Research Paper on Underwear

The Underwear Revolution of the 18th Century

Underwear. Boxers. Panties (Thesaurus.com, 2013). All of these words are said on a daily basis all around the world, today. Think back to the 1700’s, though. Women wore elegant dresses with nothing, but a chemise and corset, underneath (Thomas, 2010). The chemise didn’t even cover your nether region. Women had to wear large pannier skirts (Thomas, 2010), which was said to have kept them warm, but that still did not protect them from dirt or bugs (Finley, 2001). While underwear started to be produced after the French Revolution, in 1789 (Thomas, 2010), it didn’t actually become popular in countries like Germany until the 1900’s (Finley, 2001).

In Germany there once was a doctor who opposed the idea of women wearing underwear. He believed that “her genitals needed air to allow moisture to evaporate...” (Finley, 2001). In 1757, the same doctor conceded that women could wear underwear to prevent insects and dirt getting in her genitals (Finley, 2001). The doctor also mentioned that they may be used to keep genitalia from getting cold (Finley, 2001). These statements were all made before the end of the French Revolution, though. At the end of the Revolution fabrics that were light began to be found worn more often (Thomas, 2010).

In part we can thank Eli Whitney, a Yankee, who invented cotton gin in 1792 (Prickettsfort, 2013). Cotton was primarily found worn by Americans until after 1760, when European countries started to also use it (Prickettsfort, 2013). Cotton was a lighter fabric that could be worn and allow your nether region to still breath (Sugar, 2011). The fact that your genitals could still breath while wearing underwear could have been one reason why underwear began to become more commonly worn.

After cotton was forever changed using cotton gin it was possible to make lighter underwear this type of fabric became worn more often. This also proved that you could wear underwear and still let your nether region breath (Sugar, 2011). We need underwear to protect our genitals from dirt and insects (Finley, 2001). This is why when Eli Whitney invented cotton gin he formed not only a lighter fabric, but also the “economical fiber it[cotton] is today.”(Prickettsfort, 2013). As it turns out going commando is actually quite similar to wearing thick underwear that doesn’t allow you to breath (Sugar, 2011) So, in short, the revolution of underwear in the 18th century was focused around the invention of cotton gin and the opinions of German doctors.

Works Cited

"18th Century Clothing; The Making of Cloth." Http://www.prickettsfort.org/. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.prickettsfort.org/Resources/18th%20Century%20Clothing.pdf>.

This article was written to inform people about the making of clothes in the 18th century and the fabrics used. It talked about the new inventions that affected the way clothing was made. I used it as a source to find out more about cotton. It talked about the invention of cotton gin and it's price. It also talked about the process in which clothing used to be made in that time period.

Finley, Harry. "European Underwear from 1700 to about 1900 and What This Reveals about Menstruation, at MUM." European Underwear from 1700 to about 1900 and What This Reveals about Menstruation, at MUM. N.p., 2001. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. <http://www.mum.org/underhis.htm>.

This article was written to talk about underwear worn by men and women in the 18th century. It talks about chemises and some opinions that doctors had in this time period about underwear. This article was written to inform people. It was useful to me because it told me about what people wore under clothing in the 18th century. It also gave me some insight from the point of view as a doctor in Germany in 1757.

Sugar, Jenny. "Health Risks Concerning Underwear and Exercise." RSS. PopSugar, 14 June 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.fitsugar.com/Health-Risks-Concerning-Underwear-Exercise-17843580>.

This article is about health risks concerning underwear and exercising. In this article it talks about different types of fabric and how they let your nether region breath or not breath. This article was written to give people advice on underwear choice. It was useful to me because it told me how cotton allows your genitals to breath.

Thomas, Pauline. "Undergarments History Pants, Drawers, Briefs, Knickers Fashion." Undergarments History. N.p., July 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. <http://www.fashion-era.com/drawers-pants-combinations-knickers-fashion.htm>.

This article talks, mainly, about the history of women's undergarments. It discusses how over the years the appearance of undergarments have changed since the 18th century. This article was written to inform people on the timeline of undergarment changes. I used this source to explain what people wore before the French Revolution and why undergarments began changing after the Revolution.

"Underwear." Thesaurus.com. Philip Lief Group, 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2013. <http://thesaurus.com/browse/underwear>.

This excerpt gave synonyms for the word underwear. This source is an excerpt from a thesaurus online database. I used this source to open my paper with terms that many people use in place of underwear.