Why Period Dramas Made Us Hate Corsets (👀 Bridgerton...)

[@alicias.8482]

Corset hate is just misogyny disguised as concern

[@astreaward6651]

I never tire of watching videos like this, debunking corset myths. Abby Cox made a point in her video about dressing in 18th-century clothing about how we display our actual bodies LESS when we wear historical undergarments because your real body is hidden and how that makes you feel. When she pointed that out, it was like she put a general idea I'd had in my head and didn't really understand into words. Instead of feeling constricted, I feel more free when wearing a corset because nobody can see what my actual body looks like. I'm not exactly the modern world's idea of what the female body should be so wearing a corset does wonders for my mental health. I refuse to wear a modern bra now.

[@8191962sharon]

Amen!

[@linr8260]

Honestly I also feel like there's a biiig undercurrent of voyeurism and loving to see people (or, let's be real, see women) suffer/faint/pant etc. Especially when the actual lacing scenes often feel very sexualised.

[@punkykenickie2408]

Re: the lacing scenes, I wonder how much of an influence it has on period drama production that with corsets mostly out of use as support garments most people now associate them with fetish-wear?

[@DrAnarchy69]

They may hate corsets, but I LOVE mine. As a transfemme vintage wearer, corsets have been so instrumental in allowing me to wear pretty hourglass figure hugging dresses and skirts. I of course did my research and DO NOT TIGHT LACE. I of course therefore am able to run, sing quite well, bend over, and everything else quite easily.

[@simbelmyne7767]

I got so genuinely happy for you when I read this I just had to say so!! 🎉 trans joy is best shared, no? :] -your local corset wearing trans man (currently working on custom stays to alleviate dysphoria)

[@marthaschwartz5031]

In the future, will we see actresses in early 2000s "historical drama" complaining about how painful wearing Spanx and similar garments was? Why aren't girdles of the twentieth century treated as similar torture devices?

[@SerenaDyer]

I wonder! I certainly find corsets more comfortable than Spanx!

[@punkykenickie2408]

"Women in those days had to wear BRAS! Imagine that! Imagine wearing a bra ALL DAY and EVERY day! It must have been like being tortured!"

[@SibylleLeon]

@@punkykenickie2408 Yeah, totally! And they'd be a lot more right than people assuming all corsets were torture. Bras were all right until the 90s, when Wonderbras came out. These days, it's hard to find one that doesn't resemble a torture device, squeezing and pushing and cutting into the skin... uff.

[@ms_it_is]

I am glad to see a subtle shift in tone with the corset. More and more films say how a corset is two-sided. In 'Enola Holmes', the female lead goes to a dress shop and buys herself a more or less period accurate outfit that comes with a corset. And there she states: The corset. Symbol of repression.... for those who are forced to wear it. But for me, who chooses to wear it, the bust enhancer and the hip regulators [...] they will make me look like that truly unlikely thing... a lady! Though the corset itself might not be entirely accurate to the period, she is wearing ist over a chemise or something similar. I think that really shows what the corset is, a device to make you look different (for a short period of time). And as anything that is forced upon you, being forced into corsetry feels like oppression, especially if you have to wear it wrong

[@Niobesnuppa]

I do feel like the whole painful corset scene in Titanic is more justified than in a lot of the other movies, though, because it's symbolic. Importantly, her mother is who laces up her corset tighter than what she initially wanted, and her mother is also who's forcing her to marry an abusive rich man, so it's a way of subtly showing how her mother is restricting her life. Also, they don't exaggerate the tightness of it, Rose is visibly uncomfortable, but that's all.

[@jennifergeorgia5445]

Also, I have it on the authority of someone who has made corsets for "The Gilded Age" -- TV producers are so caught up in the hyper-slim bodies that they think audiences expect actresses to have, that they put already skinny actresses in corsets and **expect them to look slimmer than they do in a bathing suit.** These actresses, who already have no fat on their bodies, are expected to lace down even further to maintain their rail-thin shape, when anyone who wears corsets knows that the less fat you have, the less reduction you get. NO WONDER they're uncomfortable!

