S-Curve

I was at the Kellen Archives recently, attending a presentation on using the archives for research papers, design inspirations, etc.  We were broken up into groups to survey various collections of images, one of which was a collection of photographs from the 'S-Curve' corset era.

What a bunch of fucked up shit that was.

We spontaneously started somewhat of a discussion on female oppression when we reconvened, and all I could think of was the discussion we'd had in digital before, about the 'barbaric' lip discs.  I just can't believe that the culture that came up with this corset could have ever found itself to be more 'civilized' than a culture that required less clothing due to their climate and protective darker pigment.