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[[File:Villa di Poggio a Caiano, salottino.JPG|thumb|right|200px|A fainting couch and a low table in Villa di Poggio in Caiano.]]
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A '''fainting room''' was a private room, of which its main features/furniture were [[fainting couch]]es, used during the [[Victorian era]], to make women more comfortable during the home treatment of [[female hysteria]]. Fainting rooms were used for more privacy during home treatment [[erotic massage#Use in medicine|pelvic massage]]s. Such couches or sofas typically had an arm on one side only to permit easy access to a reclining position, similar to its cousin the [[Chaise longue]], although the sofa style most typically featured a back at one end (usually the side with the arm) so that the resulting position was not purely [[supine position|supine]].


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A '''fainting room''' was a private room, common in the [[Victorian era]], which typically contained [[fainting couch]]es. Such couches or sofas typically had an arm on one side only to permit easy access to a reclining position, similar to its cousin the [[Chaise longue]], although the sofa style most typically featured a back at one end (usually the side with the arm) so that the resulting position was not purely [[supine position|supine]].
==Crime Theories for the Prevalence of fainting couches==
Female hysteria was more common in this era due to females being forced to stay at home and not interact within society. They were stripped of their sexuality and were essentially servants to the men of the household. Women were considered to have a "wandering womb".<ref>https://www.wired.com/2014/05/fantastically-wrong-wandering-womb/</ref> The females role in society beside occasionally going out to shopping, was to strictly hold their husbands or fathers place in a social class. The idea of female hysteria was said to be psychopathological defect which gives women a need for a 'fainting room". Another reason that a female was said to have "female hysteria" was due to the emergence of female kleptomania.<ref>https://www.britannica.com/science/kleptomania</ref>Females now had the ability to go out shopping during this era in "modern" shopping centers, when they couldn't afford something they would steal it.


There are also accounts that mention fainting rooms in eighteenth-century America.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Haunted Crown Point, Indiana|last=Tometczak|first=Judith|publisher=The History Press|year=2017|isbn=9781467136914|location=Charleston, SC|pages=79}}</ref> These rooms, which were also referred to as bedrooms (bedrooms were called chambers), were located in the ground floor and contained a day bed that allowed occupants to rest for brief periods during the day.<ref name=":0" />
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==Theories for the prevalence of fainting couches==

* One theory for the predominance of fainting couches is that women were actually fainting because of their [[corsets]] were laced too tightly, thus restricting blood flow. However, pictures from the 1860s show women horseback riding, playing tennis, and engaging in other vigorous activities in corsets without hindrance. This being stated, though, a tightly-laced corset does restrict airflow to the lungs. As a result, if exerted herself to the point of needing large quantities of oxygen, being unable to full inflate the lungs could contribute to a light-headed state; exacerbating this state could surely lead to fainting. Alternatively, a high state of emotions could result in hyperventilation, potentially resulting in the same event.
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==Theories for prevalence==
* The second most common theory for the predominance of fainting couches is home treatment of female hysteria through manual pelvic massage by home visiting doctors and midwives.<ref name=Maines>{{cite book|isbn=0-8018-6646-4|title=The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria", the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction|author=Rachel P. Maines|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press | location=Baltimore|year=1999}}</ref> As a "disease" that needed constant, recurring (usually weekly) in-home treatment with a procedure that through manual massage could sometimes take hours, creating specialized furniture for maximum comfort during the extended procedure seems likely, as does the later creation of fainting rooms for privacy during the intimate massage procedure.
One theory for the predominance of fainting couches is that women were actually fainting because their [[corsets]] were laced too tightly, thus restricting blood flow.<ref>{{Cite book|title=You Can Beat the Odds: Surprising Factors Behind Chronic Illness and Cancer|last=Stockdale|first=Brenda|publisher=Sentient Publications|year=2009|isbn=9781591810797|location=Boulder, CO|pages=60}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/health-fitness/article42228423.html|title=Get skinny in a cinch? Corsets make a comeback, along with health issues|last=Caiola|first=Sammy|date=2015-11-02|work=The Sacramento Bee|access-date=2018-11-14|language=en-US|issn=0890-5738}}</ref> By preventing movement of the ribs, corsets restricted airflow to the lungs and,{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for this claim|date=October 2020}} as a result, if the wearer exerted themselves to the point of needing large quantities of oxygen and was unable to fully inflate the lungs, this could lead to fainting. [[Hyperventilation]] for any reason could also potentially result in brief loss of consciousness.

