Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But the beholder is influenced by cultural norms. And if culture is good at one thing, it”s shifting the rules from one end of the spectrum to the other. Today”s “must have” physical feature is next century”s faux pas. Which is why we should be trying as hard as possible to love the bodies we”re in, regardless if airbrushed advertisements think we should.
Case in point: Amy Schumer. Last year the actress got nearly naked as Miss December for the 2016 Pirelli calendar. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz, Schumer posed in nothing but a thong and heels, sipping on a cup of coffee. She looked stunning. So, of course, the Internet tore her down immediately. The comment section under any article about Schumer”s photo was (and still is) a tire fire. Ironic, since the Pirelli calendar is to help sell their brand tires.
Then the Internet found something else to yell at and things calmed down. Until Amy Schumer shared an Instagram yesterday from her fan WhitneyZombie.
The side-by-side comparison reveals how very similar Schumer”s body type is to Aphrodite”s. It also highlights how fleeting beauty ideal are. Every body is a good body, and everybody deserves to feel good in their skin.
The statue in question is a marble statue of the goddess of love from Hadrian”s Villa. Commissioned sometime in the 2nd century A.D., the sculpture is a copy of the original created by Doidaisas in the 3rd century BC. This version is on display at the National Roman Museum in Rome.