History of Shapewear and Body Autonomy

Shapewear+&+Bodily+Autonomy+Blog+Cover

If you’re like me, you just finished binge-watching Bridgerton and can’t get enough of the glamorous lifestyle of each character. The young ladies are in pursuit of finding a husband, and so they work hard to ensure their attractiveness. Some characters work on their piano skills, others on just the right dress. Though the show is fictional, it has me wondering how much we find ourselves trying to shape and conform our own bodies and lives in the pursuit of acceptance and love. My question is, are things like shapewear and bodily autonomy mutually exclusive?