8 Bizarre Beauty Standards of the Past That You Won’t Believe Were Real

6. Stretched Lips

The Mursi women of Southern Ethiopia have a startling beauty ritual. Beginning at the age of 15 or 16, a girl’s lips are cut by her mother or other women of the tribe. The wound is then held open by a wooden plug as it heals. Over the course of 2-3 months, increasingly large rounds are inserted to widen the stretch. But, unlike a lot of other tribal beauty rituals, this one is entirely up to the girl – from choosing how wide she would like to stretch her lips to if she even wants to do it in the first place!

7. Lotus Feet

In Imperial China, small feet known as “lotus feet” were seen as the ultimate depiction of beauty. They were regarded as more attractive and “sexually pleasing”, which would lead to them having a higher chance for a prestigious marriage. To achieve lotus feet, girl’s feet were bound tightly using cotton strips, constricting their growth. The process would begin from ages as little as 5. As a result, the feet would end up bent in the middle with some of the toes bent downwards. Women with lotus feet would have trouble walking, but that was considered a way to identify girls with such feet.

8. Scarring of Face and Chest

Scarification is a popular trend in many parts of the world, and one of the most extreme cases is of the men and women of the Karo tribe. They scar parts of their torso and face in an attempt to become more beautiful. In fact, women who have “fashionable” scars are higher in status socially and politically and are even seen as more desirable for marriage. These scars are created using sharp knives or glass, then applied with plant juices or charcoal. This will then create a slight infection, which will cause it to raise and darken as it heals.