[@sarahr8311]

As far as not having time to get used to corsets... I used to wear regular bras (underwire, cups, etc) fairly regularly. They weren't the comfiest things, but I had ones I liked and they were were perfectly tolerable. Since the pandemic, I hadn't put on anything more structured than my glorified sports bras til I attended a wedding in September. I tried on one of my previously comfortable "real" bras and nearly crawled out of my skin. Things were pressing in places, the straps felt funky, and I hated even my softest one. So yes, not being used to a structured undergarment could definitely make it a heinous experience.

[@kittling5427]

I love this video It should also be considered that a film set is a very different environment to normal everyday life, and that the actresses, unlike their historical counterparts, do not have agency or control over the way they look. You points about women looking to create a silhouette is very on point, but I wonder how a director with little historical knowledge will engage with the costumes? Especially in an industry that is firmly in the grip of the concept that actresses should be working hard to keep 'an ideal' figure for a camera that supposedly makes you appear fatter than you actually are? Then consider that all this is happening while they are chasing the 'idea' of a wasp / dainty waist which we apparently don't have in the film industry today (except in reality we do). This is a very toxic conglomeration made worse by it believing the 'its corsets that make you ill - not us being crap doctors' so if the actresses are in distress well that's to be expected. All this takes no notice of the hours that actresses work on sets, with early call and late finishes. While I completely agree with all you have said I think we need to remember that this is all background to what modern actresses experience while working on costume dramas, that combines with a toxic work environment which re-enforces Victorian propaganda.

[@punkykenickie2408]

They're not used to wearing corsets and I do wonder how willing the budget people are to pay for a wardrobe department to make properly-fitting custom undergarments that are most likely not going to be seen much on-screen?

[@gabbytriestomakethings]

I will say, having worked in the industry, a huge part of the issue is 1) using stock items instead of building for the specific actress and 2) a lot of the frame of reference many of the people dressing you have about corsets is watching OTHER FILMS where the women are tightlaced, therefore that is how they think they should be worn and put the corset on too tight for the actress. And if the actress doesn't know enough about it, they won't know to say that is too tight. In theatre, I have worn a corset while singing, dancing, and roller skating. No problem. I also have used my own corset in some theatrical productions instead of a stock item because I knew it would fit me better. There is also a small percentage of 3) people in the industry loving to act like our job is more terrible and such hard work than it actually is. And I'm not saying that what we do as performers isn't hard, but I have worked in theater and film, and done 15 hour days, and I would rather do that than my desk job any day. Film has taken an unfortunate direction where now the only way a female character can be strong and independent is if she essentially acts as a man, which is sad. Because I would love to see an equal amount of strong women portrayed in a feminine way.

[@raraavis7782]

I believe you're spot on there. I'm not a corset wearer. I sew and I love watching content about historical garments of any kind, but I don't have the time and space, to get into historical garment making myself. I have on occasion worn modern of the rack corsets for casual foto shoots, though and an ill fitting corset on a not very squishy body is hella uncomfortable and soon downright painful. And I'm not even talking about tight lacing here. I'm very short waisted and they would dig into my (somewhat pronounced) ribs and hip bones, make my lower back hurt like crazy... If a new, ill fitting historical corset is anything like that, I can't imagine spending a long day of filming in it... especially with the addition of heavy layers of unfamiliar clothing over it, maybe a wig...yikes. I totally willing to believe, that these actresses suffer (unnecessarily) from their not costum made, not broken in corsets on film sets and that it colors their opinion of corsets in general very unfavourably.

[@duotrapeze72]

I love my corset. it is custom made for me, and it's so comfortable. I think a lot of the hate comes from how bad the off the shelf corsets are. all the problems of bras, with some added pinching. but when they actually fit, they provide great support, improve posture, and are way better than modern shapeware because you can actually adjust the size. dress doesn't fit? cinch the waist a little bit. too big? lace it looser and pad it out. want a tiny waist? pad out the hips. with a dress, no one will know!

