Female Body Shape
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"Female figure" redirects here. For other uses, see Female figure (disambiguation).
Female body shape or female figure is the cumulative product of a woman's skeletal structure and the quantity and distribution of muscle and fat on the body.
There is a wide range of normality of female body shapes. Female figures are typically narrower at the waist than at the bust and hips. The bust, waist, and hips are called inflection points, and the ratios of their circumferences are used to define basic body shapes.
Reflecting the wide range of individual beliefs on what is best for physical health and what is preferred aesthetically, as well as disagreements on the social standing and purported 'purpose' of women in society, there is no universally-acknowledged ideal female body shape. Cultural ideals, however, have developed and continue to exert influence over how a woman relates to her own body, as well as how others in her society may perceive and treat her.[1]
Estrogens, which are primary female sex hormones, have a significant impact on a female's body shape. They are produced in both men and women, but their levels are significantly higher in women, especially in those of reproductive age. Besides other functions, estrogens promote the development of female secondary sexual characteristics, such as breasts and hips.[2][3][4] As a result of estrogens, during puberty, girls develop breasts and their hips widen. Working against estrogen, the presence of testosterone in a pubescent female inhibits breast development and promotes muscle and facial hair development.[5][6]
Estrogen levels also rise significantly during pregnancy. A number of other changes typically occur during pregnancy, including enlargement and increased firmness of the breasts, mainly due to hypertrophy of the mammary gland in response to the hormone prolactin. The size of the nipples may increase noticeably. These changes may continue during breastfeeding. Breasts generally revert to approximately their previous size after pregnancy, although there may be some increased sagging.[citation needed]
Breasts can decrease in size at menopause if estrogen levels decline.[citation needed]
Estrogens can also affect the female body shape in a number of other ways, including increasing fat stores, accelerating metabolism, reducing muscle mass, and increasing bone formation.[citation needed]
Estrogens cause higher levels of fat to be stored in a female body than in a male body.[7][8] They also affect body fat distribution,[9] causing fat to be stored in the buttocks, thighs, and hips in women,[10][11] but generally not around their waists, which will remain about the same size as they were before puberty. The hormones produced by the thyroid gland regulate the rate of metabolism, controlling how quickly the body uses energy, and controls how sensitive the body should be to other hormones. Body fat distribution may change from time to time, depending on food habits, activity levels and hormone levels.[citation needed]
When women reach menopause and the estrogen produced by ovaries declines, fat migrates from their buttocks, hips and thighs to their waists;[12] later fat is stored at the abdomen.[13]
Body fat percentage recommendations are higher for females, as this fat may serve as an energy reserve for pregnancy. Males have less subcutaneous fat in their faces due to the effects of testosterone;[14] testosterone also reduces fat by aiding fast metabolism. The lack of estrogen in males generally results in more fat being deposited around the waist and abdomen (producing an "apple shape").[citation needed]
Testosterone is a steroid hormone which helps build and maintain muscles with physical activity, such as exercise.[15] The amount of testosterone produced varies from one individual to another, but, on average, an adult female produces around one-tenth of the testosterone of an adult male, but females are more sensitive to the hormone.[16] The muscles most likely to be affected are the pectoral muscles, biceps and the triceps in the arms and quadriceps in the thighs.[citation needed]
On the other hand, estrogens reduce muscle mass. Muscle mass changes over time as a result of changes in testosterone and estrogen levels and exercise, besides other factors.
The aging process has an inevitable impact on a person's body shape. A woman's sex hormone levels will affect the fat distribution on her body. According to Dr. Devendra Singh, "Body shape is determined by the nature of body fat distribution that, in turn, is significantly correlated with women's sex hormone profile, risk for disease, and reproductive capability."[17] Concentrations of estrogen will influence where body fat is stored.[18]
Before puberty both males and females have a similar waist–hip ratio.[17] At puberty, a girl's sex hormones, mainly estrogen, will promote breast development and a wider pelvis tilted forward for child bearing, and until menopause a woman's estrogen levels will cause her body to store excess fat in the buttocks, hips and thighs,[18][19] but generally not around her waist, which will remain about the same size as it was before puberty. These factors result in women's waist–hip ratio (WHR) being lower than for males, although males tend to have a greater upper-body to waist-hip ratio (WHR) giving them a V shape look because of their greater muscle mass e.g. they generally have much larger, more muscular and broader shoulders, pectoral muscles, teres major muscles and latissimus dorsi muscles.
During and after pregnancy, a woman experiences body shape changes. After menopause, with the reduced production of estrogen by the ovaries, there is a tendency for fat to redistribute from a female's buttocks, hips and thighs to her waist or abdomen.[12]
The breasts of girls and women in early stages of development commonly are "high" and rounded, dome- or cone-shaped, and protrude almost horizontally from a female's chest wall. Over time, the sag on breasts tends to increase due to their natural weight, the relaxation of support structures, and aging. Breasts sag if the ligaments become elongated, a natural process that can occur over time and is also influenced by the breast bouncing during physical activity (see Sports bra).[citation needed]
The circumferences of bust, waist, and hips, and the ratios between them, is a widespread method for defining women's body shape in Western cultures. These include terms like "rectangular", "spoon", "inverted triangle", or "hourglass".[20] The measurements are generally described using three numbers to describe the bodily dimensions, or "BWH".
