Dec. 1, 1882.] 



- KNOWLEDGE • 



429 



CORSET - WEARING. 



By R. a. Proctor. 



I MUST confess that I have seen -with some surprise 

 " An Observer's " advocacy of tight-lacing, and with 

 evea more surprise, knowing his great acumen and power 

 in argument, the inadequacj- (or what seems to me the 

 inadequacy) of the arguments by which he supports his 

 casa If we consider what the arguments employed by 

 " An Observer " and Dr. Chadwick really establish, we 

 shall find that they have in reality scarcely any bearing 

 on the only points which can be regarded as actually at 

 issue. 



Dr. Chadwick maintains that in the case of women, 

 wearing corsets, from girlhood, which produce moderate 

 pressure and gradually modify the form, may do no harm 

 to the health — may even in some cases give much-needed 

 support, and will improve the figure, according to his own 

 idea of what constitutes a good figure. " An Observer " 

 shows that in past times the Romans (and even, perhaps, 

 the Greeks) admu-ed small-waisted women, that in the 

 middle ages and in our own time they have been admired, 

 that even men have endeavoured to become small-waisted, 

 that many women have preserved good health with 

 moderate or even great waist-pinching, and that even many 

 men have not only been uninjured by tight-lacing, but 

 have found their health improved by the practice, and have 

 noticed a marked falling off in their health when they have 

 for a time given it up. 



AJl this may be admitted — may even be regarded as 

 requiring no demonstration — and yet the reasonableness of 

 the views of the dress-reformers may be admitted, except 

 in so far as they may very well be attempting (as " An 

 01 'Server " opines) an utterly hopeless task. 



It can be proved very readily that for many centuries a 

 crushed foot has been greatly admired among ladies in 

 China. It can even be shown that Chinese ladies with 

 <;rushed feet often retain fairly good health to a very ad- 

 vanced age, notwithstanding the seemingly most mis- 

 chievous character of the artificial deformity. So ■\%"ith the 

 long-headed deformity of which Miss Buckland told us not 

 long ago. The folks with crushed heads, like the ladies 

 ^vith crushed feet, survive, as a matter of fact, what, 

 theoretically, should bring thom to an early grave. 



But more. It may be admitted — and is, indeed, the case 

 —that a small waist, like a small foot or a small hand, is 

 pleasing to the artistic eye (so it be natural), and is more- 

 over an evidence of what is commonly called good blood 

 — which really means several generations free from hard 

 bodily toil such as labourers in the field have to undergo, 

 Jiy which hands and feet and loins are unduly and as it 

 were coarsely exercised, with the natural result, abnormal 

 development. 



Yet more, it may be admitted — because it chances to be 

 true — that even as regards well-balanced strength in man, 

 a large waist is a defect, though for some forms of exercise 

 <and markedly for rowing) a small waist always involves 

 weakness. I happen to have special reasons for remem- 

 bering this. I had, as a young man, the waist-mcasure- 

 4uent mentioned by " An Observer," viz., 28 in., though, as 

 I was short (5 ft 6 in. only was, I think, my stocking- 

 foot record as a volunteer), this did not correspond to 

 quite the same tenuity as " An Observer " seems to 

 consider suitable for well - made young men. My 

 chest measurement was 42 in., my arms long (ex- 

 tending nearly 6 ft horizontal), and my shoulder and 

 upper-arm muscles exceptionally well developed. Yet 

 though thus well supplied with most of the rowing 



muscles, I suffered — and very seriously at first — from the 

 weakness of the alidominal and loin muscles. At the 

 beginning of each term three or four weeks would pass 

 before these muscles took kindly to their work. For the 

 rest of the term thej- seemed as hard as wood ; but they 

 were in reality too small for their share of hard rowing in 

 the old-fashioned Cambridge style. For the long races 

 men of strong and large loins and fully-developed abdo- 

 minal muscles were then, and have always been, the best 

 fitted, though that does not prove the large-waisted men 

 best in all-round development 



But even if we granted that small waists were good 

 (instead of moderate waists and small hips, as in Thorwald- 

 sen's "Jason"), and again, if we admitted that small 

 waists were artistically pleasing (instead of being hideous 

 in men, if the hips are wide), how would that help to show 

 the advantage of tight-lacing 1 It is good to have a good 

 biceps muscle, but sticking a good-sized padding inside your 

 jersey, to simulate a good biceps, is of very little use. That 

 does not illustrate tight-lacing, "An Observer" may say. 

 No, it does not ; it is not sufficiently unreasonable. Take 

 this, then. It is good to have strong wrist muscles, which 

 will not yield under great strain ; and tying a ribbon 

 tight round the wrist may save the ligaments of the 

 wrist from the effects of undue eflbrts, besides, perhaps 

 making the wrist look small and neat; moreover, a 

 person who has been in the constant habit of '\ earing such 

 a bandage would be apt "to sufter whenever he gave it 

 up." Does this prove that it is well to wear tight bandages 

 round the wrists "? Nay ; but it proves the reverse. It 

 shows that their use so weakens the natural muscles by 

 saving them their proper work, that (as Sir Edmund 

 Beckett notes in his " Origin of the Laws of Nature ") 

 being " not exercised and less worked for the time," they 

 decline both in size and strength. 



In lilce manner, a waist of moderate size, enclosed by 

 small and well-hardened muscles, is good ; it shows that 

 there is no lumber of fat either about the abdominal or 

 lumbar muscles, or about the abdomen itself ; that these 

 muscles are fit to bear any strain likely to come upon 

 them ; that, in fine, the abdominal region is in good condi- 

 tion. If it is not in good condition, and a man is unwilling 

 or unable to get it into good condition, tying it up in 

 bandages or enclosing it within stays may be a very 

 desirable or even a most necessary precaution. It will 

 make the waist /ook more like the waist of a stalwart 

 man, and may perhaps prevent pain, or fatigue, or even 

 serious injury from the weakness of theabdominaland lumbar 

 muscles. Doubtless when a discussion arises about the use of 

 stays, hundreds of weaklings who have had this experience 

 come forward, and laud their corsets ; while the hundreds of 

 thousands who have never felt the want of corsets (or 

 have preferred steady exercise to keep their abdominal 

 regions in good condition)* can say nothing on the subjtct 



But I take it that we might get quite as overwhelumig a 

 weight of evidence in the same way to show the ute of 

 wearing a truss as we have for the wearing of a corset — 

 by men, at any rate. Two or three or more might " say 

 they could stand and walk much longer" with a truss on 



• What docs " .\n Observer" do if lie finds any muscle show 

 sigTis of weakncs.<i ? Does he bandage it up for over after ? I 

 doubt the wisdom of such a course. In a railway accident in 

 America, 1 had the knee-cap muscle of my left leg "badly injured, 

 and it was for a long time weak. Therefor,; 1 gjive it steady 

 exercise, cold water streams, and so forth. If 1 had tied up ray 

 knee, I should doubtless have prevented further injury, but I 

 should have kept the muscle worthless, and kept a worthless 

 muscle. So if the loins and abdominal muscles are weak, you may 

 save them from mischief by tying them up ; but it is far better to 

 make them strong — as, unless very lazy, you readily can. 



