Back in the day before breast augmentation and implants, there were still big boobs. I guess being full busted wasn’t so common then because Hollywood loved the stars with large breasts and small body frames. Think of the famous women of the 50′s – Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell and Jayne Mansfield, who is pictured below. They were valued for their big bustlines.
This picture actually warms my heart. Ms. Mansfield has such a small frame – look at her arms and waist, and a more than ample bosom. Do you think she would have been as accepted in Hollywood today? Are there any current celebrities who have that same body type? Natually, sans surgery?
Or would Jayne have felt societal pressure to have a reduction if one was available then?
And do you know who is looking at Ms. Mansfield’s mounds of cleavage?
Ah well, fun fun fun!
Actresses like Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe are bombshell sex kitten types. I have no doubts that their ample bosoms are the primary reason for this.
Personally, I have always had a preference for Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Caron in terms of style and personality. I love their wide-eyed, mischievous, gamine looks and delicate figures. Internally, I relate to them much more.
I am not a bombshell type AT ALL. Not one little bit. It’s super annoying when your body fights with your personality, as mine does. I don’t care for showing cleavage, especially the copious cleavage Ms. Mansfield is showing in that picture. But it is inevitable when you’re over a DD.
I’m also not sure that I would want to be “valued” for my bustline. There are a gazillion things that I would rather be valued for first. These women were basically typecast and objectified in the worst way possible as far as I am concerned. Marilyn Monroe was a talented actress but always ended up playing dumb blonde roles.
I actually don’t think there would be pressure to have a reduction today at all. There are small-framed, ample-busted actresses in Hollywood. Look at Selma Hayek, Scarlett Johansson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. These women are all thin though. Marilyn Monroe was thin too. At her smallest, she had a 23″ waist. Even with her full bust, she would probably be a 2/4 at most in today’s sizes. So when fuller figured women use the argument that she was a size 12 or whatever, or praise her because they think they can relate to her…I just find it amusing. Most women could never hope to be as skinny as she was, myself included, and I am a size 4. She was curvy in the true sense of having a large size difference between her bust/waist/hips, but she was tiny.
Maya, you describe curvy so well – a large difference between her bust/waist/hips. As you know, we focus on the difference between the bust & waist.
Yes Selma Hayek, I think also Kat Dennings is small framed and large in the bust. It is encouraging to see women who are of normal stature and even petite yet with large breasts being accepted for who they are. It is better than seeing everyone wanting to have Barbie’s proportions and discontent with what they have.
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Did you all know that Jayne Mansfield spoke five languages and played piano and violin? She was in and out of a couple of universities, but I’m not sure what, if any, her degrees were. It has been reported that her IQ was 163!!! She really dispelled the myth that says big boobs= small brain. No, in fact, she had big boobs and a bigger intellectual capacity!
Is that Sophia Loren next to Jane Mansfield?
Yes! She’s so beautiful.