Kalokagathia

Kalokagathia in ancient Greece was ideal physical and moral beauty. Coming from two words, kalos meaning beautiful(outward) and noble(inward), and agthos, meaning noble, courageous, worhty of admiration. It involves notions of symmetry important to Greeks. Plato believed that which is beautiful can only be good, and vice versa. Plotinus followed Plato's ideas and said that "beauty is that which irradiates symmetry rather than symmetry itself."

Below is a kouros, which is a statue of a youth that did not represent a particular person but the idea of youth. Made as dedications to the Gods or as graveside monuments, kouros were fashioned to be flawless representations of the "beautiful and good" ideal.

Nuba Scarification

The Nuba, a tribal group in Sudan, idealise scarification, dark skin and hairlessness. Scarification is considered a mark of beauty on women, and her first set of scars are cut from the naval to the breasts when her breasts first start to mature. On menses, more scars are cut on her body, and after weaning her child, a final set on her back, neck, arms, and legs. The raised scars are connected with sexual desire, and are said to create erotic sensations when touched.

Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians used an array of techniques with much in common with modern ones, such as cosmetics, tatooing and body creams, to achieve a stylised appearence. This body ideal can be seen in many pictorial records and is recorded in heiroglyphs.

Body hair removal was important to the Egyptians who believed hair was a sign of uncleanliness. The only exception were the goatee and mustache. Sometimes women even had their head shaved, however more often hair on the head was braided, shaved, cut in order to express individuality and fashion. Wigs were also used.

Oils were important in protecting against the sun, and Egyptians also adorned themselves with scents. Jewelery was also important with lapis lazuri imported from Afghanistan being one of the most important, while silver was sometimes regarded as more precious than gold due to its relative scarcity. Soaps were used from around 1500BC.

Green or black eye makeup was used to emphasise the eyeline and eyebrows and to decorate the eye. Henna was used for colouring the hair.

Concubines and dancers from the Middle Kingdom had geometric designs tatooed on their shoulders, chests and arms. In the New Kingdom dancers, musicians and servant girls had tatoos of the god Bes on their thighs.

Ideal Beauty in Goth, Alternative, or Indie subculture

In Goth, Alternative and Indie subculture in the West, is mainly present only in teenage and university age cultures and is mostly expressed by women. This ideal is of very pale skin, dark hair and dark eyes and lips, and allows almost any body type from very full-figured in a retro bodice to very thin and tall in a flowing lace blouse. Colours of clothing are dark or bright, such as black, red, burghandy, dark green, or mustard, as well as white and cream lace. Styles of clothing are almost always retro, with a basic preference for lace, bodices, transparent layers, flowing long skirts. The look has many variations, from a kind of bondage look to Shakespearean to Indian style to heavy metal to businesslike adaptations. However, what they all have in common is an attempt to convey depth, feeling, darkness, being misunderstood and being different from the majority standard. The image is of an intellectual in retreat from the everyday world, as well as expressions of many kinds of teenage rebelliousness. However, individuals who participate in it are overwhelmingly expressing cultural conformity to this sub-cultural ideal.

This ideal exists all over the Western world from Europe to the US and perhaps has done so for many centuries, although it remains a minority subculture in all areas where it appears.

The Ideal Beauty in Surfer and Beach Culture

In Surfer and Beach culture, the ideal is a tanned, slim and muscular athletic body. Hair is sun-streaked or, recently, artificially coloured with layered streaks of bleach. A somewhat angular torso with long limbs and broad shoulders is preferred, and broad shoulders are acceptable or somewhat idealised even on a girl. The body is somewhat angular, the male displaying beside the square shoulders, a long straight back and flat stomach and square hips. The female body is more triangular, often carrying sturdy shoulders and a wide upper torso which angles down to a small flat stomach, accompanied with angular hips. The legs on the girl can be somewhat short and sturdy in comparison to the general western slim ideal. In contrast to the general Western ideal, freckling is generally acceptable especially when it only covers the body and not the face, as long as the skin has tanned, and is idealised on childrens' faces. The ideal is very youthful and is usually portrayed in its teenaged or early-twenties stage.

This ideal dominates Australia generally, and many beachside areas of the US and New Zealand, as well as surfer and beach subculture internationally.

Hindi Traditional

Indian philosophy saw the cultivation of physical beauty as a positive ideal connected with inner beauty. The adornment of the Ideal Beauty in Hindi tradition has spiritual significance in the culture. The woman is adorned with sixteen ornaments (solah shringa), the number sixteen being significant as the "perfect age" and also the number of phases of the moon.

The Bindi is painted at the centre of the forhead, representing the third eye. Sindoor is red powder placed in the parting of the hair of married women. The red colour symbolises fertility and commitment to her husband.

The tika is a chain with a hook on one end and a pendant in the other. It symbolises her union with her husband.

Khol is used on the eyes and eyelashes, while a nose ring is worn. A necklace is worn, and flower earrings that symbolise the cycles of nature, the god Kama, and femininity.

Mehndi, or henna is applied on a bride's hands as a non-permanent tatoo. It is also used at other auspicious occasions by married women. It is a symbol of satisfaction and happiness.

Bangles on the wrists and armbands also associated with marriage. The Indian aesthetic considers adornment to define beauty. The arsi, a thumb ring with a mirror, brings special delight for this reason, and is worn particularly by married women.

Hair is oiled, ornamented, and decorated with flowers. Dividing the hair into three to form a braid is considered auspicious, as the three strands represent the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, or Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, or her father's house, in-laws' house and herself.

The kamarband is a band worn around the waist, passed down from mother to daughter. The tradition of many of these 16 ornaments goes back centuries or millenia, and the kamarband has been used continously from the at least the time of the Indus Valley civilization up to the modern day.

The foot is both the human pedestal in contact with the mother Earth and the humblest and most impure part of the body in Indian culture. Lovers would often be portrayed as falling at women's feet to show their respect. Adornment of the feet is therefore important, with the anklet (payal) and toe rings. Gold should not be used because it symbolises Lakshmi, the Godess of wealth.

Perfume is used discreetly and reflects the woman's character, and qualities of the seasons.

The Indian ideal of beauty has traditionally been voluptuous with a focus on the belly and hips.

Edo Japan

In the edo-period Japanese aesthetic, the eyes and the lips are exaggereatedly small and the nose is straight long and points downward. The face is white and long, the features small and gathered in the middle of the face. Their chins are large and their limbs thin.

One edo-period ideal expressed in these pictures was the concept of refinement (iki). Three elements withing iki were spirit (hari), allure (bitai) and urbanity (akanuke).

Courtesans with elaborate hairstyles and expensive kimono were an ideal emphasised in art from this era.

Top to Bottom Pictures by: Utagawa Toyoharu, Utagawa Toyokuni, Chobunsai Eishi