The Bad Corset
A Feminist Reimagining
Published on 31. October 2024
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-350-29519-3 (ISBN)
Description
Both a translation and critique of an early 20th century seminal French text on the physical effects of corseting, The Bad Corset explores contemporary anti-woman bias to challenge the commonly accepted assertions about corsetry's contribution to disease, disfigurement, and disorders of the female body.
The original 1908 French book, Le Corset by Ludovic O'Followell-with its graphic illustrations, some of which are reproduced here-tells a story, familiar to anyone interested in popular culture and fashion history, of women suffering for fashion, tormented by and subject to their corsets. However, a close reading of the texts tells a very different, and more complicated, story.
This fascinating exploration, approaching the topic from a scientific perspective, and reproducing facsimiles of the original text, with translations and annotations, critiques the presumptions and anxieties of male medical professionals on the 'damage' caused by corsets to the female body and psyche. Rather than seeing the women who wore these perceived instruments of torture as victims or dupes, The Bad Corset confidently asserts the agency of the women who wore them and highlights the way in which seminal texts can continue to influence our interpretation of the past, and women's lives and histories.
The Bad Corset is a remarkable resource for scholars and students of fashion, medicine and gender history, taking a feminist approach to female agency and choice, and helping us reconsider the way we think about the shaping of women's bodies, and their lives.
The original 1908 French book, Le Corset by Ludovic O'Followell-with its graphic illustrations, some of which are reproduced here-tells a story, familiar to anyone interested in popular culture and fashion history, of women suffering for fashion, tormented by and subject to their corsets. However, a close reading of the texts tells a very different, and more complicated, story.
This fascinating exploration, approaching the topic from a scientific perspective, and reproducing facsimiles of the original text, with translations and annotations, critiques the presumptions and anxieties of male medical professionals on the 'damage' caused by corsets to the female body and psyche. Rather than seeing the women who wore these perceived instruments of torture as victims or dupes, The Bad Corset confidently asserts the agency of the women who wore them and highlights the way in which seminal texts can continue to influence our interpretation of the past, and women's lives and histories.
The Bad Corset is a remarkable resource for scholars and students of fashion, medicine and gender history, taking a feminist approach to female agency and choice, and helping us reconsider the way we think about the shaping of women's bodies, and their lives.
Reviews / Votes
A fascinating and brilliantly executed re-examination of long-held assumptions about a notorious episode in fashion. Gibson takes an elegant pair of shears to a tightly bound arrangement of misconceptions. The history of women, of their bodies, and of their health is all the better for it. * Lindsey Fitzharris, New York Times Bestselling author of The Facemaker * A must read for any corset scholar or enthusiast. Skilfully combining biological anthropology, feminist theory and fashion history, Rebecca Gibson shows how deliberately biased medical discourses of the past still influence discussions about corsetry, women's bodies and health today. * Sarah Bendall, Australian Catholic University, Australia * Breaking down the wall between science and social science, Professor Gibson's translation and dissection of Ludovic O'Followell's treatise on Le Corset shines an expert light on the ignorance and contempt embedded in medical 'knowledge' about women at the dawn of the twentieth century. * Steven Zdatny, University of Vermont, USA * Innovative, engaging, and incisive, The Bad Corset is a necessary anthropological, feminist, reframing/reimagining annotation of a very particular book, Le Corset ... Using translated text, original imagery, and a thorough, and at times gratifyingly sardonic, scholarly lens, Gibson pushes against patriarchal framings and errors regarding corsets, corseting, women, and human biology ... [and] invites readers to reflect with the past and to think anew about bodies, biases, and possibilities. * Agustin Fuentes, Princeton University, USA * Gibson's dissection of O'Followell's work [is] insightful ... [This is] a much-needed critique of Le Corset and its longlasting influence on the discourse around women's fashion. * Costume Journal *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
100 colour illus
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 185 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
953 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-29519-3 (9781350295193)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Rebecca Gibson is Assistant Professor in the School of World Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA. Her published works include Desire in the Age of Robots and AI (2019), The Corseted Skeleton (2020), and Gender, Supernatural Beings, and the Liminality of Death (2021). She holds a PhD in Anthropology from American University, USA.
Content
Acknowledgements
Notes on the Translation
Introduction
1. What Does the Corset Do For, and To, Women: Covering the Front Matter, Preface, and Chapter 1 of Le Corset
2. The Upper Torso: Covering Chapters 2-4 of Le Corset, on the Topics of the Lungs, Thoracic Cage, Circulation, and Lactation
3. The Lower Torso: Covering Chapters 5-9 of Le Corset, on the Topics of the Liver, Spleen, Kidneys, Stomach, and Intestines
4. Population Control, Miscarriages, and Abortions: Covering Chapter 10 of Le Corset, on the Topic of the Genitals and Reproductive System
5. The Woman Wants to Look Beautiful to Please Her Man: Covering Chapters 11-15 of Le Corset, on the Topics of Which Corsets Women Should Wear, If They Should Wear Them at All, and Why Women Choose to Wear the Corset
Afterword
Index
Notes on the Translation
Introduction
1. What Does the Corset Do For, and To, Women: Covering the Front Matter, Preface, and Chapter 1 of Le Corset
2. The Upper Torso: Covering Chapters 2-4 of Le Corset, on the Topics of the Lungs, Thoracic Cage, Circulation, and Lactation
3. The Lower Torso: Covering Chapters 5-9 of Le Corset, on the Topics of the Liver, Spleen, Kidneys, Stomach, and Intestines
4. Population Control, Miscarriages, and Abortions: Covering Chapter 10 of Le Corset, on the Topic of the Genitals and Reproductive System
5. The Woman Wants to Look Beautiful to Please Her Man: Covering Chapters 11-15 of Le Corset, on the Topics of Which Corsets Women Should Wear, If They Should Wear Them at All, and Why Women Choose to Wear the Corset
Afterword
Index