Female Breasts Essay

Submissiveness was perhaps the most feminine virtue expected of a woman. While a man could be religious or pure, a man could not be submissive. The Bible even states, “Wives submit yourselves unto your husbands as unto the lord (Eph 2: 22-33), (Welter, Cult, 159). Adding to her submissive state was her clothing; tight corset lacings closing off her lungs and pinching her inner organs together. Large numbers of under garments and the weight of over dresses limited her physical mobility (Green, 130). In quite common cases the use of a corset would cause a prolapsed, or sagging, of the uterus. Physicians alleged that it was possible for the uterus to invert and protrude from the vagina. One of the most famous “remedies” of the time was to insert a pessaries, or mechanical supports, into the vaginal cavity to help support the uterus (Green, 122). Her clothing could be seen as a way to weaken her already delicate ways. “True feminine genius is ever timid, doubtful, and clingingly dependent; a perpetual childhood,” (Lavender, 3). George Burnap describes a woman’s weakness in his novel, The Sphere and Duties of Woman:

As said in the article Women’s Fashion in the 1800s London,”These were worn under the clothing, bodices with boning on either side and lacing to hold it together. More affluent

Brumberg makes the claim that the more physical freedom that women enjoyed, escaping corsets and such, the more control over they would feel pressured to exert on their internal body (98). The most prevalent way then, as well as now, to exert control over the one’s own body was through dieting. Dieting, bras, and standard sized clothing were all contributing to the increased control over the body. Even doctors began to weigh in on the proper way to shape healthy breasts and prevent unattractive sagging (through wearing proper bras). Once again, girls and their bodies were the subjected to more American commercialization. Brumberg points to the craze of body piercings in the 90s as the latest way to control and sexualize the female body. Chapter five explores the changing worth of female virginity in the different values placed upon an intact hymen. From being jointly owned, never talked about, and fiercely protected, to being a female’s own worry, freely talked about, and medically altered, we see the way differing sexual morals shifted the way the hymen was

In the latter part of the Victorian era there were significant developments signaling the decline of the corset. The way garments were produced is perhaps the key factor in the move away from the corset. In 1839, a Frenchman by the name of Jean Werly patented a loom for the production of women 's corsets. This type of corset was popular until 1890, when machine-made corsets gained popularity. The development of the sewing machine in the early 1850’s gradually led to mass production, manufacturers could produce corsets in far greater numbers and increase the variety of designs available to women of all classes. These advances finally led the way to new designs in underwear in keeping with the changes to the fashions and silhouettes of the early Twentieth Century.

The “Inner Corset” by the Laura Fraser is about how people in the United State from 1880 to 1920 start from being heavy to thin. At the beginning the women were sexy if they were heavy and it was a sign that they belong to a rich family that they could afford buying food, but since times goes people ideology start changing. Then society influences the women to be thin which makes them more beautiful, and man would love them more. In the twentieth century the image of thin started changing and the woman were facing some diseases. According to The Inner Corset “When many women ventured out of their homes and away from their strict roles as mothers, they left behind the Plump and reproductive physique, which began to seem old-fashioned next to

The role of women in the household and workforce was changing dramatically. Before this time period, women aspired to marry a successful and rich man so that they could live comfortably. Marrying a well-endowed man would ensure the wife with a steady income source and pleasurable life. This idea changed because women were starting to gain independence and strived to make their own money from jobs other than prostitution. Even women 's idea of modesty changed. They would usually dress modestly and wore their hair up as to not look prudish. This idea was thrown out the window, and women started dressing for

The Victorian Era depicted a traditional woman. Women were expected to be beautiful but conservative. A notable fashion piece to mention is the notorious corset. Krystal D’Souza states that corsets were meant to, “… accentuate a woman's breasts and hips, while cinching the body at the waist, and dramatically curving the back” (D'Souza). The corset was created to slim the waist and make the hips and bottom larger. This was meant to create the ideal, “Hour glass shape,” women were expected to have. In the Victorian Era, dresses were worn all the time and the skirt length had to be passed the ankles. Pagoda sleeves were essential to dresses to cover shoulders and high necklines were made to cover the women’s neck and décolletage. If the skirts were not touching the floor, skirts were closely worn over the hip and flared out just above the knee. (Joshi). The Victorian Age signifies a time period where women had to follow stringent dress codes. The thought of showing any feminine flesh was un-lady like and unrespectable. (Alchin “Women

