Abby Cox | Who was the Edwardian actress with the 14-inch corseted wasp-waist? 😲 @AbbyCox | Uploaded May 2023 | Updated October 2024, 5 days ago.
The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1-month free trial of Skillshare: https://skl.sh/abbycox05234
Polaire was a world famous Edwardian actress known for many things - for being "The Ugliest Woman in the World", having a nose ring, and also for having "The Smallest Waist in the World". Yep - her waist was recorded as being a whopping 14 inches during performances and under 17 for her normal day to day life. By Victorian and Edwardian social standards, she was a freak, and yet, it's her photos that are shared time and time again on the internet whenever people talk about Victorian and Edwardian corset practices, tight-lacing, and wasp waists. We no longer know who she is, but we still see photos of her all the time.
It's my fascination with her, her history, her shenanigans (cause y'all she was weird and also incredibly problematic), and her waist that made me want to make this video. So I hope you'll enjoy learning a bit about this fascinating French actress with a weird history and a wasp-waist that the Kardashians could only dream of.
Thanks to @NamiSparrow for her feedback and contribution to the Nose Ring & Cultural Appropriation chapter of this video. ❤
Sources:
DURBACH, NADJA. “‘Skinless Wonders’: ‘Body Worlds’ and the Victorian Freak Show.” *Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences*
69, no. 1 (2014): 38–67. jstor.org/stable/24631756.
Durbach, Nadja. *Spectacle of Deformity : Freak Shows and Modern British Culture*
. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. Accessed April 29, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Buy it here: [amzn.to/3ADPw0Z](amzn.to/3ADPw0Z) (affiliate)
Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets (Chapter 2 is about Freak Shows specifically and features Nadja Durbach) (audible.com/pd/Stephen-Frys-Victorian-Secrets-Audiobook/B07JH5JLD6?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp)
Scrapbook. Corset. Compiled by Bennett 1/82 Gift by Berlingen, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. Visited Feb. 15, 2023
Newspaper Articles via ProQuest Historical Newspapers
The Tatler, The Sketch, The Bystander, and other British Periodicals via ProQuest British Periodicals
Throwback Polaire website including Comic Sans and Papyrus font (10/10 nostalgia) [polaire-1900.com/](polaire-1900.com/)
Chapters:
00:00 - 06:42 - Polaire's Early Career
06:43 - 10:00 - Polaire's Antics (Funny)
10:01 - 12:18 - Problematic Polaire Pt 1
12:19 - 14:42 - Freak Shows
14:43 - 19:11 - The Ugliest Woman in the World
19:12 - 22:38 - Problematic Polaire Pt. 2
22:39 - 29:30 - The Smallest Waist in the World!
🥳Socials
Website: abbycoxcreates.com
Instagram: instagram.com/iamabbycox
Patreon: patreon.com/abbycox
Tiktok: tiktok.com/@iamabbycox
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCiXol9ugjOxHHrpkdD0fZZg/join
📚My books:
The American Duchess Guide to 18th-Century Dressmaking: amzn.to/2GrkAIQ
The American Duchess Guide to 18th-Century Beauty: amzn.to/2TTwJtq
💌Business Inquiries *ONLY* abbycox@viralnationtalent.com
(This email goes directly to my management and not to me.)
📪 Abby Cox
642 N. Madison Street
Bloomington, IN 47404
🎶Music via Epidemic Sound (https://www.epidemicsound.com)
**I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. By purchasing items through the links listed above, I could earn a small commission for your purchase. Thank you.❤
The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1-month free trial of Skillshare: https://skl.sh/abbycox05234
Polaire was a world famous Edwardian actress known for many things - for being "The Ugliest Woman in the World", having a nose ring, and also for having "The Smallest Waist in the World". Yep - her waist was recorded as being a whopping 14 inches during performances and under 17 for her normal day to day life. By Victorian and Edwardian social standards, she was a freak, and yet, it's her photos that are shared time and time again on the internet whenever people talk about Victorian and Edwardian corset practices, tight-lacing, and wasp waists. We no longer know who she is, but we still see photos of her all the time.
It's my fascination with her, her history, her shenanigans (cause y'all she was weird and also incredibly problematic), and her waist that made me want to make this video. So I hope you'll enjoy learning a bit about this fascinating French actress with a weird history and a wasp-waist that the Kardashians could only dream of.
Thanks to @NamiSparrow for her feedback and contribution to the Nose Ring & Cultural Appropriation chapter of this video. ❤
Sources:
DURBACH, NADJA. “‘Skinless Wonders’: ‘Body Worlds’ and the Victorian Freak Show.” *Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences*
69, no. 1 (2014): 38–67. jstor.org/stable/24631756.
Durbach, Nadja. *Spectacle of Deformity : Freak Shows and Modern British Culture*
. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. Accessed April 29, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Buy it here: [amzn.to/3ADPw0Z](amzn.to/3ADPw0Z) (affiliate)
Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets (Chapter 2 is about Freak Shows specifically and features Nadja Durbach) (audible.com/pd/Stephen-Frys-Victorian-Secrets-Audiobook/B07JH5JLD6?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp)
Scrapbook. Corset. Compiled by Bennett 1/82 Gift by Berlingen, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. Visited Feb. 15, 2023
Newspaper Articles via ProQuest Historical Newspapers
The Tatler, The Sketch, The Bystander, and other British Periodicals via ProQuest British Periodicals
Throwback Polaire website including Comic Sans and Papyrus font (10/10 nostalgia) [polaire-1900.com/](polaire-1900.com/)
Chapters:
00:00 - 06:42 - Polaire's Early Career
06:43 - 10:00 - Polaire's Antics (Funny)
10:01 - 12:18 - Problematic Polaire Pt 1
12:19 - 14:42 - Freak Shows
14:43 - 19:11 - The Ugliest Woman in the World
19:12 - 22:38 - Problematic Polaire Pt. 2
22:39 - 29:30 - The Smallest Waist in the World!
🥳Socials
Website: abbycoxcreates.com
Instagram: instagram.com/iamabbycox
Patreon: patreon.com/abbycox
Tiktok: tiktok.com/@iamabbycox
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCiXol9ugjOxHHrpkdD0fZZg/join
📚My books:
The American Duchess Guide to 18th-Century Dressmaking: amzn.to/2GrkAIQ
The American Duchess Guide to 18th-Century Beauty: amzn.to/2TTwJtq
💌Business Inquiries *ONLY* abbycox@viralnationtalent.com
(This email goes directly to my management and not to me.)
📪 Abby Cox
642 N. Madison Street
Bloomington, IN 47404
🎶Music via Epidemic Sound (https://www.epidemicsound.com)
**I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. By purchasing items through the links listed above, I could earn a small commission for your purchase. Thank you.❤
