On another site we were discussing the transition towards idealizing thin women.

Historically, most art in the west shows a strong favoritism for bigger women. This is true of most western art from before Hellenistic Greece to works by well regarded artists into the 1800s. Even in erotic art there is a strong historic tendency towards bigger as in full-figured or heaver women.

A predominance of illustrating heaver women is also an historic fact for most eastern art, but people of Asian ancestry tend to be smaller in statute.

The transition may have begun about 100 or so years ago. Someone pointed out that this was due in a large part the increase of photography as a medium.

Do you think the change was due to the influence of photography and cinematography or is the result of a recent shift in human aesthetic preferences?