328 



KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



[Oct. 1G, 181 



iind consequeutlj- iheir influence on othei-s also, are con- 

 cerned by reason tf this inter-relation of the organic 

 functions. 



This brings me to the subject of stays and tight lacing. 

 Many of my readers possibly expect that I shall repro- 

 duce the well-known picture of the Yenus di Medici 

 contrasted with that of a tight-laced cripple (a Venus di 

 Mcretrice'), showing how the ribs are crushed in jiist 

 where they should expand, and the consequent derange- 

 ment of the thoracic and abdominal viscera ; but I abstain 

 from thus wasting my time or otherwise arguing 

 against such practices, knowing well that the excep- 

 tionally few women who now deform themselves by such 

 mechanical violence are below the reach of reason. 

 Besides this, the suicide they perpetrate is beneficial to 

 society ; it promotes " the survival of the fittest." If 

 such women lived to be mothers of families their like 

 would be multiplied and occuisy the places of the more 

 worthy. If they only take rope enough — i.e., pull hard 

 enough at the staylaces — they will die early ; if they pull 

 not quite hard enough for this they may survive a little 

 longer, get married, and die in childbirth ; or a little less 

 still, they may sujvive this ordeal, but have premature 

 or stillborn children. No woman who is so devoured by 

 insensate vanity as to deform herself by tight-lacing is 

 Kt to become a wife and a mother. 



There is, however, another use more usually made of 

 stays or corsets which stands quite apart from tight- 

 lacing, and which still prevails among a large majority 

 iif the best of women, but which nevertheless is an un- 

 mitigated evil. I allude to the common practice of 

 wearing stays as "a support." 



A glance at the human skeleton shows that the internal 

 :.bdominal organs, or viscera, are mainly supported by 

 the basin-shaped expansion of the hip-bones — the pelvis 

 — while the head and shoulders, the arms, and the bulk 

 of the trunk are all held up by a comparatively slender 

 stick of bone (the backbone), which, on further examina- 

 tion, is found to consist of twenty-four pieces, not rigidly 

 attached by dovetailing or otherwise, but somewhat 

 unstably united by intervening layers of flexible cartilage. 

 Standing alone, it is not able to hold itself upright, but 

 yields and bends over by its own weight if inclined in 

 rhe least degree on either side. Added to this, it is 

 i-urved considerably. 



How, then, is it that man is able to maintain the erect 

 position during life, and — if healthy — to do this so easily? 

 1 1 is by means of a system of muscles attached to the 

 processes or projections of this back-bone. Some of these 

 proceed directly from the processes to the edge of the 

 [lelvis, and act in a manner that has been justly compared 

 to that of the shrouds and stays that hold the masts, and 

 with them the sails of a ship, in their places in spite of 

 the great overthrowing strain which a strong wind exerts 

 upon the sails. Other muscles are variously arranged, 

 forming the fleshy mass of the back, &.C., and combine, 

 with the above-named, not only to stay but at the same 

 lime, by their alternate contractions and extensions, to 

 execute the movements of the body. 



These muscles, like those of the limbs, require daily 

 regular exercise, in order that they may retain their 

 normal healthy amount of energy or power. This exercise 

 must consist of their full contraction and extension. 



It must be evident to any intelligent woman that if 

 .-ilie surrounds her body with a closely-fitting scaffolding 

 of whalebone and steel-busks, or any similar scaffolding 

 or stiff bandage, the free action, the healthy exercise of 

 Mic muscles concerned in the support and flexure of the 

 body must be impeded in proportion to the rigidity of 



such bandage. If the lijii! . . •■■•' i- -irnilarl}- bandaged 

 and its muscles similar 1\ : w ■ mid .soon become 



weaker than the left— :Il! m fact; if the legs 



were similarly treated ili- \ - ii:i \\' 'J-l, in the course of 

 time, become unable to walk a single mile. 



Thus it is that the practice of wearing stays, com- 

 menced in girlhood, merely in blind obedience to custom 

 (forwarded in many cases by the girl's desire to be woman- 

 like, as little boys smoke pipes and cigarettes to appear 

 manly) produces the weakne.ss that in after life creates 

 the demand for their continuance. The case is just 

 analogous to that of snuff taking, smoking, and other bad 

 habits, which create a special weakness temporarily 

 relieved and permanently exaggerated by their continu- 

 ance. The snuff-taker, when deprived of his box, is 

 miserably depressed. Had he never began snuff-taking 

 he would suffer no such depression. The stay-wearer 

 when deprived of her stays feels miserably weak and 

 flaccid. Had she never worn stays she would suffer no 

 such misery. 



The remedy is the same in both cases. Resolution is 

 demanded ; the consequences of the vice must be endured 

 for awhile, until the artificially weakened organs recover 

 their healthy tone. I am told by emancipated ladies that 

 they found the struggle much less severe than they 

 had anticipated. This will probably be found in all cases 

 where the abandonment of stays is accomj)anied with 

 the adoption of divided underskirts of far less weight 

 than the ordinarj" strata, and with the other suitable 

 under-clothing now so well understood by dress reformers. 



I must not leave this part of the subject without a 

 word in recommendation of those admirable knitted body 

 garments known as " Cardigan jackets." Made of pure 

 wool, they combine nearly all the qualities demanded 

 theoretically in ideally perfect clothing. During a 

 recent visit to Scotland, I was much pleased to see they 

 are still worn there bj- school-girls and sensible women 

 as commonly as when I lived there more than thirty 

 years ago. The school-girls then knitted them for them- 

 selves. I hope they continue to do so. 



They are suitable for men as well as for women. The 

 only objection I have heard against them as men's gar- 

 ments is that they are worn by barmen and pot-boys. 

 This may have some force in the case of men whose 

 social position is doubtful, and whose avocation might, 

 therefore, be mistaken. But even in theii- case there is a 

 remedy. Let them wear Cardigan jackets made with 

 visible outside pockets. The barman wears a knitted 

 overall jacket without pockets, and tight at the wrists, as 

 a protection to his employer's till. 



This is my last paper on this subject, and it may suit- 

 ably conclude with ;: few remarks on the moral philo- 

 sophy of clothing, especially of women's clothing. As 

 they devote so large a proportion of their moral energies 

 so much thought and earnest feeling, to the .subject, and 

 this from an early age, its educating influence on the for- 

 mation of their character must be considerable ; and 

 their conduct in reference to this subject may be fairlj- 

 regarded as a prominent indication of character. 



What, then, must be our verdict if we analyse this 

 influence, and apply this test for the determination of 

 whether the intellectual conclusions and practical conduct 

 of women generally are or are not b?.sed upon fixed 

 intellectual and moral principles. 



What are the principles, are there any principles, or 

 any idea of principles, or respect for principle, regulating 

 the mind and conduct of women (I mean average, not 

 exceptional, women) in the very engrossing business of 

 the selection and general conduct of dre.S3 ? 