Victorian fainting rooms are associated with a claim that they are part of the legacy of female containment where such rooms served as a deeply female space meant to force women to remain indoors and inactive under the guise of ensuring privacy, class, and [[interiority]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ghosts in the Consulting Room: Echoes of Trauma in Psychoanalysis|last1=Harris|first1=Adrienne|last2=Kalb|first2=Margery|last3=Klebanoff|first3=Susan|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=9780415728676|location=Oxon|pages=165}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite news
* {{Cite news
| url = http://www.texnews.com/1998/opinion/gree1212.html
|url=http://www.texnews.com/1998/opinion/gree1212.html
| title = Let's all retire to the Fainting Room
|title=Let's all retire to the Fainting Room
| accessdate = 2006-08-27
|access-date=2006-08-27
| last = Greene
|last=Greene
| first = Bob
|first=Bob
| date = 1998-12-12
|date=1998-12-12
| publisher = Chicago Tribune
|publisher=Chicago Tribune
|url-status=dead
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}}
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015522/http://www.texnews.com/1998/opinion/gree1212.html

|archive-date=2007-09-27
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}}
* {{Cite news
* {{Cite news
| url = http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/the-little-room-upstairs.shtml
| url = http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/the-little-room-upstairs.shtml
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| publisher = OldHouseWeb
| publisher = OldHouseWeb
}}
}}
{{refend}}
{{Refend}}


{{Room}}
{{Room}}
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{{Hist-stub}}
{{architecture-hist-stub}}

Latest revision as of 05:42, 26 August 2023

A fainting couch and a low table in Villa di Poggio in Caiano.

A fainting room was a private room, common in the Victorian era, which typically contained fainting couches. Such couches or sofas typically had an arm on one side only to permit easy access to a reclining position, similar to its cousin the Chaise longue, although the sofa style most typically featured a back at one end (usually the side with the arm) so that the resulting position was not purely supine.

There are also accounts that mention fainting rooms in eighteenth-century America.[1] These rooms, which were also referred to as bedrooms (bedrooms were called chambers), were located in the ground floor and contained a day bed that allowed occupants to rest for brief periods during the day.[1]

Theories for prevalence[edit]

One theory for the predominance of fainting couches is that women were actually fainting because their corsets were laced too tightly, thus restricting blood flow.[2][3] By preventing movement of the ribs, corsets restricted airflow to the lungs and,[citation needed] as a result, if the wearer exerted themselves to the point of needing large quantities of oxygen and was unable to fully inflate the lungs, this could lead to fainting. Hyperventilation for any reason could also potentially result in brief loss of consciousness.

Victorian fainting rooms are associated with a claim that they are part of the legacy of female containment where such rooms served as a deeply female space meant to force women to remain indoors and inactive under the guise of ensuring privacy, class, and interiority.[4]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Tometczak, Judith (2017). Haunted Crown Point, Indiana. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 79. ISBN 9781467136914.
  2. ^ Stockdale, Brenda (2009). You Can Beat the Odds: Surprising Factors Behind Chronic Illness and Cancer. Boulder, CO: Sentient Publications. p. 60. ISBN 9781591810797.
  3. ^ Caiola, Sammy (2015-11-02). "Get skinny in a cinch? Corsets make a comeback, along with health issues". The Sacramento Bee. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  4. ^ Harris, Adrienne; Kalb, Margery; Klebanoff, Susan (2016). Ghosts in the Consulting Room: Echoes of Trauma in Psychoanalysis. Oxon: Routledge. p. 165. ISBN 9780415728676.


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