Can technology change physical ideals?

Can technology change physical ideals?

My instinctive answer to this question is no, but this may not always hold true.  I recently read an article by Gary North about shaving.  He says that the development of the safety razor in the early 20th century ended the beard.  It also made sleeveless dresses popular. I think that the true physical ideals do not change, but technology allows everyone to come closer to the ideal without expending a prohibitive amount of energy.

The safety razor made it easier to shave.  It takes far less effort and skill to shave with a safety razor than a straight razor.  The alternative to a straight razor before the safety razor was to go to a barber for a shave; however, this is more expensive and time consuming.  All this effort makes it more likely that a man will sport a beard.  I am not sure what makes beards sexually attractive[or not], but removing the beard allows a man to show off his jaw line.  I know that a strong jaw line is considered attractive on a man.

The safety razor also made it easier for women to shave.  I cannot imagine anyone shaving their armpits with a straight razor.  The safety razor allowed women to shave their arm pits and wear sleeveless dresses.  It would be difficult (although not as hard as the armpit) to shave ones legs with a straight razor.  I think that hairless armpits and legs were always considered attractive on women, but it was just too impractical for the common woman without lots of leisure time.  The safety razor allowed everyone to (relatively) easily remove unwanted hair.

While researching this post I found an interesting shaving time line.  For most of history it seems that dilapatory pastes and plucking were the most common hair removal methods, and any razor was probably a step up from this.  A razor is far less painful than plucking and far quicker (and probably less toxic) than hair removal creams.