Corsets have had such a bad reputation for being dangerous for centuries. Why? Well, my best speculations are misogyny, women against women, and ignorance. Let’s dive deeper into each theory, shall we?!
For starters, men were not always against corsets. There was a time where men actually wore corsets to achieve a form-fitted and smooth look to their apparel. Corsets were worn by men and women without controversies. Now-a-days, if a man (usually) sees a woman in a corset — in this care we’ll talk about me on my YouTube channel, where I sport different corsets — they will blatantly bash said woman (me) with annoying comments such as: “What happened to feminism, you’re going backwards”, “She’s not natural enough for me”, “Doesn’t she know that’s bad for her? Woman are so dumb”, etc. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to block these men, or respond with something witty and catty. I prefer the latter. This ties nicely into women against women.
If a woman sees another woman online looking cute, showing off her curves in a cute outfit, one of two things will occur: first woman will appreciate and admire second woman, maybe leave a nice comment such as “You’re so pretty, I love your corset, where did you get it from?” or “Can you give me some tips on how to properly corset train?” Things like that. But in a another instance, first woman will see second woman online, probably send the content to her group chat so they can all talk their dirty crap, and/or leave an ugly comment like, “That looks gross! Women should be real and natural, not fake like you”, or “That’s so dangerous, why are you posting this online for other girls to see, you should know better.” I do believe most of these comments, from men and women, are spewed out of ignorance.
Ignorance, or being ignorant, is a lack of knowledge or information. Fear of the unknown can create anger, and anger can lead to people saying things they really don’t believe to be true, but just want their opinion heard even though they are ignorant to the topic. Corsets can be dangerous if you are ignorant to the topic, or have not studied up on how to wear a corset properly. I’ve known women to put on a corset right out of the box without seasoning it, and they hurt themselves by tying the corset too tight. Others have purchased a corset that was 2 sizes too small and hurt themselves by not understanding how to size themselves properly. In these certain instances, yes, corsets can be dangerous to wear.
But, if you get a proper fitting corset, season the corset, and wear it every day, you will be fine. Corsets are only “dangerous” when you get the wrong size, don’t season the corset, or try to lace the corset really tight right out of the box. Just like you wouldn’t go to the gym and try to squat 100lbs your first day; your corset requires that slow & steady progress as well. If you get the wrong sized corset, yes, it most definitely can cause you pain and even bruising, which could potentially be dangerous. If you do not season your corset and you attempt to tighten your corset right out of the box, this also could harm not only you, but your corset could break.
Like most challenging things in life, improper care or disrespecting the process, could lead to unwanted results. And when it comes to “Corsets rearrange your organs”, and those scary looking pictures that show the woman’s organs being totally squished or displaced, well… I hate to pop some bubbles, but your organs are not exaggeratedly displaced like that. There was an MRI scan done with a woman wearing a corset who reduced her waist by 5 whole inches. Long story short, corsets are NOT dangerous if worn with care.