Shape Waist

Corseting, popular from the 14th to 19th centuries, originally involved compressing the bosom and constricting the waist with tightly wound whalebone on a steel frame. Shallow breathing, combined with inadequate venous return, produced fainting and swooning. Hiatal hernias caused by overly tight corsets are termed "Sommerring's syndrome" -- after the 18th century physician who first warned of the dangers of tight lacing. Christina Larson points out, "the corset facilitated a pernicious association between physical beauty and virtue, as upright posture and a slender waist came to be regarded as evidence of discipline, modesty, rigor, and refinement. Ladies who abandoned their stays were scorned as both lazy and immoral."

Sparkling Eye

For ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Persians, sparkling eyes were considered beautiful and they applied the heavy metal antimony to make their conjunctiva sparkle. A woman with a high forehead was considered beautiful during the Elizabethan era, and upper-class Elizabethan women plucked or shaved their frontal hairs to achieve this look. These women also covered their skin with ceruse (lead-based) makeup, which caused peripheral neuropathy, gout, anemia, chronic renal failure, and disfiguring scarring, requiring the application of more ceruse makeup. Chronic users, such as Queen Elizabeth I, acquired a misshapen appearance. Upset over her grisly visage, the Queen banished all mirrors from her castle. Her servants sometimes painted a red dot on her nose, an inside joke mocking her clown-like appearance.

Started from Lotus Foot

In ancient China, the 4-inch "lotus foot" was considered a sign of perfect beauty. The practice of foot-binding, uncommonly seen today, involved breaking the bones of the forefoot and folding them forward, then tying the misshapen appendage to prohibit growth. Foot-binding caused severe pain, imbalance, and falls, and eventually osteoporosis, because afflicted women were unable to bear weight and ambulate correctly. Other consequences included hip and knee osteoarthritis, chronic pain, and even joint replacement surgery.Chinese foot binding was also a form of subjugation; as a class, women were even less able to take advantage of already limited educational and economic opportunities.