Did Venus Have Long Legs? Beauty Standards from Various Historical Periods Reflected in Works of Art

Abstract

Research on perception of attractiveness of leg-to-body ratio (LBR) described here has shown that people prefer relatively long-legged silhouettes (particularly while assessing women). The LBR of attractive women over historical periods (analyses of attractive silhouettes from paintings, sculptures, etc) has been more changeable than that of men. The findings reported here might represent evidence against the cross-cultural universality of the attractiveness of long legs.