GAILLARD'S MEDICAL JOURNAL. VOL. LXVII. NEW YORK, JULY, 1897. ORIGINAL ARTICLES. No. 1. SOME ILL EFFECTS OF THE CORSET.* By EUGENE LEE CRUTCHFIELD, M.D., Baltimore, Md. Nearly every one will concede that there is no greater tyrant than Fashion. To please this goddess, men and women (even when possessed of intelligence) will endure any discomfort, distort the artistic proportions of the figure designed by Nature, sacrifice morality, and jeopardize health. The constricted waist of woman exhibited on all occasions and the décolleté costumes generally worn when evening dress is required, attest the truth of this assertion. Both of these produce discomfort, rob the figure of its graceful outlines, suggest immoral thoughts and desires, and induce many serious maladies. It is, however, only to some of the injurious effects of the narrow waist that I now desire to call your attention. As Dr. G. W. Hambleton, president of the Polytechnic Physical Development Society of Great Britain, has said in his valuable brochure on “The Suppression of Consumption," "Fashion dictates the size and the shape of our clothes, and our bodies have to and do conform thereto. A beautiful example of this is seen in the hideous distortion of the lower part of the chest produced by wearing a corset that never, never is tight." Before considering the evil results of this article of female apparel, let us examine one argument so often advanced in its favor. Women who are accustomed to wear a corset tell us that if they leave it off they feel as though they would drop to pieces. Hence they illogically conclude that the corset is a beneficial support. So far from this being true, this weakness proves that their muscles, depending upon the assistance seemingly afforded by stays, have lost their tonicity and have ceased to develop. The non-usance of any other structure in the body would produce the same effect and call for artificial help. An intelligent lady once told me that she herself could not leave off the use of corsets, but if the rearing of any girls * Read before the Baltimore Medical Association, April 26, 1897. My 8'06 |