THE SEV’NFOLD FENCE Translation by Sune Rustrup

Oft have we known that sev'nfold Fence to fail,
Tho' stiff with Hoops, and arm'd with Ribs of Whale.
- Alexander Pope

A popular happening in the early days of modern Feminism was the public burning of the brassiere which was regarded as a remnant of the corset; a physical manifestation of sexual oppression in the capacity of a mobile cage. As is ever the case, people confused nature with the intentions of Judeo-Christian misogyny which were not to reduce woman to the state of an object but rather to prevent her becoming one and so, as the natural link between man and god, re-establishing her position as a religious power figure. 

Admittedly, this superiority can be hard for the man-brute to come to terms with as he struggles to comprehend that the items on display are not necessarily there for his enjoyment alone. One only has to think of modern man and woman as they struggle to distinguish between sacred prostitution and common streetwalking.

However, we do not receive the Holy Communion because of mundane hunger and so it is generally frowned upon to address the priest as Garcon. Hence it quickly becomes imperative to make the priestess so terrifying that lust turns into submission.

When Philip of Macedon would approach his queen’s private parts he was invariably confronted with the head of an angry serpent she had coiled around her waist. In other words, his masculine potency clashed with one of even greater ferocity thus ensuring the immaculate conception of Alexander.

This was incidentally a practised custom by the Maenads, of whom she belonged, and should therefore not really have surprised the king who in his youth had undergone a Dionysian initiation. Just like the Egyptian gods basically present the shaman in his totemic mask, so we behold the goddess in her physical aspect, the priestess.

Like the Minoan ‘Snake Goddess’ encounters us in the famous figure so did she appear to her male idolaters in the temple. Describing her outfit in modern terms we must conclude she is wearing a corset – the cut is surely unmistakable.

The breasts are bare as the hips constitute the top ledge of a tower but in between them we find the warriors tight girdle, a body unravelled by no mortal hand – she is chaste because she wholly belongs to her Lord. To the mortal man her sexual power is defined by her elevated and irresistible inviolability.

No ejaculation will ever make her suitor look over his shoulder – in this relationship he is the woman. To a certain extent this ideal of a woman carries through from Antiquity into medieval times as the concept of amour courtois, and again we must refrain from regarding these graces of discipline as expressions of female suppression – indeed the chastity belt served a double purpose.

The corset per se hails from Renaissance Spain and is a diminutive of the French cor(p)s. Again we have a double function, an accentuation of the body’s shape and a guardian of its integrity.

Another popular tale of horror is the harmful effects of these ‘instruments of torture’. Exaggeration is of course the hallmark of fashion but the nineteenth century ideal of a waistline twice the width of the neck was hardly taken more seriously than the present day ‘buns of steel’.

Just as women in general have a tendency to buy their shoes one size too small, corsets were then typically ordered to fit a maiden figure. One could always lace them up for comfort.

Overall this garment has likely offered support and a sense of security to the wearer, cue the jeans of later times, often tighter still and a whole lot less feminine.

We’ve become much more casual and much more relaxed in social interactions, where there was a formality and maybe a kind of respect at that time that doesn’t exist now. So wearing a corset certainly changes your state of mind.
- Radha Mitchell

A tight corset is just as often associated with ‘tight-laced’ women, which does not necessarily imply an absence of erotic attraction as witnessed by the widespread fetish for the ‘schoolmistress’.

Indeed there was a fashion tendency then to achieve the ‘hourglass’ curve by amplifying the derriere. And again the ‘wasp waist’ implies dominance rather than the opposite.

At the start of the twentieth century the corset fell victim to the same hysteria that condemned masturbation and which typically advocates a ‘healthy’ sexuality free from all those inhibitions which once made it exciting.

Purposely so of course; to cure a child of the sweet tooth one simply stuffs him with strawberry ice cream and in lieu of a handy emetic it is often equally effective to flip through the cable channels after midnight.

The ecstasy of the nuns is in other words a result of sexual starvation and all forms of infatuation, seduction and erotic slavery spring from a lacking ability to bring off Saturday night’s joint masturbation. Sex is merely gymnastics as Christianity will inform us.

During WWI the metal-boned corset almost disappeared from use – steel was in demand for nobler purposes. It was replaced by the girdle and the brassiere (from the French ‘breast-guard’) and as the names suggest their main purposes were to keep-in-line rather than underline the feminine shape.

Lately the corset has enjoyed a renaissance as part of the rebellion against Puritan sexual hygiene. Woman is in this and many ways recapturing her central role of erotic object and power.

In some circles the corset serves both to discipline sexual slave girls and as a piece of armour that emphasizes the superiority and unattainability of the mistress – a leather construction is then often preferred.

At the end of the day it remains a matter of personal taste as to whether corsets are becoming or not. Some might prefer a more girlish attire that also offers ease of access. If nothing else the return of the corset can be seen, with a little ingenuity, as an indication that Woman is beginning to reject a century-long sexual oppression.

©2009