@XENOPHONZ

On the whole, I tend to agree with what you've stated. There has always been the pursuit of that elusive ideal - beauty, however it is defined at the time. But the pursuit changed, I think, with the advent of photography. Because the camera purportedly tells the truth. So suddenly, the ideal is not so elusive, here it is captured on film.

Quote - The only reason why the 'plain' woman feels inferior is because she's vain -- and she wants what the woman in the picture has.  While the woman in the picture is vain, too..........the difference being that she (temporarily) has what she wants...  (snip)

Yes, she very likely is vain also, but what she really knows is that she doesn't possess the ideal either... outside of postworked photographs.

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