15 Strange Things Men Found Attractive 50 Years Ago

Fifty years may not seem like it was that long ago when you look at things, but a lot has definitely changed in that seemingly short time. When you compare the trends of the late 1960s to those of the modern day era, and even the technological advances made, the changes are glaringly obvious. Most obvious perhaps is the fashion of beauty trends of the two eras. Now, here are some of the most surprising things that were attractive to men 50 years ago.

Lighter Skin

Although curbing racism was tried with the Civil Rights Movement, racism was still more or less the norm in the early to mid-60s. There were actual laws in some states put in place that banned people from marrying people from another race. The anti-miscegenation laws were canceled out in 1967, but despite the progressive movements, there was still a lot of racial prejudice. In the 1960s, African-American ladies were still not allowed to participate in the Miss America pageant, and in 1968, there was a disputing Miss Black America Pageant held on the same day as the other to demonstrate the discrimination of the organization. Two years later, the first African-American state title winner, Cheryl Browne, was crowned at the Miss America Pageant competition.

Even though the African-American community was growing stronger, the preference for much lighter skin was still prevalent. The mentality began to change a little more in the 1960s and people embraced their skin color even more. Today, things are much different. Although the color discrimination is still lurking, it is much better.

Rail-thin Bodies

Although fuller figures made their presence known and threatened to take over as the dominant standard of beauty, with the iconic voluptuous figure of Marilyn Monroe, there was still a major lean towards thinness. In the book titled, Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women and Children, the author, Sarah Grogan wrote that the slim trend became more widely accepted with the turning of the years, ‘’particularly acute… when the fashion Model Twiggy became the role model for a generation of young women.” As time went on, “models became thinner and thinner,” Grogan wrote in her book.

Flat Chests

With the desire for thinner, less curvy bodies emerged the elimination of voluptuous chests. In the late 1960s, the complete elimination of cellulite became more of an obsession.

Younger girls were mostly the casualties with the desire to be extremely thin, and this was a major preoccupation in those days. By the 1960s, teenagers were no longer worried about how they could become better people; they were obsessed with how they could become thinner people.