Anna Ginsburg created a beautiful animated look at the evolution of the female body and it’s perceptions over the last 30,000 years. Released on International Women’s Day and commissioned by CNN to launch their global series on beauty, the film is an examination of the changing (but never ending) pressures on women to conform to body shape ideals.

The flowing animation begins in 28,000 BC, morphing between sculptures of Fertility Goddesses through ancient Egyptian views of perception and then through the ages; The Bronze Age, Ancient Greek, the Renaissance and beyond. The shapes are constantly shrinking and stretching, As the modern era is reached, the female body is seen through technology, becoming painfully and dangerously distorted. The film ends with a message to reject the unattainable, often impossible and dangerous ideals imposed on women.