S3 Ep 1. Bridgerton: Corset-ripping science
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Dearest Listeners. The ton are abuzz with the latest on-dit, indeed Small Screen Science has officially returned for a third season. The incomparable Lady Brisdion and Lady Collins welcome you to the first show of the new season.
Yes, that’s right! We kick off the latest season of Small Screen Science by investigating corsets, sex and health in the early 19th century, all through the lens of the Netflix regency smash hit Bridgerton. Were you in one of the 83 million households who saw the series in its first 28 days? Yeah, us too!
After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman of science in possession of curiosity, must be in want of a corset-ripping romp through the Regency!
Listen to the podcast now on:
Meet our guests
Sarah Richardson
Sarah is Professor of Modern British History at the University of Warwick, and an expert in women and political culture in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. She joins us to discuss sex and sexual health in the Regency period. Would Daphne have been that naïve about sex?
T: @warwickuni
Frank McAndrew
Frank is Professor of Psychology at Knox College, Illinois, who studies human social behaviour from an evolutionary perspective. As an expert in the psychology of gossip Frank joins us to discuss why gossip is such a powerful tool and social skill that evolved to help our ancestors become socially successful! Maybe Lady Whistledown is onto something?
T: @FTMcAndrew
Blogs
Episode References (if you fancy some extra reading)
Cox, T., Jack, N., Lofthouse, S., Watling, J., Haines, J. and Warren, M. (2005) King George III and porphyria: an elemental hypothesis and investigation. The Lancet, 366(9482), pp. 332-335
Dunbar, R. (2004) Gossip in evolutionary perspective. Review of General Psychology, 8(2) pp.100-110
FDA (2020) Lead in cosmetics. US Food an Drug Administration. Available from: Lead in Cosmetics | FDA
Feinberg, M., Willer, R. and Schultz, M. (2014) Gossip and ostracism promote cooperation in groups. Psychological Science, 25(3), pp 656-664.
Frith, J. (2012) Syphilis - Its early history ad treatment until penicillin, and the debate on its origins. Journal of Military and Veterans Health, 20(4), pp. 49-58
Gottfried, S. (2019) The science behind why people gossip - and when it can be a good thing. TIME magazine [online] Available from: Why Do People Gossip? Here's What Science Says | Time
H & MUA Team (2021) Women’s regency makeup: An overview [blog] Hair and Makeup Artist Handbook Available from: Women's Regency Makeup: An Overview - Hair & Makeup Artist Handbook (hair-and-makeup-artist.com)
Isaac, S. (2017) The dangers of tight lacing: the effects of the corset. [blog] Royal College of Surgeons of England. Available from: The dangers of tight lacing: the effects of the corset — Royal College of Surgeons (rcseng.ac.uk)
Kaufman, R. (2021) What Bridgerton gets wrong about corsets. Smithsonian Magazine. Available from: What 'Bridgerton' Gets Wrong About Corsets | History | Smithsonian Magazine
Pearce, J. (2017) The role of Dr Francis Willis in the Madness of George III. European Neurology 78(3-4), pp. 196-199
Starr, M. (2015) Vintage X-rays to highlight the damaging effects of tight corsets on a woman’s body. [blog] Available from: Vintage X-rays reveal the hidden effects of corsets - CNET
Szreter, S. and Siena, K. (2020) The pox in Boswell’s London: an estimate of the extent of syphilis infection in the metropolis in the 1770s. The Economic History Review, July 2020.
The Royal. Ten things you didn’t know about George III. The Royal UK [online]. Available from: Ten things you didn't know about George III | The Royal Family