
Corset
Gender and body
Gender and sexuality
Gender and clothing
The corset, used in Europe from the 16th century in various forms (cors, bustier, etc.), was intended to stylize and mould the female figure, and was also occasionally worn by men. However, its use had terrible consequences for women’s bodies: it changed the position of the internal organs and caused numerous disorders, such as reduced pulmonary capacity and muscle atrophy. Women shed the corset in the early decades of the 20th century, but even today it continues to be associated with femininity, specifically, sexuality. The pin-up girls of the 1950s and celebrities like Lady Gaga in recent decades have made it a fetish piece and sexualized object.