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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]].
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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> This room, which was also referred to as bedroom (bedrooms were called chambers), is located in the ground floor and contained a day bed that allow occupants to rest for brief periods during the day.<ref name=":0" />


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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==
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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> 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 she exerted herself to the point of needing large quantities of oxygen, being unable to fully 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{{OR|date=November 2016}} 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 Maines|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.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}
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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.


The Victorian fainting rooms are also associated with gender discrimination such as the claim that it is part of the legacy of female containment where such room 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|last=Harris|first=Adrienne|last2=Kalb|first2=Margery|last3=Klebanoff|first3=Susan|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=9780415728676|location=Oxon|pages=165}}</ref> Some also associate it with the view that because women are so frail, they could not handle bad news.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sdnews.com/view/full_story/27524201/article-Beauty-is-pain---but-is-it-torture--Women-s-Museum-of-California-exhibit-explores-that-question-?instance=most_popular1|title=Beauty is pain – but is it torture? Women’s Museum of California exhibit explores that question - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but is it synonymous with pain? Torture? The Women’s Museum of California’s current exhibit Beauty or Torture: S...|last=Viti|first=Lucia|date=December 30, 2017|work=Sand Diego Community News|access-date=2018-11-14}}</ref>
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
|deadurl=yes
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015522/http://www.texnews.com/1998/opinion/gree1212.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015522/http://www.texnews.com/1998/opinion/gree1212.html
|archivedate=2007-09-27
|archive-date=2007-09-27
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}}
|df=
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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}}
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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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