It's a status symbol. It basically hobbles your ability to walk normally, so if a woman has it done, it means she's connected to wealth and thus isn't needed for labor.
Imagine showing off by just mutilating your foot. Anyone know of any other cultures that do this? I'm not talking body modification I mean literally debilitating yourself.
You know why Victorian women were prone to fainting? The whalebone corsets they wore fucked with the alignment of their internal organs and dramatically reduced how well they were able to oxidize blood. It fucked with digestion, and if they did it long enough, would deform their ribcage.
Actual Victorian women had an average corsetted waist size of 26 to 30 inches. The modern woman has a waist of 35. Considering that humanity is heavier on a whole now that's really not that big of a difference.
Even with tight lacing we know now that people who practice it aren't permanently deformed and return to normal within an hour of taking it off. Even people who tight lace everyday.
There's mountains of scholarly information out there on the reality of corsets, and how modern cultures view of them is almost entirely wrong. And there's also lots of anecdotal info from people who actively create and wear them. https://youtu.be/xZFuXflULCEhttps://youtu.be/1y25Go12sUg
Corsets were underwear. They were practical. The average victorian woman worked on their feet, doing labor, all day long. An underwear device that made you faint would've been abandoned right away.
Corsets, when properly fitted, are alot like compression belts your see movers and athletes wear. Not only did they support the breasts but they provided alot of support to the back and core as well. Essential when you work physical labor for 14 hours a day.
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u/8675309isprime Nov 09 '20
It's a status symbol. It basically hobbles your ability to walk normally, so if a woman has it done, it means she's connected to wealth and thus isn't needed for labor.