Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-10-07
Tight LacIng.

4 verdict has been returned by u
coroner's jury which is quite as appil-
cable TO not a few cases Of premature
death which do not happen to be made
the sul ject OF medico-legal irqniry.
1t is difficult TO speak with moderation
Of the folly Of tight lacing in view OF
such facts as this, especially as no at
tention seems ever TO he paid to the
warnings repeated al nlpsedm against
irrational and unhealthy modes Of dress.
Physiology does not enter into the
sphere Of the I" fashions" the follies OF
which are productive Of more suffering
and ill-health than people are willing
to concede. In spite of satire on one
side and admonition on the other, there
seems to be but little diminution in the
degree to which these vagaries are
carried, as may be proved by anyone
who walks abroad daring the hight of
London season. Why is it that in
this matter of tight lacing" there
should be ouch tenacity, for there is
hardly any subject that has been so
numerically and yet SO necessarily
possible reasons for its msintenance-
the one that it is indispensable to the
present form of female attire, and the
other that it is believed to lend grace
to the wesrer. Neither of these con-
tentions can seriously be maintained in
the face CT the known evils which fol-
low the practice, but they are at present
ideas so firmly roo.ed in the female
mind that their dislodgment is not
easily effected. Now and then, indeed,
there seems 10 be an attempt to intro
duce more rational style of dress.
but such attempts are rarely successful,
owing in great measure to the DISPOSE
ton to rldicule new departures which
do not hsrmonize with the "mode.
The medical profession has never
ceased to express its opinion upon the
evils of tight lacing, being well aware
of the arrangements for which the
practice is responsible. 70 be effect
ual, however, such remOnstrances must
be given not only to those who follow
! the practice, but to those who either
tacitly or openly encourage it. We
are treadipg, We know, on delicate
ground, but it is time there should be
plain speaking, even at the risk OF
giving ofense, for it must be confessed
and it is no disparaRement to the fair
sex to admit it-that SO long as men
persist in regarding all unnatural de-
formity as beautiful object. so long
will many women do their utmost to
become beautiful" no matter how
painful the ordeal to which they will
nave to submit. A weil-known writer
upon femsle dress not very long since
admitted that 1t was the object OF
women so to dress as to render them
selves attractive to the opposite sex
thereby following out law which OBJ
tains throughout animal creation, and
of which there is no denying the truth.
But the same author apoke out boldly
against the practice of tight laciDg,
showing that in her opinion, at any rate
the practice was not essential for the
purpose above stated. In all serious.
ness, it is pitiful thing that in these
days, when all our youth Can obtain OIL
insight into the principle of ply siology
there should still prevail practice &C
uuphy siological as that OF which we
speak. 1t stands to reason that long
continued, firm compression Of the
lower ribs cannot be INDUCED in with
impunity. The dorsal, thoracic and
abdominal muscles are rendered feeble
from enforced inactivity, respiration i:
impeded. circulation is carried OIL
under greater strain and the viscera
are displaced to remarkable degree
In the case which forms the text Of
these remarks, not only was the liyel
deeply indented and displaced, but the
stomach was CONSTRUCTED into two por
tiOns, and both of these effects have
often been observed before. The af
fections attributed to tight lacipg are
many and various - some, perhaps
without sufficient ground; but mos
certainly respiratory, circulatory, and
digestive arrangements, not to mention
difficulties and dangers in parturition
are directly traceable to tight lacing.
Such arrangements lead the way tC
other and graver changes; they may
cause many ailments which render life
misery, or may eventually lead te
the premature extinction of life-not
perhaps, directly, but by rendering the
organism unable to cope with disease
however arising. Once more, then,
We urge the female members of the
community to abandon this fatal article
Of attire; its utilitarisn purpose could
no doubt, be supplied by means at once
more simple and less Injurious; anG
its aesthetic function exists only in the
imagination. being grounded On the
false and perverted notion that the
natural contour of the body is uugrace.
ful. whilst the deformed, contracted
waist" is considered beautiful il
proportion as its construction is extreme
Il London Lancet.