Life for girls has changed a lot across the decades and centuries. Or has it? In this occasional series, "Girls Across the Ages," we explore, through photos, what it meant to be a girl "way back when" and what it means today.



Having fun in 1931! These Australian bathing beauties kicked up their heels on a Sydney beach...bet they knew a bathing suit with a skirt was the way to show off a fashionable hourglass figure.



Beauty comes in all sizes and colors. These African-American beauty contestants from 1949 were sponsored by local businesses. What a way to advertise your local pie shop!



Girls rule! This Cambridge, Massachusetts, synchronized swimming team (1999) knows that the team that swims together stays together—and has the most fun.