What a Woman Must Have to be Considered Sexy?

There are several adjectives to describe men and women, but without a doubt, the word sexy is the one that most questions and controversies generate. How to know if I am sexy? What attributes should I have to be sexy? Or what is it that men consider "being sexy"? They are just some of the immense variety of questions that may arise on the subject. The dictionary of the Royal Academy defines sexy as that person who has an attractive physique and who arouses admiration and sexual desire in others.

Based on this meaning, people who have an attractive physique are classified as sexy, but what is it to have an attractive physique?

The concept of an attractive physique is as subjective as the concept of beauty is, since it will depend on the expectations and individual preferences of each person, which tend to be very diverse in the world. However, it is widely notorious that socially there are certain stereotypes about beauty that have been changing over the years, so we can find that in certain decades, the most coveted women were those who possessed a voluptuous figure with curves, such as the case of the famous Marilyn Monroe whose curves precipitated her to stardom becoming an icon of what a woman should look like to be cataloged as sexy and appetizing. On the other hand, in more recent decades we can find an exaltation of thinness as an indispensable attribute to be cataloged as a sexy girl and in the most current era where a fitness or athletic physiognomy is. They have turned the new stereotype of sexy women.

Stereotypes of beauty according to the different cultures of the world:

This article, written by Caleb Lack, explains how Africans have to deal daily with the stereotypes of beauty implanted in other countries. African stereotypes are classified as rational and gender-based, and affect women more than anything as seen by society. While practically the rest of the world prefers a sculptural body and slender woman, in many African countries the opposite is pursued. The ideal of beauty is found in women who are broad, even obese. Such is the case in Mauritania, in which girls are forced to eat huge amounts of fatty food to make them fat. In other areas such as Ethiopia, lip deformation is the main beauty ritual. It takes place after fifteen years when girls begin to be considered women. The Mursi tribe, for example, places huge discs of wood or decorated ceramics in the mouth.

This article talks about what is considered the perfect woman in the American continent and how the society plays an important role in how the woman should look and dress. The prototype of women is similar to North America and Europe. That is, tall and thin women, but always with curves. According to a survey conducted by the Gallup Institute, 61% of people consider that physical appearance is the main factor when determining social success. Behind the United States, Brazil is the country where the most surgical interventions are carried out. The obsession is such that in Argentina one in thirty people spend at least one time in their life in the operating room, and in Chile, we can find vacation packages that include aesthetic treatments.

In this article published by the University of New Hampshire, it talks about how 4 Asian women explain the stereotypes of the culture of Asia. As in America, we find great differences between some cultures and others within the same continent. In southern countries such as Burma, the stereotype of beauty has as its central axis a thin and elongated neck. To do this, people like the Kerenis, they adorn it with metal rings that more than stretch the neck what they really get is to force the shoulder down.

This article talks about the stereotypes of the beauty of women everywhere in the world, as she is judged by their gender and what they must do to be considered beautiful. In the Australia and the Oceania region, the most curious case is found in New Zealand by the descendants of the Maori. Those belonging to this ethnic group have as a fundamental feature tribal tattoos made with the traditional technique called "moko". In the case of women, they only appear under the lip and on the chin, but men can get to tattoo their entire face, as well as their arms and torso.

This article talks about the entire pre-designed image that we have about European women and the standards they must have in order to be considered beautiful. From the second half of the 20th century, the search for thinness in the stereotype of feminine beauty has become increasingly evident. The times in which women like Marilyn Monroe conquered the West with their rounded bodies are already distant. As a result of pathological weight management, many women have fallen into serious eating disorders. In Spain, it is estimated that between 4.1% to 4.5% of the adolescent population suffers from this type of diseases.