If you base them on today's corsets they are. It that bad. But let's say that you snapped strong metal rods into a modern corset and put it on, then you might change your mind when your ability to breath, bend over, twist, stretch, eat....did I mention breathe?.....are all impaired, and your body has bruises from breasts to hips, because those meatal rods and thick fabric are forcing your body to stay in one position all the time, any time you move your body is fighting against the rods and fabric. Now think if you weren't born with a 24 in waist and society insisted that all women should have such a tiny waist, just how much more painful those metal rods and cloth might become. The "whale bone" bone used in the original corsets would have been close to having thick iron rods used in a modern day corset. They had very little give, and did not allow for much space between the body and the bodices of tight fitting dresses. So when people say that corsets aren't bad the truth is they aren't now, but many women died due to the damage of corsets all for the sake of fashion. They were very dangerous, and there are many misinformed people here claiming otherwise.
I am not misinformed actually, I have a fairly extensive interest in fashion history. Corsets in and of themselves were not harmful. The whalebones are not actually bones, they are a different substance, and through heat and wear they would mold to your body, nowhere near as stiff as iron. They were an undergarment made for support first, but of course also form. Plenty of working women used working corsets and it actually helped them, gave support for the back and spread weight distribution. Now what was or could be harmful was the practice of tight-lacing. Yes this did shift organs around, and made it hard to eat large portions. (Even if not tight-laced it would be difficult to eat large portions it's true. Same as it's annoying to eat a lot with well structured and fitted highwaisted trousers).
Conversely though if those ladies had not been regularly exercising and had been trained into corsets from a young age it might actually do them more harm to just stop wearing corsets suddenly, since many of their back muscles would be weak, as they had for lack of a better term, been using the equivalent of an exoskeleton all their lives.
I'm glad to see so many ppl bringing up how corsets were not that bad, cause that was what I first thought of reading this
They aren't now
If you base them on today's corsets they are. It that bad. But let's say that you snapped strong metal rods into a modern corset and put it on, then you might change your mind when your ability to breath, bend over, twist, stretch, eat....did I mention breathe?.....are all impaired, and your body has bruises from breasts to hips, because those meatal rods and thick fabric are forcing your body to stay in one position all the time, any time you move your body is fighting against the rods and fabric. Now think if you weren't born with a 24 in waist and society insisted that all women should have such a tiny waist, just how much more painful those metal rods and cloth might become. The "whale bone" bone used in the original corsets would have been close to having thick iron rods used in a modern day corset. They had very little give, and did not allow for much space between the body and the bodices of tight fitting dresses. So when people say that corsets aren't bad the truth is they aren't now, but many women died due to the damage of corsets all for the sake of fashion. They were very dangerous, and there are many misinformed people here claiming otherwise.
I am not misinformed actually, I have a fairly extensive interest in fashion history. Corsets in and of themselves were not harmful. The whalebones are not actually bones, they are a different substance, and through heat and wear they would mold to your body, nowhere near as stiff as iron. They were an undergarment made for support first, but of course also form. Plenty of working women used working corsets and it actually helped them, gave support for the back and spread weight distribution. Now what was or could be harmful was the practice of tight-lacing. Yes this did shift organs around, and made it hard to eat large portions. (Even if not tight-laced it would be difficult to eat large portions it's true. Same as it's annoying to eat a lot with well structured and fitted highwaisted trousers).
Conversely though if those ladies had not been regularly exercising and had been trained into corsets from a young age it might actually do them more harm to just stop wearing corsets suddenly, since many of their back muscles would be weak, as they had for lack of a better term, been using the equivalent of an exoskeleton all their lives.