ABSTRACT
Norma and Normman first went on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the location of the Second and Third International Congresses on Eugenics, in June 1945. In the summer of 1945, the Norma and Normman statues provided a focal point for public debate about the new social and physical norms emergent in the immediate post-war period, and new expectations about gender, class and race. Finding a living embodiment of the statistically average body would prove elusive, as seen in the announcement of the winner of the 'Search for Norma' competition. Norma was described as the embodiment of an 'American type', that of the 'native white' young American female: Norma is the product of the American melting pot. In the beginning of this country's history, there was no truly typical American woman unless it was Pocahontas.
