Uploaded July 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The real reason corsets were torture has nothing to do with the corsets . . . and everything to do with the reason we keep including corset lacing torture scenes in period dramas!
Historical drama movies and TV shows so often use corset torture as a trope, and show elaborately and dramatically filmed scenes of women being laced tightly and painfully. These scenes are almost never historically accurate : The corsets and stays are wrong such as in Titanic, and tightlacing is often not possible in the types of corsets shown, such as in Bridgerton. These scenes give us some of our worst corset myths, and are part of the reason so many people ask "were corsets torture?". It's time we saw these corset myths debunked, because they're not the biggest problem about how period dramas portray the effects of corsets and what wearing a corset is like.
What really annoys me about how historical dramas portray Victorian corset history is how much it says about our modern views of Victorian corsetry. These scenes are used as lazy writing, to throw in the audience's face how different Edwardian fashion or other historical costume was, and to let us feel superior to historical people. Furthermore, shows and movies make these scenes really explicit, and characterize the "pain" of wearing a Victorian corset as the attractive thing! In this regard, the Victorians had a much better outlook on things than we do today. The shock value of seeing a character in pain while wearing an Edwardian corset, or hearing that an actress was in pain while filming in her corset, is used as marketing for shows. Instead of objecting to these myths about Victorian fashion history and how productions often mistreat actors, we fall for it and make a fuss over historical accuracy in fashion history every time.
Join my Patreon for behind-the-scenes updates, pattern diagrams, research lists, monthly video chats, and more! patreon.com/snappydragonstudios
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Follow me on IG for more stitchy business : @missSnappyDragon
For business inquiries, send an e-mail to : SnappyDragon at TBHonestSocial dot Com
I do not take personal costume/sewing or research commissions.
Want to send me letters? Send mail to PO Box 3884, Berkeley CA, 94703! Letters and cards only please 💚
The real reason corsets were torture has nothing to do with the corsets . . . and everything to do with the reason we keep including corset lacing torture scenes in period dramas!
Historical drama movies and TV shows so often use corset torture as a trope, and show elaborately and dramatically filmed scenes of women being laced tightly and painfully. These scenes are almost never historically accurate : The corsets and stays are wrong such as in Titanic, and tightlacing is often not possible in the types of corsets shown, such as in Bridgerton. These scenes give us some of our worst corset myths, and are part of the reason so many people ask "were corsets torture?". It's time we saw these corset myths debunked, because they're not the biggest problem about how period dramas portray the effects of corsets and what wearing a corset is like.
What really annoys me about how historical dramas portray Victorian corset history is how much it says about our modern views of Victorian corsetry. These scenes are used as lazy writing, to throw in the audience's face how different Edwardian fashion or other historical costume was, and to let us feel superior to historical people. Furthermore, shows and movies make these scenes really explicit, and characterize the "pain" of wearing a Victorian corset as the attractive thing! In this regard, the Victorians had a much better outlook on things than we do today. The shock value of seeing a character in pain while wearing an Edwardian corset, or hearing that an actress was in pain while filming in her corset, is used as marketing for shows. Instead of objecting to these myths about Victorian fashion history and how productions often mistreat actors, we fall for it and make a fuss over historical accuracy in fashion history every time.
Join my Patreon for behind-the-scenes updates, pattern diagrams, research lists, monthly video chats, and more! patreon.com/snappydragonstudios
Or, you can buy me some Ko-Fi : ko-fi.com/snappydragon
Follow me on IG for more stitchy business : @missSnappyDragon
For business inquiries, send an e-mail to : SnappyDragon at TBHonestSocial dot Com
I do not take personal costume/sewing or research commissions.
Want to send me letters? Send mail to PO Box 3884, Berkeley CA, 94703! Letters and cards only please 💚
