Corsets and Conception: Fashion and Demographic Trends in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

It is generally accepted that declining birth rates in most Western countries after the late 1870s2 were preceded by declining marital fertility among the middle classes. Though some scholars have suggested that the general decline was due partly to the working classes' later emulation of the middleclass family size “ideal,” no hypothesis has been presented to explain satisfactorily the downward trend in middle-class fertility. The most widely accepted explanation is that the “great depression” of 1873–96 lowered the middle-class standard of living, which in turn led to a concomitant decline in the birth rate as middle-class couples tried to retain or improve levels of consumption and status. However, recent research indicates that the great depression may not have been anywhere near as severe as earlier scholars have implied. But even if the middle classes believed that they were experiencing a declining standard of living, surely many years of supposed deprivation would have been necessary to jolt their class psyche to the realization that the future was to remain forever gloomy. And when some authorities who promoted the great depression hypothesis also claim that the middle-class fertility decline commenced in the early 1870s, before the onset of the great depression, then the argument becomes even more suspect. If the work of other authorities, who have received less coverage in demographic literature, is considered, then it is not the great depression but the 1850s and 1860s—the period of mid-Victorian prosperity—that should be supported as heralding the decline in fertility.

Sex‐typicality and attractiveness: Are supermale and superfemale faces super‐attractive?

“…Singh argues that this preference enhances reproductive success because low WHRs, which are associated with female sex hormones, are a reliable signal of reproductive potential and health. Corsets, girdles and belts have long been used to exploit this male preference (Davies, 1982). The contribution of low WHR to attractiveness may not, however, be as great as initially thought, because its eåect is much reduced when the eåect of body mass index (weight scaled to height) is removed Tove !…”

A Fisk patent metallic burial case from Western Missouri: an interdisciplinary and comprehensive effort to reconstruct the history of an early settler of Lexington, Missouri

“…Richardson and Kroeber (1973) found that women's waistlines were at the smallest between 1841 and 1870. Women that practiced tight-lacing endured many physical restrictions including constipation, indigestion, headaches, backaches, respiratory problems, fainting, anemia, nausea, vomiting, and abscesses (Davies 1982). It is possible that the woman from Lexington did not frequently wear tight-laced clothing because of difficulties with tuberculosis and her lifestyle on the frontier.…”

An evolutionary perspective on maladaptive traits and cultural conformity

“…The once popular custom of wearing corsets altered the shape of a woman's pelvis and displaced her internal organs. This led to shortness of breath, frequent fainting, painful intercourse and frigidity, birthing problems, and elevated neonatal and maternal mortality (Davies, 1982).…”

“…Perhaps having a thinner waist due to infrequent use of a corset did give certain nineteenth century women a n advantage over nonusers in terms of local notions of mate desirability. Yet, when most women of high rank resorted to this avenue of enhancing their attractiveness, some females went to the extreme, with significant somatic and reproductive complications (Davies, 1982). Competition also may pertain to traits such as foot-binding, which Crook (1981) has explained as male insurance against cuckoldry: a wife who cannot walk is unlikely to bear children by males other than her husband.…”