Any unnecessary fat was inefficient.[1] This idea spread quickly, and at the turn of the 20th century the ideal female figure was between 5’3’’ and 5’7’’, and weighed between 125-140 lbs.[6] Sargent advocated that the ideal female figure for young and developing girls is a boyish one. This kind of figure allowed girls to more easily participate in physical activities.[7] His critics often worried that the new female figure was becoming too masculine.[8] Sargent believed that more physical activity would actually lead to a more graceful female figure.[8] He also believed that the corset exaggerated feminine features and took away from "true womanliness”.[8] Sargent felt that true beauty lay in symmetry and the "natural development” of the female figure.[8]