Fifty years ago doesn't seem like a very long time in the vast scheme of things, but things
have drastically changed since then.
The differences between the late 1960s and today go beyond the obvious.
Beauty standards in particular were shockingly different, reflecting the turbulence of the
era.
Here are some of the most surprising things that men found attractive 50 years ago.
Light skin
It's no secret that racism was rampant in the 1960s, although the Civil Rights Movement
helped to create significant change by the end of the decade.
But in spite of this progress, racial prejudice was never completely eradicated.
Take the Miss America Pageant for instance, whose rulebook explicitly stated that
"Contestants must be of good health and of the white race."
In 1968, a Miss Black America Pageant was held on the same day as the Miss America Pageant
in response to the organization's discrimination.
The Miss America Pageant finally admitted its first African-American contestant in 1970,
after Cheryl Browne was crowned Miss Iowa that year.
Even within the African-American community, a preference for lighter skin was apparent,
although this slowly began to change in the 1960s, with people embracing their natural
skin colors.
Thin, flat bodies
For a time, it looked like fuller figures would be at least an accepted standard of
beauty.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, voluptuous women like Marilyn Monroe were cultural icons.
But there was also a significant move toward slimness in the 1960s.
As Sarah Grogan wrote in Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women and Children,
this shift had a lot to do with the popularity of Twiggy, a rail-thin British fashion model.
As the decade wore on, curves became less desirable.
Society became obsessed with weight and exercise.
Fear of cellulite led women to go to extremes in order to slim down.
One woman who was written about in Vogue magazine in the late 1960s allegedly took 5 inches
off her waist with
"...exercise, 'standing correctly,' and using 'a special rolling pin.'"
Such regimens were typical of the late 1960s.
Were these methods effective?
Probably not all of them.
Exposed legs
In Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century, Akiko Fukai writes about how
the younger generation discovered that
"...displaying their physique was the most effective means of setting themselves apart
from the older generation."
Thus, the miniskirt came into vogue.
As hemlines rose, more attention was paid to the length and shape of a woman's legs.
The emphasis 1960s fashion placed on women's legs also had an influence on shoe styles.
Tall, pointed boots came into fashion to offset how much skin was being revealed by those
tiny skirts.
The Lolita look
The suppression of women's curves led to the popularity of a more prepubescent style.
Lithe, young-looking Lolita types like Twiggy dominated the fashion world.
Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960's and 70's, edited by Peter Braunstein
and Michael William Doyle, explained
"...[this] look of exaggerated youthfulness expressed the associated sensibility that
maturity, in dress or behavior, was a dirty word, a sign of premature death, and therefore
something to be warded off as long as possible."
The Lolita look embodied the spirit of the era, representing youth and vigor, as well
as drawing attention the social conflict between the old and the new.
Androgyny
Coinciding with the preference for more boyish figures was the rise of unisex clothing and
androgynous styles.
Women noticeably began dressing in more masculine fashions in the 1920s.
As Rebecca Arnold wrote in Fashion, Desire and Anxiety, this style coincided with the
quest for greater independence for women, and was in direct opposition of the claustrophobic
femininity enforced by society.
Perhaps even more interesting is that this inclination towards androgyny was also adopted
by men.
PBS noted that this unisex style caused a good deal of confusion.
Everett Mattlin, a writer for the Chicago Tribune, explained in 1968 that gender roles
and the standard male-female relationship had been turned completely upside-down.
Traditional gender roles were beginning to evolve as we entered the '70s, which Mattlin
believed was a good thing.
Long, straight hair
The 60s were noted for their departure from formality and tradition.
In Fresh Lipstick: Redressing Fashion and Feminism, Linda M. Scott wrote about how the
later half of the decade was marked by a rise in long, straight hair.
Many men were also wearing their hair long at this time.
The changing hairstyles weren't just about following fashion, though.
For many, the long hair was a way to rebel against the complex female updos and the short
male haircuts of the previous generation.
Subservience
The 1960s might have been a time of change, but ads from the era show that women were
still expected to be homemakers and sex objects.
In spite of the great strides made towards gender equality, women still did not have
the same rights as men.
"Your coffee, sir."
"Thanks, beautiful!"
"You're welcome!"
It was still legal for a bank to deny an unmarried woman a credit card, and even married women
were often required to have their husbands as cosigners.
In some states, women were still banned from serving on juries throughout most of the '60s,
and most Ivy League schools didn't start accepting women until 1969, with some holding out well
into the 1970s.
In The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963, Betty Friedan summed up the frustration of
the generation.
"A woman today has been made to feel freakish and alone and guilty if, simply, she wants
to be more than her husband's wife."
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