The Female Body Proportion Guide Has Been Updated

I came across a metafilter post yesterday with helpful links on How To Draw a Female in Proportion. Included were links to divine proportion, idealized proportion, and the most interesting, historic proportion. The above image came from Adolphe Armand Braun's Hieroglyphic or Greek Method of Life Drawing, published in 1916. If this woman was a celebrity, she'd run the high risk of being called fat by today's media-influenced standards. Curvy hips are a big no no....and A-cups? Forget it.

Now this is more like it. Today's women should have giant bobble heads perched atop a tiny stick figure body showing no discernable curves except for the giant floatation devices attached to her upper torso. Additionally, her lips should be bloated and distorted to appear as a duck bill, while the nose is whittled down to a perky speck on her smooth, wrinkle-free face. Teeth are veneered and polished to a blinding white, and with the exception of the eyebrows, lashes and mane, all hair has been stripped from the body. Bones such as the clavicle and rib cage are often seen protruding through the flesh and is considered appealing. There you have it, the updated 21st century guide to female proportion. medium: ink on paper, photoshop.Thanks Knox.

Comments

[Connie]

What's really eerie about this is that Pam Anderson looks EXACTLY like this in person.

[Jenn F.]

*laughing at midevil's comment*

This is a fantastic piece. Everything you had to say is bang on. When will this change? How can we change it? We're damaging ourselves by buying into it. KZK was exactly right in her comment. Doesn't anyone appreciate natural beauty, in whatever shape or size it comes in? 14, thank you for drawing attention (no pun intended) to such a hugely important issue.

[Candy]

Spot-on, as always, 14. But I had no idea you and Shauna Sand were buddies! How nice of her to model for this post.

[midevil]

I think your update is too fat.

[KZK]

This is just great!!!!!!!! Love your stuff, have been lurking for a few years now, but this is the 1st time I'm compelled to post. What are we doing to our girls in this country?!?! Has anyone else seen the new "Supermodel Barbie?" I don't get it. They redid Barbie a few years back to make her proportions more realistic. But now they are propelling us back yet again w/the new anorexic version. And the teeth!!!! Thank you for mentioning the new necessity of BLINDINGLY UN-NATURAL WHITE teeth. Yes clean teeth are beautiful, but they are BONE. BONES are not WHITE. Another unattainable standard unless you spend alot of time & money. Plus we all know it's against the laws of physics for anyone that skinny to have real boobs. BTW, your pic looks just like Pam Anderson Lee Rock whatever the hell her name is. Coincidence?!?!