New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-01
THE PHILOSOPHY OF TIGHTL4CING.
wuy wnurN coMrnrss rnEMsELvEs.

frorn he Saturday Rertet.
An adventurous lady-we say adventurous because we
do not her name among the quaihed meulcal ssoe
hoodecured not long ago on the IL. S'eess iar
ICED the ease comfort which resulted rom It's
abandonment. To this hOmey argument a conto u
norarv"snme hastily, thnk-replied that II was
not for lovely TO consider ner ease put AZ soo
and become at any temporary JOY II net Joy or
ever this ia very DANGEROUS concession 10 , no
~ indeed il was mae all as III IS Just tue
argument which tight acers-if there IS single woa.
in the wide world who owns that she herself ~ one VI
wearing corsets is the point in dispute between the
rival camps OF the lacers and non-lacers. ,,. ,s.
Al the outset compelled To admit mat waist
that is to say kind of construction OF me dresss
f@mre and especially OF the female figure dIaped in
long flowing skirts Zeising. distinguished uelnan
writer has discovered a law OF proportion which ex-
plains the sense OF harmony we experience when we
look on beautiful natural objects; ana tils law, WISH
anped TO the human body, explains why some persons
are pleasing and displcasng to our sense Oh te
beautiful. what Is the same hlng 70 our I on V
runs thus: In objects divided into two UNEQUAL paris 10
appear proportional the shorter part uh .h1 n'ln,n
figure the aud busD must bear the same relation TO
the longer part d. from the waist TO tue ieeu wlcn
the longer part bears to the whole ooJeer u. T. III @
the lower section 10 the total staurel these p,opVt
tnns anny To every portion of the body as well as 10 Tue
stature and when reduced to figures nave anol .e o
laon of three to two Thus III me hunan NJ iJ sno
waist in person Of say, feet high should be hree
feet from the ground and two feet rom te 'op VI t
head These typical proportions are. however, ohy cs
with in tall hence the superior ATTRACTIONS %
the Glance figures OF English and American women "
the shorter Celtic types of France spain and itay me
countries which receive the iasnDn o. mta,s
corsrs Granting, then for the sake OF argument that
a v of some kind is Necessary to the human iorln
how Il, nuen that tight facing is so OFTEN carried
70 EXCESS, . '~,sly not from a conscious desire
70 Conform to Zeisng ~-'portion for 1T is hidden
away in n learned mathema.s Else, which Is niue
iacing is many centuries old for Harvey Ia scussln2
the displacement of the abdominal organs 10 me oleA
nj PHYSICIANS nearly hundred years ago. decrru
that naiposOn Of organs occurred IN yeoung giis y
atad on now inan formerly cut there laces, be-
cause there is need for 1t than them IN spite OF
the that fashion Is II DOSING thirleciiu0| "
Tight facing is. no doubt, largely due to female
rivalry: but this rivalry has an OBJECT Deyohi tne
smne desire OF women to make themselves comely In
each Others eyes. and that object Is we venture 10 sur
mice the apprecatsu admiration or the otncr SEX
moi of course N any unworthy but simply III an
instructive way which has been oescmred u aioJ,
results from social Intercourse But the question here
arises DO men really admire small waists, ana are tney
the health when. doubt, do often result from tgnt
acng 1t is Ito useless TO ask nnne e" en- H the sabee
and those who have do not care To confess VIVA, !.
dgure youthfuness itself being the chief attraction and
this is generally associated WIN anu ~ NJ
vnmthfnl by women whose figure has become mature
that gives rise to great deal OF tight coIn h
wHolc blame But this motive for tight acng does not
cover the whole ground OF our inquiry ana we thhs
mar there ia that the OF mankind does not
admir-, small waists IN womenkinh aud men are not,
therefore. responsible for the pain ana msenien won
~ men "a whole cared for small their own
Sale we should long ago have had developed q small
wasted race OF land men, too for II would nave
heeu transmitted both sexes) by selection whlch
ought 10 have rendered tight lacing unnecessary IN
these latter days; neither by this kind OF sexuai
selection nor by the repetition OF the habit o ght lac-
ing through numerous generations mas tnero peea ho
Slightest apparent change in the natural shape OF tue
body either circumference OF tue waist or III te
noston OF the Internal organs Every cnild which 10
horn of a tight lacng European race appears 10 DO
identical physical conformation Win tue cnlulen
horn of women of other races who nave never KNOW IA
corsefs while the healthy women OF our own uay VIM
have not been Individually subject To tight acng 90
diner I'm form and physical proportions from Tue houci.
nj the ancient reek sculptOrs Thus IL w'id seem ,a
tight acng in part prompted by oui natural sense VI
nronortop IN the figure In part by rivalry o
he ysung by the notyoung aud In part by the spur OF
fashion and dividual rivalry among women theil
selves on the other hand. there dues not seem 10 oe
any strong provocatiOn TO tight lacing as wcipropo
TONED figures depend on the relative circumier
ence of The waist the relative length or the WV
dv,ons OF body, tight lacing wner THIS does
IN abort persons serving rather to emphasize tns ueec
than TO correct II by throwing tho point OF DIVISION
low down; nor Ia there any evidence tnat men auiI'
ANAL waists as sexual character; aud as no perianeh
I'm the figure has resulted after many geieratio
oI tight Iacing II s probable that Is prdctsed p ON,
very small section womanknd, Dut thht ulioi ~
rately the most intelligent and Influential section. W
have sad nothing OF the evils OF tight aong 10 the inu
yiduals who practise H. as 10 10 JUSTICE W '"o ouD'e
| would require u separate artcie'