A corset to get a narrow waist

Geschatte leestijd: 11 minuten Regularly wearing a corset can significantly narrow your waist. However, there are significant risks that must be considered. Excessive use can lead to various complications such as rib shrinking and muscle tissue necrosis. Furthermore, it is important to note that the size of your waist is determined by both the size of the abdominal cavity (which is determined by organs, the space between them, and the lower ribs) and the amount of body fat. A corset will not help you lose body fat without the corresponding exercise and adjusted nutrition. So, don’t think it’s a quick, easy way to your ideal figure. Conversely, a corset allows you to achieve a figure that is not possible with only exercise and nutrition. It’s fine if you really want to look like a Barbie doll, but whether that’s desirable is another question. Moreover, it requires years of dedication and daily effort. If you’re capable of that, you might as well use that dedication to exercise and eat healthily. Not only will you look healthier, but you’ll actually be healthier.

Corset for Quick Shaping

The corset is gaining popularity again. Not surprising considering we’re always looking for faster, easier ways to achieve that dream figure and the tendency of fashion to come back every few years. Every method to achieve your dream figure comes with its price. Whether it’s time, sacrifice, and effort like following a diet and exercising, or health risks from dangerous weight loss pills. The latter category remains attractive to many despite the risks because it offers results they haven’t achieved otherwise, whether due to lack of discipline or limitations of their personal physique. Some people consciously choose appearance over health. If used incorrectly, the corset is a perfect example of this.

Corset in History

“As soon as men were sufficiently elevated above the beast to admire the forms of women, women began to shape themselves to an ideal” Bouvier 1852:355

The corset has appeared throughout history under various names. Its real popularity arose in France in the 16th century thanks to Catherine de’ Medici, although they already existed in Crete (from 2000 to 1000 BC). Catherine was the daughter of the famous, wealthy Italian family and as the wife of Henry II, she was the queen of France from 1547 to 1559. Catherine was a queen at a time when it meant having real power. For example, she apparently had something against love handles and only wanted slim waists around her. So, around 1550, she simply forbade the presence at court of people who did not meet her ideal image. Although Catherine herself was not described as particularly beautiful, she was known for her “shapely figure”. Just as celebrities often set the fashion trend today, it was royal courts that did so at that time and were followed by the nobility. In the following centuries, the corset was worn for various reasons by the aristocracy and eventually by “the common people” as well. Although the corset has always had the function of making the waist appear smaller, it could also accentuate the breasts, be worn for support, or even correct the posture with shoulder straps introduced in the 18th century and disappeared around 1840. Just as royal courts set the fashion trend back then, nowadays it’s the designers and fashion houses. The corset has therefore experienced several revivals in the last 30 years, depending on whose fashion show was well received and whose clothing was worn by actresses and singers on the red carpet. Currently, the corset seems to be experiencing the biggest revival since the popularity caused by the movie Moulin Rouge in 2001, which coincided with the autumn collections of fashion houses in 2001, where corsets were also frequently featured.

“Tightlacing”: Making the Waist Smaller with a Corset

An important distinction must be made between someone who wears a corset once under a dress to look better at a party and someone who wears a corset daily for several hours to actually get a smaller waist. With tightlacing, you aim to reduce the waist by a few centimeters. For this purpose, special “training corsets” are used, which, unlike classic corsets, are reinforced with steel bands and are laced in the back by means of a 2-meter-long shoelace or ribbon. This allows the wearer to tighten the corset more and more over time. Wearing a corset like this is not only extremely uncomfortable but can also have serious consequences. For example, the abdomen is pushed up and down, which can damage internal organs such as the liver and spleen. Even more serious are the consequences of the pressure on the ribs. With too much pressure, they can be pushed together, which in the long run can lead to serious health problems. It is also interesting that research has shown that tightlacing can lead to a decrease in the volume of the lungs, which of course is not good for health. The effects of a too tight corset can be seen, for example, from photographs taken around 1900. Some women with very small waists had a significant deformity in their lower ribs. This often caused health problems because the rib cage could no longer function properly. However, today’s tightlacers seem to be aware of the dangers and, according to their own statements, have medical checks done regularly and are aware of their own limits. Nevertheless, it remains questionable how much influence the current ideal of beauty has on individuals.

