The Cosmetic Surgery Blog

Although it is definitely true that narrow hips have a universal appeal, there is a brief period when Western culture became fascinated with really big women, not Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, voluptuous pin-up big, but really big women. The most famous artist of the period created the iconic vision of zaftig loveliness, and we nowadays describe women of this build with the adjective Rubenesque. Peter Paul Rubens is famous for his figures of great girth that also project loveliness and sensuousness. Although large by today's standards, Ruben's baroque visions are ones of pure corporeal joy, promising the viewer with indulgence pleasures of the flesh as they have so obviously and habitually indulged.

Before I begin my discussion, I think Michael Gill's words best convey the overall spirit of Rubens' work: "No one ever caught the rosy bloom of healthy skin, the shimmering quiver of well fed flesh with such lip-smacking skill. His women are displayed like great compotes of cream and exotic fruits from the Indies—kumquats and soursops and apricots, the flesh of melons and oranges from Seville." The secret to Rubens' painting is that the people, although heavy, look healthy and strong, and this is one of the strongest messages anyone should get from this blog, that being beautiful means, first and foremost being healthy, and that pursuing the latter will almost always yield the former.

That Rubens' figures are meant to be desirable is seen from the prominence of mythico-erotic themes, such as in this painting of Leda and the Swan, one of the many disturbing stories of Zeus' seduction of mortals and nymphs. As significant and commonplace as this story is, it is always a disconcerting subject to see portrayed. Rubens' painting is especially perverse, because it leaves very little to the imagination. Leda is pretty clearly astride the swan, which is also tenderly nibbling her lip. What recommends Rubens' nymph is the healthy glow of her skin, contrasted sharply against the dun of the swan and the rich red of the cloth behind her, but also the pale white of the sheet. Ample thighs and stomach contrast with relatively small breasts in this lusciously curvaceous figure.

Rubens' Venus is different from most we have seen. More corpulent than the classical norm, the primary erotic association of the figure is in her back and her face. The breasts are erased as an erotic focus. Unlike classical figures as well as the paintings of Waterhouse and Parrish, Rubens' Venus has a soft, round chin, although her nose is well-defined against the frame of the mirror and in the reflection. The reflection carries an invitation to the viewer to watch her in the knowing expression of her eyes and just the faintest glimmer of a smile threatening to appear on her red lips. The way the entire painting draws our eyes again and again to the reflection forces us to identify the goddess of love and beauty primarily with her face, reminding us that beauty is as much an attitude of the mind as an attribute of the body.

Labels: art, beauty, Rubens, skin care, voluptuous

I would just like to take a moment to say goodbye to Jeanne Carmen, B-Movie queen, who passed away this week at the age of 77. Although she was not what one would call a screen legend, she is an odd figure of note, as she was probably the first golf pin-up. And, speaking of figures, Carmen was one of the generation of full-figured Venuses of 1950s cinema, along with the more famous Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, who is at least partly responsible for the popularity of breast augmentation today.

Labels: b-movie;, breast augmentation, celebrity, voluptuous

The above lines from Edmund Waller's 17th century poem are truer even than he imagined. According to a new study published in the journal of Evolution and Human Behavior, women with curves are more intelligent than skinnier women. Not only that, but the women tended to produce smarter children. The researchers studied a sample size of 16,000 women and girls, giving them cognitive tests. The results showed that not only did women do better on the tests as the difference between their hips and waist increased, but the children of these women did better as well.

Researchers speculated on a mechanism that links the two, that the fatty acid deposits found on the hips and elsewhere could help maintain a higher reserve of Omega-3 acids, which have been shown to help developmental health, reduce deposits that clog arteries, and reduce the risk of cancer. It has also been intimated that the acids may be helpful in combating depression and anxiety.

The study also claimed that the combination of an attractive (i.e. fecund) figure was combined with the attraction of intelligence. This finding is a blow to conventional wisdom that women cannot be both smart and attractive (wisdom pithily pilloried in Dorothy Parker's couplet: "Men seldom make passes / At girls who wear glasses"), and calls attention to curvaceous and smart women, such as the voluptuous British cook, Nigella Lawson. Lawson has a degree in Medieval and Modern Languages from Oxford, and is the author of six books, including Feast, and the aptly titled How to Be a Domestic Goddess, probably referring to Hestia or Hera, not Venus, although that might also be appropriate.

Some researchers are not convinced. Noting that there are many complex and more proximate possible causes, researchers claim that a link between fatty hips and fatty acids in the bloodstream and the development of intelligence is tenuous at best. furthermore, these same researchers are unconvinced by the notion that the waist-to-hip ratio is all that significant a determiner of attractiveness. They claim it is relatively low on a man's list of priorities when looking for a potential partner.

However, this second objection is based on survey data, and one of the essential principles of evolutionary psychology is that most of what goes on in our minds is hidden from us, making surveys dubious evidence. This principle has long been known by sex researchers as well, and is pithily summed up by cognitive researchers as "Men say one thing, and date another."

Another curvaceous woman who felt the conflict between her looks and her intelligence is Catherine Zeta-Jones, who has said, "I used to go around looking as frumpy as possible because it was inconceivable you could be attractive as well as smart."

But the truth, apparently, is very different. The truth is that a well-contoured body not only looks good, but looks smart as well. Practicing body contouring in Dallas, Texas, Dr. Vasdev Rai, is an expert at liposuction, tummy tucks, and other techniques to help you achieve the curves of a scholar.

Labels: beauty, celebrity, evolutionary psychology, liposuction, poetry, tummy tuck, voluptuous