Check out Kidzworlds comparison of girls fashions and grooming habits in the 1800s compared with the 21st century.
Think you've got it rough as a girl in the 21st century? Hate having to wax, shave and workout to get that perfect bod? Well, all those things may suck but you've got it easy compared to your sisters of the 1800s. Read on for some facts that'll have you thanking your lucky stars that you're a chick of the new age.
Fashion
So you laugh at your mom's stories about having to get someone else to help her zip her up jeans in the '70s cuz they were so tight - and you can't imagine having to wear those '50s poodle skirts everyday to school. Well girls, those fads are nothing compared to the fashions of the 1800s. Corsets were all the rage in the 1800s with girls cinching them up as tight as humanly possible. These lace-up shirts were usually ordered two-inches smaller than the woman's actual waist size to give that "oh so skinny" appearance. Too bad their squishy shirts often made them pass out from lack of oxygen and made a ton of blood rush to their heads. Women in the 1800s really were dying to be thin.
Skin Care
You may not be super stoked about heading to the drug store to sift through the millions of skin-care products to find that perfect concoction for you skin but it's sure a lot less work than what women in the 1800s had to do. Women back then would have to cut a hole in a lemon, fill it up with candy and then close it over with a leaf of gold. They would proceed to roast the lemon in hot ashes. Once it was the desired heat, they would squeeze the lemon's juice out of the pre-cut hole and then apply it to their faces. The juice was supposed to cleanse the skin and leave their complexion looking brighter. Sounds like too much work for us! Another skin regiment had women applying tree sap to their faces to make the skin look clear and rosy. Still upset about your skin-care situation?
Bad Breath
Ever been searching for a breath mint or piece of gum, embarrassed that your crush might catch a whiff of your nasty morning breath? If you were around in the 1800s, having fresher breath may have been hazardous to your health. Women were encouraged to drink a mixture of ten drops of hydrochloric acid, spring water, lemon juice and sugar. They were supposed to drink that three times a day for a month to six weeks. Hydrochloric acid today is used to clean industrial equipment and steel. We've also since figured out that Hydrochloric acid causes cancer!
Women back then should not have been pampered like that. That woman in the pic looked soooooooo skinny that she was actually ugly. I don't know why they did that stuff back then! They should like themselves for who they are, not for who they can be or want to be. Also, why wear jeans so tight? Wouldn't they just hurt you? I mean people thought of the most stupid things back then. They really weren't good for your health! It is ok so pamper yourself, but not like that!
Kidz Submit by:
Nickname: courtneyiskoolAge: 12
Ok, what exactly was the point of this article? To say, "Oh look, we have advanced SO VERY FAR!"? Because really, we haven't. There's far more body hatred today than there was in the 1800's and earlier. Sure, corsetry has its downsides, but nobody ever died from it. It encouraged changing body shape from the outside. How have we advanced? By changing it from the INSIDE. Of all psychological diseases, eating disorders have the higest mortality rate. Rinsing out your mouth with hydrochloric acid, no not particularly healthy. But how much worse can it be than ultura-whitening toothpaste that erodes your gums? Women in the past, like women in the present, have had to pour themselves into the mold that society makes for them. The conditions that society sets for beauty have gotten MORE stringent, not less so.
Kidz Submit by:
Nickname: MoniquillAge: 15
What do you think about these beauty regiments? Do you know of some that we haven't mentioned from the 1800s or any other era? What's the thing you most dread about being a girl? with your thoughts.
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