What people used to look like

If you've ever wondered what people used to look like, way back when, you've probably looked at old movies, or old ads, or old magazines. And just like today, it's difficult to know what "average" people look like.

I was looking through the Duke University site yesterday, which specializes in old advertising, and I stumbled into a series of swimsuit ads from the late forties/early fifties, and it's a reminder that in a long life most of the people I've known IRL (In Real Life) really didn't look like the people that you see in old movies, old ads, or old magazines (and I can remember all of the way back to the early sixties!).

You could, of course, say that it's all a big conspiracy to make us feel bad about ourselves, but as an old advertising guy I'll tell you it just has to do with how to perceive ourselves. And while that couple that you may have seen down by the pool last week may not have looked like the models in the illustration at the top of this post, when they ordered their swimwear, that's how they saw themselves.

And I'm OK with that, because everyone is beautiful, even if they don't look like the paragons of physical perfection that's so common in movies, and ads. And I'm inclined to think that social media, like Facebook, will help future generations see us the way that we really are. I don't know how many times I've seen a group of people on social media that look like the Addams Family, and a comment that says, "Hey, you guys look great!" And if you understand what I'm saying here, maybe there will be some truth someday that future generations can look back on - not just idealized imagery.

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