Just a quick post. Was just reading a fantasy book and one of the corset-wearing characters had a pack of smelling salts just in case she fainted from "lack of breath." Maybe I don't wear super tight corsets, but I've borrowed a few constricting ones. I breathed just fine. Seemed bogus. I checked out a few academic sites and read the various discussions there. Academics get bogged down in references and literary examples, though. For the record, I'm not shitting on academics (I used to work at an academic press), but sometimes you want to just ask a real human being. Not a Victorian person, but there are plenty of people who tightlace today. Wear corsets daily for long periods of time. Might be interesting to see what they've got to say on the matter. (Also what about those weightlifters who work out in manly weightlifting belts...come on, those are corsets?)
Turns out one of my favorite corsetry blogs, Lucy's Corsetry, did a post on just that. (Video below, partial transcript and video on her site). Related: her post on blood pressure and wearing a corset (spoiler, her blood pressure rises).
Hey...an MRI scan showing that your lungs don't move around. From this post on Lucy's Corsetry. Your guts, however, do move around...there's also an interesting photo showing how a pregnant person's organs move around in generally the same direction. If I didn't want to get back to my book, I'd find a mother who was also a tightlacer and ask what she thought of this.
Ever feel like fainting when you've worn a corset?
