From corsets to corseted bodies

Corsets are mainly associated with the Victorian era but they continue to be used even in today‘s fashion. Corsets served a purpose of style but also exemplified the desired shape a woman should have to attract a suitor. Corsets made the waist smaller, pushed the bust upward, and made the hips look wider. Wide hips used to be a sign of good childbearing potential. Corsets limited a woman’s movements and made it hard for her to take deep breaths which lead to woman fainting often (The Secret History of the Corset and Crinoline, session1). Because corsets limited movement, it made it a symbol of status. If women were rich enough, they would be able to wear corsets because they would have the maid do the housework and therefore could afford to not be able to move. According to “the Secret History of the Corset and Crinoline”, “[a woman] is doomed to her position in society; a slave to fashion, corseted and striving to be pleasing to men, whatever the cost. So, when I came across corset piercings, I found it to be an interesting choice due to the corsets original role of making women reliant on men. Now, corsets that once were used as an under garment that restricted movement, have become modernized into a type of piercing. According to “Extreme Body Modification: Corset Piercings 82” by becauseilive, “corset piercings, sometimes called ladder piercings, are a series of surface piercings arranged up the back in two vertical columns. The piercings are located in the spot where the eyelets would be if one was wearing a corset. It is a symmetrical piercing with an equal number of holes on each side; as few as four holes can be used (two on each side) up to as many as the expanse of skin will allow” (1). Corset piercings are meant to be temporary because the body will naturally push the surface piercings out. In looking at pictures I have seen the traditional down the back, but I have also seen down the sides of a girl’s torso, as well as coming down the neck to the chest. Corset piercings do not share the original purpose of a corset since they are more for looks than for shaping. The corset piercings can only be tightened a little and it only somewhat shapes that one part of the body while a true corset shapes the entire waistline, bust, and hips. It is also hard to say if a corset piercing is really done to entice the opposite sex or if it is done more for a personal pleasure. In any case, the corset piercing is a type of body modification that is at least done because it is the choice of the person, not because it is a status symbol or not necessarily done to entice a suitor.

Works Cited
Becauseilive. “Extreme Body Modification: Corset Piercings 84”
http://hubpages.com/hub/Extreme_Body_Modification_Corset_Piercings

The Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum. “The Secret History of the Corset and the Crinoline: Session1” 2002
http://www.fathom.com/course/21701726/session1.html