Wasp waist refers to a woman's fashion silhouette, produced by a style of
corsetA corset is a garment worn to mold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes...
and
girdleThe word girdle originally meant a belt. In modern English the term "girdle" is most commonly used for a form of women's foundation wear that replaced the corset in popularity.-History:...
, that has experienced various periods of popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its primary feature is the abrupt transition from a natural-width
rib cageThe human rib cage, also known as the thoracic cage, is a bony and cartilaginous structure which surrounds the thoracic cavity and supports the pectoral girdle, forming a core portion of the human skeleton. A typical human rib cage consists of 24 ribs, the sternum, costal cartilages, and the 12...
to an exceedingly small waist, with the hips curving out below. It takes its name from its similarity to a
waspThe term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their numbers,...
's segmented body. The sharply cinched waistline also exaggerates the hips and
bustThe breast is the upper ventral region of an animal’s torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. The breasts of a female primate’s body contain the mammary glands, which secrete milk used to feed infants....
.
In the 19th century, while average corseted waist measurements varied between 20 and 23 inches, wasp waist measurements of 18 to 16 inches were not uncommon and were often striven for as the reigning standard of
feminineFemininity refers to qualities and behaviors judged by a particular culture to be ideally associated with or especially appropriate to women and girls....
beautyBeauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture. As a cultural creation, beauty has been extremely commercialized...
in the period.
Discussion
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Wasp waist refers to a woman's fashion silhouette, produced by a style of
corsetA corset is a garment worn to mold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes...
and
girdleThe word girdle originally meant a belt. In modern English the term "girdle" is most commonly used for a form of women's foundation wear that replaced the corset in popularity.-History:...
, that has experienced various periods of popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its primary feature is the abrupt transition from a natural-width
rib cageThe human rib cage, also known as the thoracic cage, is a bony and cartilaginous structure which surrounds the thoracic cavity and supports the pectoral girdle, forming a core portion of the human skeleton. A typical human rib cage consists of 24 ribs, the sternum, costal cartilages, and the 12...
to an exceedingly small waist, with the hips curving out below. It takes its name from its similarity to a
waspThe term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their numbers,...
's segmented body. The sharply cinched waistline also exaggerates the hips and
bustThe breast is the upper ventral region of an animal’s torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. The breasts of a female primate’s body contain the mammary glands, which secrete milk used to feed infants....
.
In the 19th century, while average corseted waist measurements varied between 20 and 23 inches, wasp waist measurements of 18 to 16 inches were not uncommon and were often striven for as the reigning standard of
feminineFemininity refers to qualities and behaviors judged by a particular culture to be ideally associated with or especially appropriate to women and girls....
beautyBeauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture. As a cultural creation, beauty has been extremely commercialized...
in the period.
Among the multitude of medical problems women suffered to achieve these drastic measurements were cracked and deformed ribs, weakened abdominal muscles, deformed and dislocated internal organs, and respiratory ailments. Displacement and disfigurement of the reproductive organs greatly increased the risk of
miscarriageMiscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
and
maternal deathMaternal death, or maternal mortality, also "obstetrical death" is the death of a woman during or shortly after a pregnancy. In 2000, the United Nations estimated global maternal mortality at 529,000, of which less than 1% occurred in the developed world...
.
See also
- Tightlacing
Tightlacing is the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset to achieve extreme modifications to the figure and posture and experience the sensations of a very tight corset. Those who practice tightlacing are called tightlacers...
- Foot Binding
Foot binding was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the early 20th century....
- Neck ring
A neck ring is a band of metal worn as an ornament around the neck of an individual. In a few African and Asian cultures multiple neck rings are worn usually to stretch the neck. The Kayan tribe or Padaung tribe of Karen people from the border region of Myanmar and Thailand begin to wear neck rings...
- Breast augmentation
- Labiaplasty
Labiaplasty is plastic surgery of the labia majora and/or the labia minora, which are the external folds of skin surrounding the structures of the vulva. The procedure involves reducing elongated labia...
- Body dysmorphic disorder
Body dysmorphic disorder...
- Corset controversy
The corset controversy is an ensemble of letters and articles concerning the corset that appeared in newspapers and periodicals in the 19th century.-Introduction:...