Ever since the beginning of the Stone Age around 25,000 B.C. and throughout the late classical period in 400 B.C., we can infer and see that both men and women have been portrayed in many ways when viewing particular cultures around the time period. The representation of the female body can be seen through numerous pieces of Art. Ladies and Gentleman the figurine in front of you is called “The Venus of Willendorf”, and it is the oldest female figurine statuette. It most likely symbolizes female fertility. Now some of you may be wondering why this figurine is half naked. The reason for this again ties back to the cultures of Mesopotamia. Multiple Mespopotamian related cultures seem to have made this

 To adequately understand today’s view of a woman’s breast, one must know the background. The main purpose of the breast, otherwise known as the mammary gland, is to produce milk throughout the infant stages of childhood. This being factual, the breast was looked upon as a giver of life in times of the prophet Jesus Christ. Paintings and sculptures delineate this by women having one or both glands exposed while in the presence of a child. The strife people see today with these paintings was never reflected by the artists of the era because the perception was different. Responses of strife weren’t applicable until the Victorian Age in the mid-1800s when women were expected to cover more of their body.

For the last 4,505 years, women have tried to enhance their figures by squeezing themselves into restricting, and uncomfortable garments. Waists have been reduced and bust lines have been increased, decreased, flattened, lifted or spread out, depending on what was fashionable at the time. The modern brassiere and its predecessors have not only been known for their functionality, but have also been linked with statements of fashion and politics.

You mentioned in your text that Mother Earth is an ideal "look" to modern feminist because of her bulging physical qualities and nudity. Have you ever considered that modern feminist eulogize the Venus of Willendorf because she represents power? For instance, woman in this time brought fertility to the land and determined whether a civilization would prosper. I believe the sculpture represents more than body positive, but also the power of procreativity and exaltation of sexuality.

They were designed to form the torso into a cylindrical silhouette with a narrow waist. In order to create this silhouette, the corset was fastened extremely tight constricting the woman’s upper body and also pushing up the breasts giving her very emphasized cleavage. The corsets were made from fabrics such as leather, with pieces of metal, wood, or bone sewn into them to create stiffening. This supported

Chapter four of Veiled Sentiments showed why sexual modesty is essential to a women’s honor. The Bedouins are much more enthusiastic with the birth of a boy over a birth of a girl. These people would rejoice for a boy and mourn for a girl. I understand this is their way of life and this is within their culture but if girls were never born, then who would give birth to any boys later on in life? Men are very important to a tribe because its strength measured by its number of men. As a whole, women and men share this preference for the birth of a son, but women are very much so emotionally connected with their daughters and rely on them to help with housework. There are various symbols for both women and men. Women are linked with

Throughout time, mankind’s fascination with symbols, things that represent something else to more than one person (McIntyre, 102), of genitalia has been prevalent; however, the dominant sex of the genitalia has changed with different historical periods. This exchange of worshiped genitalia has been influenced by the shifts of power between various institutions of man. The relation between the institutions of man with the periods of time in which the sociological artifacts of the phallus and the vulva are dominant can be viewed through a sociological lens to understand their significance in mankind’s history.

(Laudner, V, 2010, p, 28). In recent history however, from the twentieth century to the present day, the corset has been revived repeatedly. Paul Poiret banished corsets in 1909 after "centuries of tyrannical reign over women's fashion". (N/A. (N/A). The Corset in Late 20th-Century Fashion. Available: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-corset-in-late-20th-century-fashion/. Last accessed 9th Dec 2015) In the 1920s, flat and square dresses came into fashion and became perfect canvases on which to reflect the motifs of the Art Deco period. "The female body became almost abstract and the natural waist a feature from the past". (N/A. (N/A). The Corset in Late 20th-Century Fashion. Available: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-corset-in-late-20th-century-fashion/. Last accessed 9th Dec 2015) It wasn't until the 1930's that the waist came back into focus with innovative its and use of colour combinations and soft corsets and bodices on evening dresses were seen during a Victorian revival seen in fashion at the time. From then on, a more tight fitting silhouette was in fashion