and Into Physiognomy There is the desire to have these features--but why? We have assigned characteristics to the people that have these: beauty, thinness, fitness, strength, style, sex appeal, youth, healthy lifestyles. We want these qualities, so we want their features. The individuals that have these body features are somehow elevated and we only need to look at them to understand the qualities that they must possess. Obviously this is problematic, but that has not deterred people from hash-tag flaunting their bikini bridge on Instagram, just as artists did not have any problem exaggerating features on their subjects to meet certain stereotypes. Two women gauge their “attractiveness” based on the Finger Trap test.
you are beautiful or not. To find out, put your finger up to your chin and nose. In China, if your lips touch your finger, you are out of luck in the looks department, but if there is a gap, you are beautiful. In contrast,Western countries value the opposite results So what does all of this have to do with some weird Victorian pseudo scientific practice? The entire aim of physiognomy was to pass judgment and to be able to understand the characteristics and qualities of a person solely on superficial features. To be clear: the above-mentioned anatomical features are superficial. There is nothing more practical about having a bikini bridge or thigh gap, but the presence on social media and in popular culture has created and perpetuated their importance such that there is an obsessive quality in our need to achieve these “beauty standards.”
Some people have naturally occurring thigh gaps, some people work out a lot and have one as the result. This is not problematic or strange. What is peculiar is the coverage these features are receiving and the misleading headlines about them. These qualities associated with the finger trap and the Lady V are continually permitted because we see constant reinforcement. Physiognomy’s appearance in books, justice and law practices, artwork, and statements from the artists illustrate the pervasiveness and kind of authority it had on opinion. Assessments on character were simply deduced by one’s physical appearance. From a historical outlook, physiognomy is no different than the widely trending anatomical desires we are faced with now. A thigh gap and Lady V are not as demonizing as pointing out an immigrant based on their appearance, but the similarities show the origins of celebrated physical features are rooted farther back than just the onset of these #trends.
| november 2014 | 29