The canons of beauty and attractiveness are socially related to the social economic status of the time they were there. In poor societies the fat woman is considered beautiful, in miserable societies the obese woman is considered beautiful, on the contrary in rich societies it is the thin woman who is considered beautiful.
The Venus of Willedorf represents a woman with a steatopygian body. In itself we do not know if it is a representation of a deity or a person, as the steatopygia remains a representation of some African cultures such as Hottentots and Bushmen. The interpretation is made by anthropologists according to the customs of these peoples.
Anthropologists are almost always wrong, the Paleolithic venus would not represent an ideal of beauty or fertility of the time, but the dream of having a full belly in a period when food was scarce.
The first modern humans, the Aurignacians, entered Europe some 48,000 years ago. At the time, the climatic conditions were good and allowed hunter-gatherers to find nourishment with relative ease. However, a few millennia later the situation changed, and temperatures began to plummet to 10-15 degrees below zero. Getting food became more and more difficult, and it was precisely at that time that the first statuettes in stone, ivory, horn or clay, from 6 to 16 centimeters large, depicting plump women began to be produced.
They were not a hymn to fertility or beauty, but an amulet to hope for better times, dreaming of that abundance. In fact, such a woman can hardly have children because obesity is one of the main causes of female infertility.
Personally I deem an obese woman as, sick and repulsive.
No, but I get it. Our standards of beauty are related to the environment around us. Up until like 100-150 years ago, big girls were the sexiest things around, because it implied they were well-fed, thus healthy, thus could give good children.
Nowadays, skinny girls (especially among white and Asian men, the two richest demographics) are what's considered attractive because skinny and fit bodies are a sign of wealth and social status, and (middle class and higher white and Asian) men subconsciously attribute that to being a high-value woman, like a Victoria's Secret model or A-list actress. However, all other races of men (as well as working class white men) like curves in women more, because curves are still a sign of a well-fed, healthy woman who can give healthy childbirth, as well as also just being "more woman" than usual, thus "more of what you like").
I'm not that attracted to the Venus of Willendorf body mainly because she looks like my late grandmother, but nude. However, people's tastes in the opposite sex exist for a reason and one should not shame someone for what they find sexy or attractive in a person.
In modern China, as well as in the ancient China, too, obese people are seem as an omen for good luck. Does it mean that the Chinese would find obese people more attractive to be with? I don't think so. We shouldn't forget that these ancient statues were symbols, not facts. Ancient Greek statues, p. ex., had small penises. Did that mean that Greeks idealized small penises? I don't think so. They more possibly tried to highlight through statues other aspects and parts of the human body that would be more effectively linked with the qualities society considered more important and essential for the common good than bed performance (bravery, wisdom, etc.)
That statue is over 25,000 year old. At that period of time, there were probably frequent famines. So FAT was rare and highly sought after status of being rich and powerful.
Modern era: FAT has many negative connotations associated with it. I'll pass on the fat chicks!
No. I've read the Jean Auel books, which are set in prehistoric times. In those stories, that statue represents the Great Mother, their deity. The face is always covered in braids, so you can't see it. I can't think of that statue in any other way, other than a deity.
No one really know what it is. It's only assumed to be some sort of "fertility" thing. Despite the fact it's one of a kind, and was likely expensive and difficult to make in that era.
Seems a lot of effort to go to for making something to beat your meat to.
My guess would be it's just a funny art piece
I mean was that the ONLY sculpture they found? Was it on some sort of altar or cave painting where they worship a curvy looking statue with a beehive on it's head?
I don't even see how anyone could look like that in 24000BC. In today's society, the only way someone can get those kind of proportions is that they they consume an extraordinary amount of unprocessed foods or calories, don't get a minimum amount of exercise, and/or they have issues with their hormones.
Not so much. I suspect if that figure was idolized, it was in the case of a woman whose predominant purpose was childbearing and child-rearing in an environment with scarce resources with others bringing her food like a queen bee.
future archiologist dig up a few troll dolls and garden gnomes 1000 years from now, make assumptions... .
I find women who wear a full-head basket to be a little off my own interests.
The body shape must have inspired the invention of the wheel.
What we don't know: the artist of this sculpture could have been a cartoonist 😙
Imagine if 3k years from now some idiot claimed that men used to find Mrs Potato Head's body type sexy because they found an old store with 500 dolls in it.
I for one find it very unattractive. It is a sign of overeating, unhealthy, bad genetics, low energy and overall unattractive. I don't put them down, I simply am not turned on by it and those are my personal reasons.
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