Corset for Health Reasons

On the other hand , there are also medical reasons for wearing a corset. For example, a corset can help with back problems. The pressure exerted by the corset can help relieve pain by stabilizing the spine. Especially with herniated discs or after spinal surgery, the corset is often prescribed. Furthermore, a corset can also be used prophylactically. It is often prescribed for pregnant women with back problems or for people whose work requires them to lift heavy loads. So, not every corset is the same, and not every corset is worn for the same reasons. Therefore, it is important to be well informed before wearing a corset. Here’s the translation in English with HTML formatting:

Extreme Examples Still Inspire

Not many would want to look like Cathy. At the same time, it will appeal to many who simply think, “It doesn’t have to be that extreme, but it apparently works.” Just like the mass monsters of bodybuilding convince many to use steroids without the desire to achieve such size. Tightlacing is therefore quite common, although it can’t exactly be called a trend yet. However, Google “tightlacing,” and you will see several disturbing photos as well as photos that make you think, “That looks beautiful.” That it “works” in terms of narrowing the waist has indeed been demonstrated, but at what cost?

Risks of Excessive Corset Wearing

The renowned philosopher and writer Jean Jaques Rousseau called the corset “an enemy of mankind.” Unfortunately, some physicians in the 18th century also made unqualified statements about possible effects, and at one point, almost every disease in women was attributed to wearing the corset. For example, the physician Sömmering claimed that tuberculosis was caused by the corset simply because it was more common in women. Such reasoning was common, but more on that later. Other doctors, on the other hand, actually recommended the corset. The famous French orthopedist Nicolas de Bois-Regard Andry recommended in 1743 that every child from the age of five should wear a corset, stating that this would improve all of humanity. No, they apparently weren’t known for modest, well-founded statements back then. One writer mentions official figures for the year 1886:

52,432 corsets were sold in the year 1886. The average waist measurement was 23 inches, which gave a compression total (taking the number of corset wearers in England at 3,543,000, and their natural waist measurement at 27-28 inches) of 134 miles. The annual mortality rate resulting from this compression stood, according to a ‘competent authority,’ at 15,000. -D. Kunzle

15,000 deaths per year. That’s quite something! However, the reliability of the figures can be guessed, and besides, they date from a period when many more women wore corsets than is the case today. A nice historical overview of the corset, its popularity among different political movements, and the ever-changing views of physicians is beautifully described in Society, physicians, and the corset by Gerhart Schwarz. However, if we want to know what contemporary medical science says about this, surprisingly little research is found on the subject.

Actual Risks of Wearing a Corset, Specifically Tightlacing

The obvious question is what happens to the organs located in that ever-decreasing space. In addition, when looking at the photos, I get the idea that they would “snap in half” if you were to give them a push at the shoulders. You can hardly imagine that there is any strength left in the core muscles, given that they barely have enough space to be large enough for their function. Furthermore, the corset takes over a large part of the stabilizing function of these muscles due to the support it provides. If you wear this daily for a long time, these muscles are expected to lose some of their functionality. As far as muscle mass is concerned, it generally applies: “Use it or lose it.” Unused muscle mass has no function and normally atrophies or breaks down, as seen in patients who for whatever reason can no longer use certain muscles. However, there are hardly any good studies on the effects of the corset.

“Sömmerring’s syndrome”: Hiatus Hernias

Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, a physician and expert in anatomy, wrote an essay as early as 1793 about the dangers of the corset. It even became a bestseller given the popularity of the corset at that time. He described the dangers of rib and organ compression, which, according to him, could lead to tuberculosis, cancer, and spinal curvature. On the right is the illustration he used to visually demonstrate this. However, the warnings were ignored, and attempts by some tailors to create less dangerous alternatives were ridiculed.

“Corset Causes Hiatus Hernia”

In the 1970s, a possible effect of wearing the corset was actually demonstrated by researchers from the University of Texas. They found that wearing a corset had caused a hiatus hernia in some cases. Here, a part of the stomach slips through the diaphragm into the chest cavity. They called this effect “Sömmerring’s syndrome” in honor of the doctor who first pointed out the dangers. However, the effects and dangers of “Sömmerring’s syndrome” are unclear. At first, they were exaggerated, then almost ignored. It is clear, however, that it can lead to other conditions such as esophageal reflux, the backflow of stomach acid into the esophagus, which can in turn lead to esophagitis (in severe cases, surgical intervention may be necessary for prevention).