The band measurement is usually measured around the women's torso, immediately below her breasts at the inframammary fold, parallel to the floor.[21][22] The cup size is determined by measuring across the crest of the breast and calculating the difference between that measurement and the band measurement.[21][23] The waist is measured at the midpoint between the lower margin of the last palpable rib and the top of the iliac crest. The hips are measured at the largest circumference of the hips and buttocks.[24]
The waist is typically smaller than the bust and hips, unless there is a high proportion of body fat distributed around it. How much the bust or hips inflect inward, towards the waist, determines a woman's structural shape. The hourglass shape is present in only about 8% of women.[20]
Body shapes are often categorised in the fashion industry into one of four elementary geometric shapes,[20] though there are very wide ranges of actual sizes within each shape:
A study of the shapes of over 6,000 women, carried out by researchers at the North Carolina State University circa 2005,[25] for apparel, found that 46% were rectangular, just over 20% spoon, just under 14% inverted triangle, and 8% hourglass.[20] Another study has found "that the average woman's waistline had expanded by six inches since the 1950s" and that women in 2004 were taller and had bigger busts and hips than those of the 1950s.[20]
Several variants of the above coding systems exist:[26]
Lee's 2007 paper proposes the following formula be used to identify an individual's body type:
In addition a number of national and international clothes sizing standards define body shape coding systems that categorise an individual by the chest to waist and / or hip circumference drop values e.g.
A woman's dimensions are often expressed by the circumference around the three inflection points. For example, "36–29–38" in imperial units would mean a 36 in (91 cm) bust, 29 in (74 cm) waist and 38 in (97 cm) hips.
A woman's bust measure is a combination of her rib cage and breast size. For convenience, a woman's bra measurements are used. For example, though the measurements are not consistently applied, a woman with a bra size of 36B has a rib cage of 36 inches (91 cm) in circumference and a bust measure of 38 inches (97 cm); a woman with a bra size 34C has a rib cage of 34 inches (86 cm) around, but a smaller bust measure of 37 inches (94 cm).[citation needed] However, the woman with a 34C breast size will appear "bustier" because of the apparent difference in bust to ribcage ratio.[citation needed]
Height will also affect the appearance of the figure. A woman who is 36–24–36 (91–61–91 cm) at 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) height will look different from a woman who is 36–24–36 at 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) height. Since the taller woman's figure has greater distance between measuring points, she will likely appear thinner or less curvaceous than her shorter counterpart, again, even though they both have the same Bust-Waist-Hip (BWH) ratio. This is because the taller woman is actually thinner as expressed by her height to size ratio.[citation needed]
The use of BWH measurements for anything other than garment fitting is thus misleading. BWH is an indicator of fat distribution, not fat percentage.[citation needed]
The British Association of Model Agents (AMA) says that female models should be around 34–24–34 (86–61–86 cm) and at least 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall.[27]
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck depicts a fashionable man and woman in the 15th century.
Adam and Eve from the Vienna Diptych by Hugo van der Goes. Eve's protruding abdomen is typical of nudes in the 15th century.
According to Camille Paglia, the ideal body type as envisioned by members of society has changed throughout history. She states that Stone Age Venus figurines show the earliest body type preference, dramatic steatopygia; and that the emphasis on protruding belly, breasts, and buttocks is likely a result of both the aesthetic of being well fed and aesthetic of being fertile, traits that were more difficult to achieve at the time. In sculptures from Classical Greece and Ancient Rome the female bodies are more tubular and regularly proportioned.[28]:5 There is essentially no emphasis given to any particular body part, not the breasts, buttocks, or belly.[citation needed]
Moving forward there is more evidence that fashion somewhat dictated what people believed were the proper female body proportions. This is the case because the body is primarily seen through clothing, which always changes the way the underlying structures are conceived.[29]:xii-xiii The first representations of truly fashionable women appear in the 14th century.[29]:90 Between the 14th and 16th centuries in northern Europe, bulging bellies were again desirable, however the stature of the rest of the figure was generally thin. This is most easily visible in paintings of nudes from the time. When looking at clothed images, the belly is often visible through a mass of otherwise concealing, billowing, loose robes. Since the stomach was the only visible anatomical feature, it became exaggerated in nude depictions while the rest of the body remained minimal.[29]:96–100, 106 In southern Europe, around the time of the renaissance, this was also true. Though the classical aesthetic was being revived and very closely studied, the art produced in the time period was influenced by both factors. This resulted in a beauty standard that reconciled the two aesthetics by using classically proportioned figures who had non-classical amounts of flesh and soft, padded skin.[29]:96–98,104
