Women have always faced impossible physical expectations. Now there is pressure on men to muscle up like HerculesVisitors to the Defining Beauty exhibition at the British Museum – of sculpture from and inspired by ancient Greece – will be greeted by an ostensibly alluring sight: the naked, crouching figure of Aphrodite beckons us into the room.Only when we walk around her do we see that her hand may not be beckoning, so much as pulled back to give us a smack in the kisser for looking at her without invitation. For students of body image, she looks a lot more human than many contemporary representations of womanhood: not only does her belly crease as she bends forward, but her feet, frankly, are massive.This Aphrodite will not fall over on a windy dayThey have muscle groups that mortal men can’t ever achieve: Continue reading...
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