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	gal_montag 2004-05-10 05:11 pm UTC (link)
	See, now, I was always of the belief that feminism meant that a woman could do whatever she wanted. So, if a woman wants to wear a corset, why the hell not? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	phosfate 2004-05-10 05:17 pm UTC (link)
	Not to mention that some of the most extreme practitioners of corsetry are in fact men. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	nicolae 2004-05-10 06:32 pm UTC (link)
	Because she doesn't REALLY want to, she's been brainwashed by the patriarchal societal structure. No, really, I know. Because I am All Women, and no one can possibly have an opinion that isn't mine. And if they do, it's because of teh ebil m3n. [/hothead] (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: gal_montag 2004-05-10 06:53 pm UTC (link)
	So my opinion that corsets look painful and incredibly ucomfortable and I probably wouldn't wear one without a considerable monetary type of encouragement is also because of the ebil m3n? Or am I just confused now? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nicolae 2004-05-10 07:24 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, no. You see, you agree with me. Thus you are Right. Women are by nature Good, and thus Right, so if a Woman is Wrong, it is from the Evil influence of Men. Get it? ;) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: gal_montag 2004-05-10 11:02 pm UTC (link)
	Oh. blinks So. Yeah, I think I do. except that really makes me want to put on a corset for some reason... (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kijikun 2004-05-10 06:13 pm UTC (link)
	Some coresets and bodices actaully give some women the extra support they need, and helps support their backs. When I'm one fair site I don't just where my bodices for looks, they also keep my back from killing me midway through the day. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	smo 2004-05-10 06:58 pm UTC (link)
	A lot of people whose jobs require heavy lifting also wear corset/back brace type things, so they don't throw their backs out. The closest I've come to such things is wearing an Under-Wonder, but to each their own. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	kijikun 2004-05-10 07:20 pm UTC (link)
	It isn't for everyone true. I'm still boggling that they were 'means' of suppersions. I thought they were worn mostly becuase bras hadnt been invented yet? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

pedantic_celia
2004-05-10 08:05 pm UTC (link)

It is true that corsetry helped support a woman's bosoms in those days before the invention of the bra. It is also quite likely that most of the stuff about women crushing and deforming their ribs with the things was largely bollocks (according to a book I read, plenty of people in Victorian times had "heard about" a woman who "cut her liver right in half" using corsetry, but there's absolutely no evidence to support it - even before the internet, there were urban myths).

There was also quite a lot of anti-corset literature published which was very much anti-feminist. As far as I recall, there was a lot of hoo-hah about the emphasis the corset put on the female figure, as well as the idea that it was "deforming God's work" or something.

(as an aside, I've seen a lot of covert and quite probably subconscious pushing of a "moralistic" tone from plenty of feminist communities, in which women are very much condemned for wearing overtly sexual or revealing outfits, not because it's "coarse" or whatever the old skool thinks, but because it's "objectifying onesself". To my mind, the motivation behind it may well be different, but the effect is still the same - woman feels ashamed of her own figure and learns not to display it for fear of arousing men)

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dwarfjen
2004-05-10 09:33 pm UTC (link)

To be honest (and I'm totally pro-corset, I'm addicted to the damn things. So pretty.) in the historical literature it was true that damage was done to some women - mostly from waist-training which started at a young age. Nowadays no sensible corset maker would ever suggest letting anyone who wasn't full-grown waist-train - when the bones aren't finished developing yet you can do damage. Organs will shift around and change shape, muscles will atrophy and you will grow dependant on the corset for support because you haven't been using your own muscles to hold you up.

A lot of the stories were exaggerated, though. (As were the waist sizes - those 'sixteen inch' waists were probably sixteen inch stays but not closed fully - making the real waist a still small but more realistic 18 or 19 inches or so.)

And yes, yes, and yes again for the 'moralistic' tone of some feminist communities. There seems to be a certain brand of feminist who thinks feminism is the situation in which instead of men telling women what they can and can't do, women tell other women what they can and can't do.

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	(Anonymous) 2004-05-11 04:06 pm UTC (link)
	helped support a woman's bosoms nitpicky, and no offense meant, but a woman has one bosom, two breasts. sorry, just a pet peeve. --gunshou (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	phosfate 2004-05-11 04:11 pm UTC (link)
	But two bazooms. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	geekmagirl 2004-05-10 08:30 pm UTC (link)
	I have a pretty green corseet that I wear when I have backaches. Makes me stand up straight. I wore the fucker through an entire sitting of Return of the King. It also pushes my boobs somewhere under my chin. I got free popcorn at the movies. I am a disgace to WOMANHOOD. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	puipui 2004-05-11 05:09 am UTC (link)
	I got free popcorn at the movies. Damn. I need me one of these free-popcorn-gettin' thingies. Sure, my boobs will look absolutely huge and may actually put out the eyes of your shorter of innocent bystanders, but, hey, that movie theater popcorn is friggin' expensive, man! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	geekmagirl 2004-05-11 09:28 am UTC (link)
	Sure, my boobs will look absolutely huge and may actually put out the eyes of your shorter of innocent bystanders Hey, that's a bonus that I never thought of. Damn those short innocent bystanders. but, hey, that movie theater popcorn is friggin' expensive, man! Boobs: They're like free money, in a way. (Reply to this)(Parent)

meshou
2004-05-10 08:57 pm UTC (link)

I've worn a corset. They're comfy, somehow. Yeah, it's not healthy every day 18 hours a day for 30 years. But for a few hours every other Saturday night while you're in your 20's? Not gonna hurt.

