Corseting, popular from the 14th to 19th centuries, originally involved compressing the bosom and constricting the waist with tightly wound whalebone on a steel frame. Shallow breathing, combined with inadequate venous return, produced fainting and swooning. Hiatal hernias caused by overly tight corsets are termed "Sommerring's syndrome" -- after the 18th century physician who first warned of the dangers of tight lacing. Christina Larson points out, "the corset facilitated a pernicious association between physical beauty and virtue, as upright posture and a slender waist came to be regarded as evidence of discipline, modesty, rigor, and refinement. Ladies who abandoned their stays were scorned as both lazy and immoral."
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