In the nude paintings of the 17th century, such as those by Rubens, the naked women appear quite fat. Upon closer inspection however, most of the women have fairly normal statures, Rubens has simply painted their flesh with rolls and ripples that otherwise would not be there. This may be a reflection of the female style of the day: a long, cylindrical, gown with rippling satin accents, tailored over a figure in stays. Thus Rubens' women have a tubular body with rippling embellishments.[29]:106,316 While stays continued to be fashionable into the 18th century, they were shortened, became more conical, and consequently began to emphasize the waist. It also lifted and separated the breasts as opposed to the 17th century corsets which compressed and minimized the breasts. Consequently, depictions of nude women in the 18th century tend to have a very narrow waist and high, distinct breasts, almost as if they were wearing an invisible corset.[29]:91, 112–116 La maja desnuda is a clear example of this aesthetic. The 19th century maintained the general figure of the 18th century. Examples can be seen in the works of many contemporary artists, both academic artists, such as Cabanel, Ingres, and Bouguereau, and Impressionists, such as Degas, Renoir, and Toulouse-Lautrec. As the 20th century began, the rise of athletics resulted in a drastic slimming of the female figure. This culminated in the 1920s flapper look, which has informed modern fashion ever since.[28]:4[29]:152
The last 100 years envelop the time period in which that overall body type has been seen as attractive, though there have been small changes within the period as well. The 1920s was the time in which the overall silhouette of the ideal body slimmed down. There was dramatic flattening of the entire body resulting in a more youthful aesthetic.[29]:150–153 As the century progressed, the ideal size of both the breasts and buttocks increased. From the 1950s to 1960 that trend continued with the interesting twist of cone shaped breasts as a result of the popularity of the bullet bra. In the 1960s, the invention of the miniskirt as well as the increased acceptability of pants for women, prompted the idealization of the long leg that has lasted to this day.[29]:93–95 Following the invention of the push-up bra in the 1970s the ideal breast has been a rounded, fuller, and larger breast. In the past 20 years the average American bra size has increased from 34B to 34DD,[30] although this may be due to the increase in obesity within the United States in recent years. Additionally, the ideal figure has favored an ever-lower waist-hip ratio, especially with the advent and progression of digital editing software such as Adobe Photoshop.[28]:4, 6–7
Each society develops a general perception of what an ideal female body shape would be like. These ideals are generally reflected in the art and literature produced by or for a society, as well as in popular media such as films and magazines. The ideal or preferred female body size and shape has varied over time and continues to vary among cultures;[31][32] but a preference for a small waist has remained fairly constant throughout history.[33] A low waist-hip ratio has often been seen as a sign of good health and reproductive potential.[34]
A low waist–hip ratio has also often been regarded as an indicator of attractiveness of a woman, but recent research suggests that attractiveness is more correlated to body mass index than waist–hip ratio, contrary to previous belief.[35][36] According to Dr. Devendra Singh of the University of Texas, who studied the representations of women, historically found there was a trend for slightly overweight women in the 17th and 18th centuries, as typified by the paintings of Rubens, but that in general there has been a preference for a slimmer waist in Western culture. He notes that "The finding that the writers describe a small waist as beautiful suggests instead that this body part – a known marker of health and fertility – is a core feature of feminine beauty that transcends ethnic differences and cultures."[33]
New research suggests that apple-shaped women have the highest risk of developing heart disease, while hourglass-shaped women have the lowest.[37] Diabetes professionals advise that a waist measurement for a woman of over 80 cm (31 in) increases the risk of heart disease, but that ethnic background also plays a factor. This is because body fat buildup around the waist (the apple shape) poses a higher health risk than a fat buildup at the hips (the pear shape).[38]
Compared to males, females generally have relatively narrow waists and large buttocks,[39] and this along with wide hips make for a wider hip section and a lower waist–hip ratio.[40] Research shows that a waist–hip ratio (WHR) for a female very strongly correlates to the perception of attractiveness.[41] Women with a 0.7 WHR (waist circumference that is 70% of the hip circumference) are rated more attractive by men in various cultures.[17] Such diverse beauty icons as Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and the Venus de Milo all have ratios around 0.7.[42][better source needed][43] In other cultures, preferences vary,[44] ranging from 0.6 in China,[45] to 0.8 or 0.9 in parts of South America and Africa,[46][47][48] and divergent preferences based on ethnicity, rather than nationality, have also been noted.[49][50]
Many studies indicate that WHR correlates with female fertility, leading some to speculate that its use as a sexual selection cue by men has an evolutionary basis.[51] However it is also suggested that the evident relationships between WHR-influencing hormones and survival-relevant traits such as competitiveness and stress tolerance may give a preference for higher waist-hip-ratios its own evolutionary benefit. That, in turn, may account for the cross-cultural variation observed in actual average waist-hip-ratios and culturally preferred waist-to-hip ratios for women.[52]
WHR has been found to be a more efficient predictor of mortality in older people than waist circumference or body mass index (BMI).[53]
Over the past several hundred years, there has been a shift towards viewing the body as part of one's identity – not in a purely physical way, but as a means of deeper self-expression. David Gauntlett, in his 2008 book, recognizes the importance of malleability in physical identity, stating, "the body is the outer expression of our self, to be improved and worked upon".[54] One of the more key factors in creating the desire for a particular body shape – most notably for females – is the media, which has promoted a number of so-called "ideal" body shapes.[55] Fashi
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