CHANGING SHAPE OF THE IDEAL BODY
7
was also a shift to the idea that larger bodies were unhealthier than thin-
ner ones. Thus, smaller meals were consumed along with more fruits and
vegetables.
Lulu Hunt Peters, a physician, may well have been the first weight loss
doctor. In 1923, she published a book entitled Diet and Health, with Key
to the Calories, which quickly became a best seller and remained a best
seller for four years. She promised to “save” women from being fat so that
they were no longer the subject of ridicule. She took a scientific approach
to weight loss focusing on calories consumed and calories burned and
warned her readers and patients against taking pills or other medication
that promised to help women lose weight. She also warned that a woman
embarking on a weight loss journey would be sabotaged in her attempts to
lose weight by her husband, who did not like thin women and family and
friends who were convinced that a larger body was a healthier body, and
that losing weight would put her at risk for serious illness and death.
An additional factor contributing to women’s awareness of their weight
was the mass manufacturing of clothes. Prior to the 1920s, women con-
structed their own clothes to fit or had a seamstress custom fit their ward-
robe. After the Great War, clothing manufacturers created standardized
sizing which meant that each size had specific measurements. This, of
course, made it much easier for manufacturers to mass produce clothing
quickly. The problem for the consumer, of course, was that her body had
to fit into one of these predetermined sizes.
The emphasis on female appearance was not limited to her shape and
size. She was also more aware than ever of how her skin and face looked.
Women began carrying compact mirrors with them so that they could
make sure their makeup and overall appearance was still “acceptable.”
Print media was marketing to women’s fears that if she was not attractive
and youthful enough then a man would not want to be with her let alone
touch her. This was the era of cosmetic empires such as Maybelline and
Elizabeth Arden, which helped to normalize the use of makeup (prior to
this time was reserved for stage performers), and the designer Coco Cha-
nel, whose fashion house continues to influence clothing design and fra-
grance trends in the 21st century.
The issue of beauty with respect to race revealed a decidedly Caucasian-
centric view of beauty. Madame E. Azalia Hackley was a renowned soprano
and African American woman. She took issue with an article that appeared in
1920 describing what a beautiful woman looks like. She noted that the empha-
sis was entirely on white skin and the physical features of white women. She
took it upon herself to speak out about how women can be beautiful no matter
their racial background and that true beauty comes from within.
