on young girls to look a certain way.


YouTube link.

Instead a new report is recommending the female form be referred by six new categories based on the work of iconic artists.

The categories include the straight up and down Da Vinci, the full bust and bottom Rebrandt and the well-proportioned Rubens.

Full story with descriptions here.

5 comments:

Insolitus said...

So, one would need to know classical painters and their art in order to name female body shapes? Great idea!! I had no idea women felt dehumanised by the apple and pear shaped categories (that are applicable to men, as well). But what would a carrot like myself know? Pardon my dehumanising choice of words, but I'm not so well versed in classical art that I could name an artist who painted men with my body shape. (Perhaps no one, I don't think short and skinny with a big head has ever been the male ideal. I feel excluded now, dehumanized, even!)

Miss Cellania said...

So Rubenesque now means "well-proportioned"? It used to mean "fat".

cath said...

This might be the first time in history that the phrases "well-proportioned" and "carries weight around the mid-section" have been used to describe the same type! (The latter of these phrases describes me. The former... well, I guess that's a matter of opinion.)

I don't see this changing the way we normally categorize body types; as Insolitus says, apples and pears and hourglasses are things whose shapes are familiar to most people, so they make good shorthand for body types. However, I can see that these new terms might work as a kind of jargon for discussion of body-type/physique in a context where sensitivity is important, among people who are familiar with them. Looking at one or two representative pictures of the artists' work makes it pretty clear what the body types are -- more clear, in a way, than the rather abstract fruit-and-timepieces model. The proposed new terms are definitely more flattering.

Realistically, though, I just don't see this catching on. Not only is it somewhat obscure, but it's also a really obvious marketing ploy by a lingerie company which profits from women's insecurities about their bodies.

It's a clever marketing ploy, though: Triumph has got their name and photos of their product all over the "news," tied up with a vague message of affirming female beauty and diversity, on International Women's Day. They've out-Doved Dove.

Anonymous said...

Then there is the Guth woman:

http://web.comhem.se/gutart1/PA1_j/paj1/flora.jpg

Ratz said...

Just don't date a picasso or dali woman, you'd never know which bits to kiss.