We assume that a fixed gender binary has been a constant throughout human history. Dr Maya Corry argues otherwise, looking to the masters of the Renaissance to challenge our contemporary understandings of beauty, gender, and the ideal form. Each summer, commuters getting the tube in London are greeted by a wave of adverts for fast fashion brands. They feature the young, beautiful stars of that year’s Love Island, primped and primed to capitalise on their nascent fame. The men are deeply bronzed (rarely are the show’s breakout stars black) and muscley, with square jaws and short, groomed hair. The women are toned and slender, with large (often fake) breasts and flowing manes of (often fake) hair. These are bodies moulded by surgical and cosmetic enhancements to conform to a strictly binary concept of perfection: there is zero chance of any of these ‘hotties’ being mistaken for the opposite sex. The ideal they embody is not new; with their taut six-pack…
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