Corsetry Aesthetics

I got carried away and went on a bit of a rant on the "dom boss" forum earlier today - sorry about that Ms. Miranda!

Now before I get all rolling along, just to be clear - this is all just my opinion. There isn't any right or wrong about it, it's just how I feel about it. And while I do feel a little ratty about this, like I'm making fun of George Washington's teeth or something, I feel compelled to give my opinion - after all it is my blog. Now, in case you didn't know already, I'm a corset fetishist who knows a thing or two about what it's like to waist train. And I'm also a bit of a corset snob. I like what I like, and some corset styles are ones that I simply do not like - for instance I prefer the slowly sloping wasp shape, and I don't like the hourglass, nor a pipe-stem - it's really that simple. The fact that it is much easier to lace down to a lower number "smallest point" on your waist with an hourglass style so it a favorite among the body mod extremists.

And with what I'm going to say, if the Jungs take offense to this, (or any one else for that matter) - I deeply apologize for it - it is not my intention. I wish to make a comment on the shape and not the individual. From everything I have ever read or heard the Jungs are both very upstanding and lovely people. And I've never heard anything about Lilly, but she's probably very nice and lovely too.

Now, normally I keep rather hush about it, because in some ways I feel that criticizing someone else, especially for their looks, is simply rude. In some ways, saying "I don't like your figure" is much like saying "your momma dresses you funny." However, I'm going to make an exception, and in part I'm going to do it because Cathie Jung is a grown up woman. She and her husband have a strong enough sense of self to be very public figures regarding Cathie's corset habits, and she is the Guiness World Record holder.
While I respect the discipline and dedication that what has been achieved requires, as I am someone who is more interested in the aesthetics I personally find Cathie's look to be entirely unattractive. It might be as simple as the ratio of her figure. Research has shown that men (including those isolated in rain forests) prefer women with a body type that gives about a .7 waist to hip ratio. Many of the biggest sex symbols in history have that ratio - Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, the Venus de Milo and even Kate Moss. The overall size doesn't seem to matter as much as the balance of the ratio. The theory was that the ratio implies both health and fertility.

What kinda irks me more than anything is that people see Cathie and think that's what corset wearing is all about. And it's not. And because it is so extreme, it discourages corsetry from becoming something that is more mainstream and better understood. One side item that I think adds to the issue, her make up is often so extreme. And I think that further lends itself to the perception of her as absurd, awkward or even comic, rather than tasteful or attractive.

Of course if she weren't so tightly laced, she wouldn't be the world record holder, and maybe she wouldn't be such a focus of the media as a representative of the corset community. Ultimately though, the key is that their goals for corsetting are just different from mine. I believe there are two primary groups that corset fetishists fall into. One group are focused on the body modification aspect, and the other group, the aesthetics. Obviously, the Jungs are very much focused on the body modification group. There are also sub groups, such as those who see it as a bondage item, or focus on the physical sensations - particularly from sudden & extreme lacing.
Anyways, that's just my two cents on it. Here's some more:
Corsets can be Guuuuud! & Corsets can be Baaaaad!

FYI - corsets are far from the only thing that I find myself getting finicky about. While working on this entry I was reminded of a pornographic music styled video I found years ago. It features porn star Lilli Xene in a very tight black leather corset, and some other traditionally fetish and dommy clothes. In the scene she face sits the man, and rides his face so hard that the busk of her corset slams into his nose. I've actually been there and done that, and I suspect you could break someone's nose that way. I definitely got a lump when it happened to me... anyway, while searching for the video I stumbled on assorted pictures of Lilli, and it's clear that she went from being a busty starlet earlier in her career to... well... I don't really know what to say. Obviously someone out there thinks that breasts that are twice the size of a human head are attractive. But I just don't get it, I do not get it at all. It looks just silly. Might as well stick two big horns out of your head - simply, it doesn't look human anymore.

Any way, here's the video - it's kinda cute, and kinda hot. It's a pretty crappy video quality and it's a real media file, but for the mid-90s quality it isn't that bad. Lilli-Xene-corset.ram - 4.37 MB

For more information about present day tight-lacers, visit
Cathie Jung: staylace.com gallery & her personal site
Sylphide: her site

Oh and one other thing, Cathie has not had any ribs removed. Cathie had an x-ray done while wearing her corset (and another without it) to show what happens to her body - though the images have been moved into a pay web site. The idea of women having rib removal surgery back in the Victorian times to get into a small corset is just absurd. How deadly was any kind of surgery, and to do it out of vanity? Please. Get a clue. No one that I have ever heard of has done it, though I'm sure if you go on the body mod forums and look you'll find someone, who also has a split tongue, 54FFF boobies and horns in their head. Not that there is anything wrong with that.