Women and Fashion Did you know…

What size are you? Are you sure??

Because there is no mandatory clothing size standard in the United States, manufacturers create their own sizing systems DID YOU KNOW…

That in 1941 the average woman was 5' 2“ tall and weighed 129 pounds DID YOU KNOW…

That Marilyn Monroe was 5’5” tall and weighed a healthy 135 pounds DID YOU KNOW…

That the average woman today is 5' 4“ tall, weighs 144 lbs, and wears a size DID YOU KNOW…

The average American model is 5'11" tall and weighs 117 pounds DID YOU KNOW…

The average American model is 5'11" tall and weighs 117 pounds DID YOU KNOW…

That most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women DID YOU KNOW…

That most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women

DID YOU KNOW… That most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women

DID YOU KNOW… That most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women

DID YOU KNOW… That most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women

DID YOU KNOW…

In 1970, the average weight of Playboy Playmates was 11% below national average DID YOU KNOW…

In 1978, it dropped to 17% below the national average DID YOU KNOW…

That 4 out of 5 American women say they're dissatisfied with the way they look DID YOU KNOW…

That on any given day, almost half of the women in the United States are on a diet DID YOU KNOW…

There have only been 2 periods in which non-eating and control of appetite has been prominent in women’s lives: in Catholicism in the 13 th -16 th centuries, and NOW DID YOU KNOW…

That the ideal body type in the 19 th century was large bust and large hips with a wasp waist DID YOU KNOW…

That the ideal body type in the 19 th century was large bust and large hips with a wasp waist

DID YOU KNOW…

That the corset (to create a wasp waist) exerts lbs of pressure on internal organs DID YOU KNOW…

Doctors endorsed corsets as improving women’s weak waists & spines DID YOU KNOW…

That corsets and their relatives: bras, girdles, garters remain items of erotica DID YOU KNOW…

That corsets and their relatives: bras, girdles, garters remain items of erotica

Being thin and pale was a mark of upper class status “The mother would look upon the sturdy frame and ruddy cheeks as tokens of vulgarity.” - Hester Pendleton, 1863 DID YOU KNOW…

Between doctors and the insurance industry began to promote an ideal, rather than average body type that was decidedly thinner than 50 years before DID YOU KNOW…

In 1913 in Richmond, VA a woman was arrested and taken to the police station for wearing a slit skirt DID YOU KNOW…

Dieting became a fact of life for American women at the same time as the creation of:  the fashion and cosmetics industries  beauty contests  the modeling profession  and the movies DID YOU KNOW…

That in 1918, Vogue told its readers: “There is one crime against the modern ethics of beauty which is unpardonable; far better it is to commit any number of petty crimes than to be guilty of the sin of growing fat.” DID YOU KNOW…

The new emphasis on thin women occurred at the same time as women were fighting for the right to vote DID YOU KNOW…

That 1920s swimmer and movie star, Annette Kellerman, blamed American women for the rising divorce rate Since they did not exercise, she said, “in 7 cases out of 10, the wife had lost her physical charm for her husband.” DID YOU KNOW…

Following Kellerman’s remark, women started shape-up routines in the 1920s DID YOU KNOW…

Beginning in 1920s, female beauty pageants made bathing suit competitions a centerpiece of their contests DID YOU KNOW…

Clothing began to be sized in the 1920s, reversing the centuries- long process in which clothing was made to fit a woman’s body Now, women fit their bodies to sizes! DID YOU KNOW…

During WW II, women’s uniforms camouflaged their sexuality, fitting them for the work of men

DID YOU KNOW…

During WW II, women’s uniforms camouflaged their sexuality, fitting them for the work of men DID YOU KNOW…

That during the Cold War, women’s sex appeal was seen as a threat to the free world DID YOU KNOW…

That in the 1950s, black magazines like Ebony preached the advantages of lighter skin DID YOU KNOW…

Seventeen Magazine (first published in 1944 when women were prominent in the workforce) adopted the cause of weight control DID YOU KNOW…

That between (when women had returned home from wartime work) diet articles fell by about 50% DID YOU KNOW…

That the women’s movement made a come back in the 1960s DID YOU KNOW…

At the same time (as the comeback of the women’s movement) a new emphasis on thin women occurred DID YOU KNOW…

That Twiggy was 5’7” tall and weighed 98 pounds DID YOU KNOW…

Vogue Magazine explained that: “Twiggy is called Twiggy because she looks like a strong gale-force wind would snap her in two and dash her into the ground” DID YOU KNOW…

Weight Watchers was founded in 1963, recruited 500,000 members and grossed $5.5 million in revenues DID YOU KNOW…

That in 1984, 300 diet books were published

In a 1984 survey, most diabetic children said they would rather be diabetic and thin than healthy and fat DID YOU KNOW…

That a 1987 survey of high school students found 63% of girls and 16.2% of boys dieting DID YOU KNOW…

A Ry-Krisp crackers advertisement declared; “Nobody Loves a Fat Girl” DID YOU KNOW…

That on college campuses, up to 20% of students have an eating disorder

That the typical anorectic constrains themselves to calories per day DID YOU KNOW…

The United Nations World Health Organization established a daily intake of 1000 calories as the border of semi-starvation DID YOU KNOW…

That 150,000 Americans die annually from Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia DID YOU KNOW…

“Her tight waist and long, trailing skirts deprive her of all freedom of breath and motion. No wonder man prescribes her sphere. She needs his aid at every turn. He must help her up stairs and down, in the carriage and out, on the horse, up the hill, over the ditch and fence, and thus teach her the poetry of dependence.” -- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1857