I love how he/she/it compares wearing a corset to prostitution. Next time I want to wear a corset so I can fit into a dress made to wear with a corset, I'll remember some women are whores, and that's a bad choice.

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	darkrose 2004-05-10 11:43 pm UTC (link)
	If I had someone to lace me into it, I'd wear my corset a lot more often. My huge tracts of land are heavy, and a bra puts all of the weight of them on my shoulders. Plus, I can rest my head on the shelf when I want to nap. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	elfy 2004-05-11 02:05 am UTC (link)
	If I had someone to lace me into it, I'd wear my corset a lot more often Exactly. I have a wonderful corset, cept it's impossible to lace myself into it. Hence me wanting to get one with laced up sides and busks at the front so it can be all DIY withouth having to unlace the back. nods (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	musette 2004-05-11 02:13 am UTC (link)
	I am all over the Victorian style corsets that you can get in and out of yourself. Much as I love my Georgian one with the back lacing, it really does require at /least/ an extra set of hands to get into. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	elfy 2004-05-11 02:57 am UTC (link)
	I like the Victorian style, but I think the front lacing works best when you have a nice [part of me wants to say 'rack' here] bust to show off. Which I don't. Hence busks a la Edwardian style. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: musette 2004-05-11 05:54 am UTC (link)
	That's definitely true. The Edwardian are certainly the most flattering on me as well, because the Victorian and Georgian tend to squash as much as they lift. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	singe 2004-05-11 02:34 am UTC (link)
	Is inspired My god, I have to get a corset just to save my poor shoulders. My damn bra-straps have cut a trench through the muscles. Er, TMI, sorry... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	puipui 2004-05-11 05:11 am UTC (link)
	empathizes (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: singe 2004-05-12 12:36 am UTC (link)
	Sniffle! Thank you. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	phosfate 2004-05-11 04:13 pm UTC (link)
	Carrie! I can see your dirty pillows! (Reply to this)(Parent)

Everybody Must Think Like Me! Memememmememme!

elkins
2004-05-11 12:26 am UTC (link)

Heh. Corsets. I find them sexy as hell, myself, but pretty much in the exact same way that I find bondage gear sexy. In other words, I personally find them damned uncomfortable, and yeah, I do associate them with oppression. That's exactly what makes them kinda hot for me.

But, you know, if someone else likes them just because they think that they're neat or pretty or show off their figure to good advantage, or give them back support, or find them comfy, or whatever, that's totally cool with me. I'm certainly not going to try to tell others: "No! You only like them because they are stiff, uncomfortable symbols of oppression, and you're a closeted sub!"

Because, you know, that whole distinction between myself and other people? The one that normal people are supposed to develop somewhere around the age of four or five?

Yeah. Got that.

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	musette 2004-05-11 02:15 am UTC (link)
	Oh my god, not only do I own (and make) corsets, I don't kick men in the balls if they oggle me while wearing one!! I'm a slave to the masses and all this time I didn't know! wail (Reply to this)(Thread)

	rhi_silverflame 2004-05-11 02:39 am UTC (link)
	I truly love you. I do. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: musette 2004-05-11 05:52 am UTC (link)
	grins I live to serve. Only, not, but you know what I mean. ;-) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	crickets 2004-05-11 04:47 am UTC (link)
	Do you make the front lace (uh, Victorian?) version, and do you offer any of these corsets for sale? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: musette 2004-05-11 06:00 am UTC (link)
	I've made Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian, and Renaissance bodices. The Georgian are back lace, the Victorian have a couple different versions and the Edwardian generally have a busk in the front. I've made them for people I know before, so if you're interested let me know in like... a week or two once the term is over and my head is on straight. g (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crickets 2004-05-11 06:08 am UTC (link)
	Cool! I've made a note on my calendar. ::sends you a care package of snacks and caffeinated beverages:: (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: musette 2004-05-11 06:58 am UTC (link)
	Mmm... caffeine. worships (Reply to this)(Parent)

	eljuno 2004-05-11 05:28 pm UTC (link)
	If that person's so down on corsets, I hate to think what she'd say about my chest binding, which really DOES make it hard for me to breathe at times... But, of course, that's FLATTENING the chest. And I've already turned my back on and betrayed womynhood in the first place (at least, that's what people keep telling me) (Reply to this)(Thread)

	bishounenhuntrs 2004-05-23 07:08 pm UTC (link)
	And I've already turned my back on and betrayed womynhood in the first place (at least, that's what people keep telling me) Oh, what a bunch horseshit! You are a pre-op F-to-M trans, yes? Then you're just as much a man in spirit as I am. It truly boggles my mind that so many people just don't get it. (Reply to this)(Parent)