The guitar-shaped body

Brazilian forms of beauty that spring immediately to mind are the painted and feathered extravaganzas Carnivale, and the salon-waxed, well-proportioned beach bums in bikinis. An exceedingly body-image concerned society with high rates of plastic surgery and use of other treatments, a look at what is requested is one way to reveal the beauty ideal there. Breast reduction is a popular surgery there as the emphasis is on the bottom half in Brazil, generally the reverse of Western societies. Known as “um corpo de violão,” literally the “guitar-shaped body”, the point of attraction was “the sweet swing” of her hips. In the past, this was even more so, and as in Western countries a look at the fifties shows a generally heavier, all over, body type thinning out over the decades. The heavier ideal, “fartura,” representing abundance, is still important in poorer and more tradional regions, however the Western ideal is penetrating the society deeper and deeper due to media, the fashion and modeling industry, movies, even children’s toys.

The Persian Lady

One of the more unique features of the Persian Ideal beauty is the joint brow, as can be determined by art from the era. Seen in ornate robes and luscious surroundings, emphasizing the wealth and abundance of the nobles and notables depicted, it might be possible to interpret from this also a symbolic expression of feminine fertility. Very often flowers are drawn around the damsel, at her feet or in the background. However in her actual physical characteristics, her femininity is very downplayed- de-emphasised, or it could almost be said de-feminised. Again this must be artistic license rather than the actual appearance of most of the girls, and in this gap can be seen the reach for the ideal by the commissioned artist. Focus is not drawn to her breasts and hips and they are often not shown in the pictures at all. Her torso is long, straight and flat like that of a thin young man.

The facial features probably reveal an Asian influence as the shape of the eyes and the large fleshy cheeks are very similar in style. Again this is an idealization, with the eyes often turned up and the nose straight and downturned. Often she has a beauty mark, and her headdresses, veils and hairstyles are very varied, probably reflecting the level of care and creativity that women took when dressing themselves.

There is a world of difference between the ideals of modesty in Persian culture and Western culture. As can be seen below, Persian women were sometimes drawn wearing a cape fastened only at the neck (and naked beneath) thus making the breasts vulnerable to exposure. The veil on the other hand seemed to have connotations of modesty or purity attached to it even in these pre-Muslim times.




(painting from Freer Sackler Gallery)