Art movements of Renaissance, Rococo, and Impressionism portrayed voluptuous nudes with plump stomachs, wellendowed buttocks, and wholesome thighs in their paintings. From Venus with a Mirror, Hercules and Omphale, and Bathing Nymphs to Nude in the Sun, curvy women were considered desirable by doyens like Titian, François Boucher, and Renoir. The European masters had not heard of Twiggy or Size Zero back then.
My generation, Gen X, who came of age in the mid-’90s and early 2000s, against the backdrop of Miss World, Spice Girls, and Sex and the City, were ‘taught’ to feel bad about their imperfections. I say this because my mother, who was a big woman all her life, never had the issues that plagued me through my teens and 20s. She did not squirm while looking…
