The corset

Plenty of women’s fashions restrict them — intended or not — whether we’re talking girdles, spiked heels, bound feet, or wearing curlers to bed (who can sleep?!)

And how about that corset?

This ubiquitous pre-20th-century garment was so tightly laced that organs could be pushed around. And they promoted lung disease. Those things were not comfy!

Despite the health risks, some 19th century doctors believed that women’s bodies were too weak to hold themselves up, so they needed the contraption. (Scientists of the time also thought that education shrunk a woman’s womb!) Read the rest of this entry →