How did people decide what was beautiful (male/female) in the past?

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Just that, really. I know about medieval standards of beauty a bit, and I know they had a huge thing for blonde women, liked their men bearded, and so on. But I don't know much about the last 500 years or about whether it's different in different bits of Europe. Obviously I guess it must be once you get outside Europe!

But how did people judge what was attractive in a man or a woman?

I know that people must have varied as much as we do but there must also be things we'd think were completely odd to find sexy, but that were attractive back in the day. I know in about 1375 Chaucer has the Wife of Bath say she's attractive because she has a gap in her teeth.

I also wonder how much people genuinely looked very different in the past and now. Of course we are healthier on the whole and I understand we're a bit bigger than women used to be, but I wonder what else has changed.

Interesting!

Ooh, just seen this about York. Yes, very interesting!

In Heian Japan (around a thousand years ago), the ideal for upper class women was plump, pale, long thick hair down past the feet, blackened teeth (using a mixture of iron filings and vinegar or sake - yuk) and eyebrows shaved off and redrawn as thumbprint-sized smudges high on the forehead. I can get with the pallor and hair but the teeth and brows are a bit bleurgh! There's a story from the time called The Lady Who Loved Insects about a woman who wasn't interested in conforming to this and her white teeth are described as looking like peeled caterpillars

Ps sorry for resurrecting thread but I'm fascinated by different standards of beauty through time!

Oh, thank you for bringing this thread back! And for your post ... crikey. I wonder if the blackened teeth was to some extent making a virtue of necessity?

Blackened teeth were attractive due to the Japanese love of anything black lacquered. Hugely fashionable.

Also the black dyes preserved the teeth leaving them less prone to decay!

Crikey. I did know about blackened teeth, but I had no idea it had a useful function!

I have heard - and I've no idea if it's true or a myth - that proper kohl is quite good for your eyes, too?

I suppose blackened teeth would also hide decay and not show your age/infirmities so much? Pleasant thought!