Female body shape

Reflecting the wide range of individual beliefs on what is best for physical health and what is preferred aesthetically, there is no universally acknowledged ideal female body shape.

A number of other changes typically occur during pregnancy, including enlargement and increased firmness of the breasts, mainly due to hypertrophy of the mammary gland in response to the hormone prolactin.

After menopause, with the reduced production of estrogen by the ovaries, there is a tendency for fat to redistribute from a female's buttocks, hips and thighs to her waist or abdomen.

[20] The breasts of girls and women in early stages of development commonly are "high" and rounded, dome- or cone-shaped, and protrude almost horizontally from a female's chest wall.

Over time, the sag on breasts tends to increase due to their natural weight, the relaxation of support structures, and aging.

These include:[34] The "Female Figure Identification Technique for Apparel" uses the following formula to identify an individual's body type:[35] Some clothing size standards define categories.

The circumferences of bust, waist, and hips (BWH) and the ratios between them are a widespread method of identifying different female body shapes.

[41] Laws "aimed at preventing anorexia by stopping the promotion of inaccessible ideals of beauty" have been introduced in a number of European countries,[42] to regulate the minimum actual or apparent BMI of fashion models.

This resulted in a beauty standard that reconciled the two aesthetics by using classically proportioned figures who had non-classical amounts of flesh and soft, padded skin.

Upon closer inspection however, most of the women have fairly normal statures, Rubens has simply painted their flesh with rolls and ripples that otherwise would not be there.

This may be a reflection of the female style of the day: a long, cylindrical, gown with rippling satin accents, tailored over a figure in stays.

Consequently, depictions of nude women in the 18th century tend to have a very narrow waist and high, distinct breasts, almost as if they were wearing an invisible corset.

In the 1960s, the invention of the miniskirt as well as the increased acceptability of pants for women, prompted the idealization of the long leg that has lasted to this day.

Additionally, the ideal figure has favored an ever-lower waist–hip ratio, especially with the advent and progression of digital editing software such as Adobe Photoshop.

[52] Diabetes professionals advise that a waist measurement for a woman of over 80 cm (31 in) increases the risk of heart disease, but that ethnic background also plays a factor.

[66][67] Many studies indicate that WHR correlates with female fertility, leading some to speculate that its use as a sexual selection cue by men has an evolutionary basis.

[68] However it is also suggested that the evident relationships between WHR-influencing hormones and survival-relevant traits such as competitiveness and stress tolerance may give a preference for higher waist–hip ratios its own evolutionary benefit.

[69] WHR has been found to be a more efficient predictor of mortality in older people than waist circumference or body mass index (BMI).

Over the past several hundred years, there has been a shift towards viewing the body as part of one's identity – not in a purely physical way, but as a means of deeper self-expression.

David Gauntlett, in his 2008 book, recognizes the importance of malleability in physical identity, stating, "the body is the outer expression of our self, to be improved and worked upon".

While the models that graced the covers of Vogue Magazine and Harper's Bazaar in the 1950s were in line with the thin ideal of the day, the most prominent female icon was Marilyn Monroe.

Monroe, who was more curvaceous, fell on the opposite end of the feminine ideal spectrum in comparison to high fashion models.

These shifts in what was seen to be the "fashionable body" at the time followed no logical pattern, and the changes occurred so quickly that one shape was never in vogue for more than a decade.

As is the case with fashion itself in the post-modern world, the premise of the ever-evolving "ideal" shape relies on the fact that it will soon become obsolete, and thus must continue changing to prevent itself from becoming uninteresting.

[81] Having a tiny waist was a sign of social status, as the wealthier women could afford to dress more extravagantly and sport items such as corsets to increase their physical attractiveness.

[82] By the 1920s, the cultural ideal had changed significantly as a result of the suffrage movement, and "the fashion was for cropped hair, flat (bound) breasts and a slim androgynous shape".

David Gauntlett states that the media's "repetitive celebration of a beauty 'ideal' which most women will not be able to match … will eat up readers' time and money—and perhaps good health—if they try".

[91] A study of 52 older adults found that females may think more about their body shape and endorse thinner figures than men even into old age.

[100] In a 2012 experiment, researchers Crossley, Cornelissen, and Tovée asked men and women to depict an attractive female body, and the majority of them chose the same ideal.

The researchers state, "For both sexes, the primary predictor of female beauty is a relatively low BMI combined with a relatively curvaceous body".