One of my current projects is directing a production of Little Women - the classic tale blah blah blah sisterhood blah blah Beth dies blah blah blah.
Honestly, my favorite part of rehearsals so far has been making the girls wear hoop skirts and corsets. It's pretty hilarious watching them try to sit down. Some of the girls are quite taken with the idea of wearing a corset, so today's
I'll spare you the history lesson, but suffice it to say that corsets have been around in some fashion or another for hundreds of years. They typically include the following elements: a non-stretchy fabric, "boning," and a sturdy lacing. Corsets as a standard lingerie item fell out of fashion in the early 1900s, but have started coming back as a fashion item - primarily as an over-garment This is probably somewhat due to the Steampunk* trend. They're often seen a lot in lingerie stores in satin or silk finishes (neither of which are adequate structural fabrics, but anyway...).
My feminist side can't decide how it feels about corsets. Part of me says, "Curse the misogynistic bastard who says that women must wear restrictive corsets because he finds tiny waists attractive!" And then part of me says, "My stomach disappeared! My bulge is gone!" And then I realize that I'm stuck judging myself by society's view of beauty. And then I have to wonder if I care, because by most standards, I am beautiful (at least, when I try). And then I have to wonder if my daughter will be considered pretty, or if my son will make a girl cry when he jokes about her weight. And I know that these things shouldn't be ok, but am I perpetuating the lie that you have to be skinny if I put on my corset?
*Steampunk - if the Victoria era used a lot of steam technology and had nifty gadgets and lots of compasses. Think Hugo, The Legend of Korra.**
**Whatever happened to The Legend of Korra? I thought it was going to have a second season....
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