Fainting

In “Pirates of the Caribbean,” we see one of the main characters fainting and falling off a cliff due to wearing a tight corset. For a long time, it was thought that women faint more often than men due to wearing a corset. In Victorian times, this suited well as it was seen as fashionable for women to appear weak and helpless. This fit the notion that a woman couldn’t perform any work with a tight corset, and wearing one meant you were married to a rich guy who could provide for you (the modern equivalent of the dumb blonde who, despite having zero qualifications, spends an average monthly salary daily on the high street because she’s married to the right footballer). Nowadays, as women generally wear looser clothing and most do not want to appear anything but strong and empowered, the number of women fainting is still much higher than the number of men. The corset likely had nothing to do with this, and people continue to search for the true reason, as far as it can be found in one specific cause.

What Does a Corset Do to the Ribs and Organs?

Throughout history, many women have worn corsets frequently, tightly, and without complications. At the same time, many issues have been attributed to the corset. At one point, it was thought that low birth rates among the wealthier citizens were caused by wearing a corset, which would result in cases of a displaced uterus. Throughout history, several deaths have been reported, both among men and women. However, we’re talking about cases described at least 100 years ago in documentation of equal age. There are hardly any modern case studies of such cases or broader investigations. In the upper right, you see X-rays of Cathy Jung before and after years of corset binding. It is clear that the rib cage narrows downward instead of becoming wider (right image). This compression of the rib cage can have significant consequences. Cases were described as early as the 17th century in which the floating ribs were even pushed over each other as a result. For an (unpublished) thesis by a researcher from Louisiana State University, the skeletons from the so-called Spitalfields collection were examined. Bodies from the period 1729 to 1859 excavated from a graveyard in London. It was noticed that the skeletons with compressed ribs were from women of younger average age. There was thus a negative correlation between wearing a corset and lifespan. Also, the women were on average shorter when they wore a corset.

In addition, transverse diameter of the inlet and maximum femoral length approached significance, with females having deformed ribs being smaller. Additionally, among females for whom exact age is known, the sample with deformed ribs averaged significantly younger than the sample with normal ribs. This significant difference indicates that there is a lower life expectancy which may be associated with rib compression and therefore with tightlacing” K.M. Klingerman, Louisiana State University

Here’s the translation in English with HTML formatting: The women who did not have a deformed rib cage likely came from the poorer class who had to perform so much physical labor that wearing a corset was not an option.

Death of Abdominal Muscles Due to Corset

The X-rays in the upper right are, as mentioned, of Cathy Jung, left from before she started wearing a corset and right from afterward. You can see the enormous impact it has had. However, Cathie has not experienced any complications except for limited atrophy (death) of the abdominal muscles (precisely the problem you would expect). This has not hindered her in her daily life. However, one might wonder if the same would be true for someone who is very active in sports. That her condition does not show the expected and/or previously mentioned problems from history may be due to the gradual way in which she wore the corset tighter and tighter. She did this much more gradually than was previously customary.

Eating Less Due to Wearing Corset

In a society where too much eating sounds more likely than too little, this probably sounds like music to the ears: There are researchers who see a connection between wearing a corset and reduced appetite. The researchers from Louisiana who examined the skeletons of corset wearers also saw relatively many cases of malnutrition compared to non-corset wearers. However, it is questionable whether the compression of organs including the stomach caused this or whether it was a behavioral change “appropriate to wearing a corset.” As I said at the beginning of this article, something must also be done about body fat. Women who ate too little were therefore quite common. However, Anorexia Nervosa was only recognized as a separate disease in 1873 (interestingly enough by Dr. William Gull who would later be a suspect in the “Jack the Ripper” case). So the question is whether you eat less because of a corset or whether you simply do this for the same reason as wearing the corset.

Conclusion: “Corset ‘fortunately’ replaced by exercise, diet, and plastic surgery”

Although tightlacing still occurs, it seems to be a niche. Proportionally, few people do it. Not because the ideal image has changed so much, but mainly because of the way it can be achieved. There is more and more knowledge about nutrition and training and more possibilities through plastic surgery.

“The corset did not so much disappear as become internalized through diet, exercise, and plastic surgery – known euphemistically as ‘body sculpting’.” V. Steele, Yale University

Because it is no longer so common and there are therefore hardly any complications caused by it in practice, there are also hardly any modern studies conducted on it. Although the number of well-documented possible complications remains absent, based on historical data and common sense, there seems to be enough reason to at least see smoke, and most likely fire, in wearing a corset. Except for medical reasons, most people seem to have realized that with current knowledge about nutrition and diet, wearing a corset should not be necessary at all.

References

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