[@wijcik]

I actively wear and love mine. It gives me just the right hold in my torso to ease anxiety in social situations like an anti-anxiety thunder jacket for a cat or dog. I also tend to do an under bust one because the bra industry doesn't actively make my size. I have a large band size and small cup. 🤷‍♀

[@spookykate217]

ngl i feel my best in a corset, in beautiful skirts and dresses that are heavily inspired by historical fashion. a modern bra can be hard to get properly fit if you got meat on your bones but a corset oh man so much better in

[@AshLG]

Oh man I knew someone other than me must get heat rash in corsets sometimes but I didn't think it would be Suranne Jones XD. Luckily I've been able to find workarounds - for me its usually the chemise that's actually causing the problem - but it's really indicative of how film and tv actors get handed the costume all ready made at the beginning and told to wear it as is and put up with it

[@peggyreinhold886]

Thank you for this video, I love it. Being at weekends of living history 1880, somewhere in Germany, I don't know how often I explained to people how comfortable a corset is. At all times there have been women who have completely exaggerated certain fashions, but unfortunately such things are now often viewed and taught as generally valid. Many greetings ❤

[@Goldkehlchen20]

I think you really hit the nail on the head with this one 🥰

[@sophthewitch4gish117]

What a great video! Now I want a scene in a period drama in which the female (feminist) protagonist gives clever tips about how to achieve the fashinoable silhouette!

[@marastuff9256]

This was amazingly put and the way you talk is very soothing and pleasant to listen to! Thank You

[@sacheverelle]

Your corset is beautiful.

[@TheStrangeloves]

I got the same conclusion in my own video about corsets being demonised ❤ thank you for speaking out ✨✨✨

[@kingkarlxivjohanofsweden4746]

oh what a lovely video. your storytelling tone is relaxing while keeping me interested. thank you!!

[@samwiseganja3026]

Adore your videos! Thank you much ❤

[@JennasHoover]

Although corsetry making was usually a male dominated field, especially in the later Victorian years when they swapped out the whale baleen for steel ribbing. Women didn't have the finger strength to insert or sew the steel.

[@manonj7990]

If those historical figures saw what women do to their faces and bodies today, they would weep!

[@alexander_yoko]

It concerns me how these anti-corset views are considered "feminist", "progressive", whatever... but in fact this is just the opposite. As a man, I love how corsets look on a woman (or a man), and I plan to buy one.

[@lero84]

Your videos are always entertaining ❤

[@manicantsettleonausername6789]

So well put!

[@unpro04]

Titanic enthusiast here - I thought James Cameron’s film would get a mention in this video. It seems strange to me how everybody can praise Cameron as some sort of expert on the matter (and by everybody, I mean mainstream media outlets), and yet, all the evidence points to the opposite. On the set of movie, when he was given advice from one of his historians, his response was "Thanks for your advice, now I'm gonna make it exciting." The result is a movie that, while fantastic and engaging, is thoroughly removed from the greater context of the period, and inaccurate in parts, to levels ranging from funny to downright slanderous.

[@XaurianQueen]

Love when someone who is otherwise a feminist brings up how "bad" corsets are like if you can't research this what else are you missing with your video essays????? This isn't difficult information to find.

[@croitoriafaraformule]

Excellent point!

[@Kelli.Hicks.5]

Well said! 📣

[@jennifergeorgia5445]

BRAVA!!!!!! Hear, hear!👏

[@SeleneSalvatore]

With tight laced corset is like with restrictive diet now. How many women live on restrictive diet, hopefully minorities. Thight laced corset users in XIX c were minorities too.

[@KittyHannah]

Is that a Willcox and Gibbs I see in the background?

[@SerenaDyer]

It is!

[@KittyHannah]

Love that! Definitely a bucketlist purchase for me.

[@mistyroller3470]

I just really abhor the representation of wearing corsets sans shift!

[@katybeaumont]

I was just reading a quote from Florence Pugh about how restrictive corsets were and that it was a way of “controlling women”. It seems to me though that women chose what they wore, not men, so that doesn’t make sense either.

[@dbseamz]

Women chose what they wore, and men often hated it so much that they made satirizing cartoons about it. I've seen some comparing bustles to snails, beetles and centaurs. I've seen one about hoopskirts where a man escorting a lady down some stairs is sticking his feet through the railing from the outside because there's no room on the steps for him. I've seen one about poke bonnets where the brims are so long the ladies wearing them look like gramophone horns (although the body language in that cartoon suggests that it might have been drawn by a woman and intended to say "we could make the bonnets THIS big and men STILL wouldn't take the hint about personal space!")