From rib-crushing corsets to heroin chic—we rank history’s most absurd beauty demands (and the women who said ‘hell no’).
Think today’s beauty standards are toxic? Honey, you haven’t met the 16th-century ‘spine stretcher’ or the 1920s ‘banana diet’ cult. Let’s time-travel through the most ludicrous body trends—and celebrate the rebels who burned the rulebook.
1. THE TORTURE CHAMBER: VICTORIAN ERA
Trend: “18-inch waists or GTFO”
- Absurdity Level: 😱🔥 (5/5 flaming corsets)
- How It Worked: Steel corsets, tight-lacing, and fainting couches for when your organs rebelled.
- Rebel Women:
- Dr. Mary Edwards Walker (first female U.S. surgeon) who wore pants and called corsets “tools of oppression.”
- The Rational Dress Society (1881) who declared: “A woman’s waist should not be smaller than her neck.”
- TEYXO Hot Take: “Victorian men wanted women weak—literally unable to breathe. Coincidence? Nope.”
2. THE ROARING (AND STARVING) 1920s
Trend: “Boysih or bust!”
- Absurdity Level: 🍌✂️ (4/5 flapper headbands)
- How It Worked: Women starved for a straight-up-and-down silhouette, while men called them “too masculine.”
- Rebel Women:
- Josephine Baker, who amped her curves in Paris while America worshipped flat chests.
- Fatty Arbuckle (silent film star), fired for being “too plump” despite audience love.
- TEYXO Hot Take: “The 1920s invented ‘wellness culture’—banana-and-whiskey diets included.”
3. THE 1950s: PIN-UP VS. PANIC
Trend: “Be curvy… but only HERE.”
- Absurdity Level: 🎀📏 (3/5 tape measures)
- How It Worked: Hourglass figures were in—but only with a 24-inch waist. Enter: waist trainers and “marshmallow diets” (yes, really).
- Rebel Women:
- Bettie Page, who ignored haters and became a fetish icon on her own terms.
- Marilyn Monroe, who famously said: “You’re imperfect, and so am I!” (while still pressured to lose weight).
- TEYXO Hot Take: “The ‘ideal’ 1950s woman was literally a cartoon (thanks, Jessica Rabbit).
4. THE 1990s: HEROIN CHIC & THE BACKLASH
Trend: “Be thin, but also… dead-looking?”
- Absurdity Level: 💀☠️ (5/5 skeletons)
- How It Worked: Kate Moss’s “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” met plus-size pioneers like Emme fighting for space.
- Rebel Women:
- Queen Latifah, who launched a size-inclusive clothing line in 1998.
- The Riot Grrrls, who scrawled “Feed me” on their stomachs in zines.
- TEYXO Hot Take: “The 90s taught us: When standards get extreme, the rebels get louder.”
THE REBELS’ LEGACY
Every era’s ‘ideal’ was arbitrary, oppressive, and designed to be unattainable. But the rebels? They wore what they wanted, ate what they liked, and rewrote history.
So next time someone says ‘thigh gaps are in,’ hit them with this article.
