Feminine Viscera: Under the Corset

Even when bodies are being broken down to the most anatomical basics, they are still assigned meaning of social and cultural significance. Found amongst anatomical texts, midwifery instructions, and even body books for the home and families, the female form is considered from all angles in the printings and re-printings of medical illustration. From close-to-pornographic gynecological spreads, to diagrams of reproductive organs printed on pages meant to be torn out of family-friendly medical text books if deemed too offensive, the printing of the female form, even as a medical object, has been fraught with the same sexism and prudery dealt to any other female image. As noted by scholars like Chris Amirault, fashion, poses, and artistry intersect with science and morality in these images in unprecedented ways.