I spent an amazing 90 minutes at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore this past weekend, wrapping up my Fitbloggin’ adventure.
And as I stood on the gorgeous spiral staircase, surrounded by artwork that dated back to ancient times, I felt a sense of peace…
…knowing that before technology, social networking, fast food and more, people found comfort and happiness in things like friends and family.
Community. That’s what Fitbloggin’ was all about. That’s what Twitter, Facebook and e-mail are about.
I walked past paintings from the 19th century, when Romantic artists celebrated the full female figure. Do you think they ever referred to their muffin tops the way we do? 
Then I ventured into the 20th century, when sculptors turned to a more modern form. Their version of beauty wasn’t always shown in portraits of people, but often in organic — sometimes bizarre — shapes.
And from the modern sculptures to a room that included only a few items — including:
- 3D glasses
- a series of posterboards with odd-looking, computer-generated shapes
- clipboards
- pencils
- pieces of paper
(The exhibit is called Beauty and the Brain, and you can find out more here.)
The shapes looked sort of like a nose, with three or four abstract bumps, and the picture was repeated about 20 times, all with subtle differences. It was only by looking at one after the other after the other that you even knew they weren’t the same.
via Wall Street Journal
The exhibit asked you to put the 3D glasses on and look at each of the 10 posterboards, marking which version of the image you thought was most beautiful, and which was the least. Then, you could turn in the piece of paper to get analysis returned.
(I’m still waiting for mine to come back!)
No wrong answers — just your FIRST instinct as to what was beautiful and what was not.
Oddly enough, I found myself marking the thinner, sleeker shapes as “beautiful” and the more blobby, spread out, bulbous shapes as least beautiful. I wanted to stop, and say
KATY, NO! All shapes are beautiful! Don’t reinforce the stereotype that skinny is beautiful!
But I didn’t want to screw up the study.
Beauty in Baltimore
So what does it say about society and body image? Are we taught to think sleek and skinny are superior to wider and voluptuous? Is it something we’re born feeling or do we learn it?
Have I lost my mind?
I’d love to hear from anyone who has gone to this exhibit, or has a similar experience. Or, if you haven’t — what do YOU think is beautiful, and how has it changed?
About Katy
Katy,
Great question, I think its a societal perception.. in some communities thicker, bigger is beautiful. i do think its a learned response as you can even see over the years how as a whole society went from Maryily monroe, pam grier ,Cindy Crawford, gabby reese (athletic) to kate moss ,etc.. and before all of them women that were considered beautiful were very voluptuous. I actually think it’s been spreading to men now gradually, if you look at what was “sexy” or beautiful over each decade and pick five men you can see how Thin = beautiful has really started effecting men as well.
The journey is kinda about showing Fitness as the equalizer, if your 250 and in better “shape” than someone that’s 160lbs..that’s what we should be paying attention too.. being healthier inside and out.
great write-up!
Chris,
Thanks, and I totally agree! I was at the gym this week and the trainer showed me my BMI for height and weight. I was…ahem…NOT in the good to excellent category. But I run half marathons! Do pull-ups! Play with my dogs for hours!
It’s hard to live up to our accepted measurements of what healthy and beautiful is, but I’m glad we’re having the discussion.
You hit it right on the nose (ha!). We can want to be tolerant and accepting and non-judgmental, but sleek and smooth and bumpless wannabe seems to be ingrained. I don’t have a problem with what I look like until I see a photo of myself or, as I did a couple of weeks ago, until I see myself on video…I don’t look ANYTHING like I think I look. I really need some good, hard work on body image and what is really important and all that good stuff. I’m counting on your generation to figure it all out…
My generation is working on it!
I am really bad with pictures. Even at Fitbloggin’, before the panels (when I learned better), I was taking and re-taking and re-taking pictures, trying to get my double chin in the best light!
So silly.
How interesting…I love that they will analyze your questionnaire for you!
I think as much as we want to say “all bodies are beautiful,” it is hard to get out of the ‘skinny and sleek = ideal’ mindset in our society.
Julie, I’m super excited to get my sheet back. Lucas filled one out, too, although he said his eyes got blurry after just a few posters!
I agree — I felt my subconscious kick in.
yeah, but i think the idea of “living up too” is why people have such a problem.. While i’m not at my goal i really don’t care about others standards.. I think its because of sports honestly.. you learn what your capable of and that people are faster,shorter, slower, thinner, fatter, etc.. but that you can never under estimate them. It’s such a fine line because there’s also the “Big and Proud” logic that disregards fitness and health. i think it’s all just people trying to get acceptance instead of doing what they need too health/wellness wise..
BMI i believe is based off of the ideal efficiency of the heart can supply blood to the body.. but the problem is it doesn’t address soooo many other things.. almost ALL football/basketball players are overweight/obese … so its a strange thing.. I’m no doctor! lol.. That’s why i think fitness is key.. i know people 165 lbs with a healthy BMI that look in shape but can’t run,bike,lift..etc.. but if we were walking down the street together they would think i was the “couch potato”. Everyone needs to learn not to care about outside perceptions.. and i think athletic goals/achievements kind of teach that.. nothing like getting passed by the 75 year old grandmother in a triathlon to teach you not to judge a book by its cover! lol Wow.. this is a rant!!
Whoops! i caught up in my own rant… and forgot to say.. i’m happy to be talking about this too.. as a guy i don’t have these discussions to often and its good to hear the different opinions out there.
Great question girl! And a tough one. Beauty to me is anything that is full of life, love and happiness, no matter what they may look like. As my sister and I are struggling with our appearance (mainly our skin) we are constantly getting upset when we see ‘pretty’ girls with their gorgeous skin and than we get mad that we are getting upset. Because each person is different and has their own set of problems. Therefore, true beauty lies from within a person. How much one cares for oneself, people around and the environment that they are living in. Ok that is my two cents