Over the past couple of decades, the media has warped women’s perception of their own bodies, vehemently convincing them that a slender physique is the ideal. What some might not realize is that it wasn’t always this way. In fact, there have been eras in history, namely the 1930’s and 1950’s, where skinny was considered unattractive.

Some women’s ears might perk up at this notion of curves being en vogue, and we can’t say we totally blame them for it, as staring at images of waif-thin models and actresses can be damaging. But the idea that what a women’s body should look like goes in and out of trend as easily as kitten heels is deeply disconcerting.

Popular culture is slowly inching towards more body diversity, but at the end of the day, harmful fads such as ‘thigh gap‘ still exist, which makes the premise of women intentionally trying to gain weight seem ludicrous. However, as you’ll see in the vintage advertisements below, there once was that appeal. In fact, one could argue that media was even more cruel to women that don’t fit their quota for “sex-appealing curves”. Prepare to be mystified by 23 retro and deeply misguided ads, below:

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