Bleaching Creams, Choking Bodices And Tapeworms. A New Exhibit Asks: Beauty Or Torture?

THIS IS KPBS MIDDAY EDITION I MICHAEL LIPKIN IN FOR MAUREEN CAVANAUGH. STOMACH IF YOU WATCH ENOUGH TV INFOMERCIALS YOU WILL SEE PLENTY OF DUTY TREATMENT SESSION RAISE YOUR SUSPICIONS. THERE ARE COUNTLESS CURE-ALL LOTIONS AND TONICS THE CLAIM TO KEEP YOUR SKIN CLEAR AND YOUR WAIST SLIM. BUT THEY ARE NOTHING COMPARED SOME OF THE BEAUTY TOOLS WOMEN USED MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO. INCLUDING TAPEWORMS PRETTY NEW EXHIBIT AT THE WOMEN'S MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA LOOKS AT THE MORE EXTREME LENGTHS WOMEN HAVE GONE TO IN SEARCH OF SOCIETIES IDEALS OF BEAUTY. CALL BEAUTY OR TORTURE. I'M JOINED BY ITS CURATOR MARLEE HEALY. LET'S START WITH THOSE TAPEWORMS FOR A SECOND. YOU HAVE THEM IN THE EXHIBIT FROM THE LATE 1800S IS IN FACT THE ENEMY THAT IS SHORTENING YOUR LIFE BANISHED WITH SANITIZE TAPEWORMS YOUR FRIENDS FOR A FAIR FORM. WE KNOW NOW THAT TAPEWORMS ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. BUT BACK THEN PEOPLE WOULD JUST INGEST THEM WILLINGLY?NOT NECESSARILY. TAPEWORMS, WHAT THEY ARE OUR PARASITES THEY OBTAIN NUTRIENTS FROM THE HOST. THIS PARTICULAR ADVERTISEMENT IS MORE ABOUT THE ADVERTISING AND SORT OF THE MENTAL IMAGE AROUND LOSING FAT THAT PEOPLE TEND TO BE OBSESSIVE ABOUT. WE DO NOT KNOW 100% FOR SURE WHETHER TAPEWORMS WERE ACTUALLY PART OF WHAT THAT PILL WAS. IT GIVES YOU A MUCH CLEARER IDEA OF MINE SAID AS OPPOSED TO ACTUAL TAPEWORMS BEING IN THAT PILL, WE DON'T KNOW THAT FOR SURE.SO MAYBE EVEN IF THE ODD WAS LESS THAN TRUTHFUL PEOPLE MAY HAVE THOUGHT THAT IN LOT THESE.ABSOLUTELY AND IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME ADVERTISEMENTS HAVE DUPED PEOPLE INTO BUYING WHATEVER IT IS A TRYING TO PEDDLE. IN THE 19th AND 20th CENTURIES YOU SEE A LOT OF ADVERTISEMENTS SORT OF PURPORTING THAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO ALL OF THESE GREAT AMAZING THINGS FOR IMMEDIATE WEIGHT LOSS AND WHAT THESE PARASITES ACTUALLY DO, THERE ARE PLENTY OF RECORDED CASES OF TAPEWORMS CREATING MALNOURISHMENT AND DRAMATIC WEIGHT LOSS. BUT THAT IS ACTUALLY REALLY TERRIBLE THING. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT OR ARE ABLE TO CONTROL YOURSELF.THERE'S ANOTHER AD FOR AN OLD EXHIBIT CALLED A TOILET MASK. AND THIS WOULD INVOLVE BLEACHING YOUR SKIN?THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THEY COULD DO. THE TOILET MASKS ARE AN EARLY VERSION OF FACIAL MASKS THAT WE DO TODAY. YOU CAN GO TO ANY DRUGSTORE, ANYPLACE THE CELLS MAKEUP AND YOU CAN BUY CREAMS, LOTIONS YOU CAN EVEN BY THOSE PAPER FACEMASKS TO GO DIRECTLY ON FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES HERE OR THERE. THE TOILET MASK OF THE 19th CENTURY WAS KIND OF THIS PLASTIC RUBBERY THING THAT YOU SLEPT IN. IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THOSE HALLOWEEN MASKS, THEY ARE REALLY SCARY. BUT YOU WOULD PUT THE CREAM OR LOTION ON YOUR FACE AND IT COULD BE FOR SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS BLEMISH REMOVAL OR AS SERIOUS AS SKIN LIGHTENING. SO YOU WOULD PUT ALL SORTS OF HAZARDOUS CAUSTIC CHEMICALS WITHIN THE MASS ON YOUR FACE. THE MASS GOES ON AND YOU GO TO BED WITH IT. AND IN THE MORNING THE IDEA WAS HOPEFULLY OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME IT WOULD EITHER THE LIGHTENED THE COMPLEXION OF YOUR SKIN, OR WOULD BANISH THE BLEMISHES THAT YOU HAD. NOT ALWAYS 100% WHAT THAT THING DID.YOU ARE A FASHION COSTUME HISTORIAN WHAT GOT YOU INTERESTED IN PUTTING TOGETHER A SHOW FOCUSED ON THESE BEAUTY DEVICES?THE WOMEN'S MUSEUM IN CALIFORNIA I BEEN WORKING ON A PROJECT WITH THEIR HISTORIC DRESS COLLECTION FOR ABOUT A YEAR. AND THEY HAD MENTIONED IN PASSING HERE WE ARE THINKING ABOUT DOING AN EXHIBIT ABOUT TORTURE IS BEAUTY THROUGH THE YEARS AND WHAT THAT IS. SOUNDS LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT THAT'S ACTUALLY RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE AROUND POST-HALLOWEEN TIME AND PORT -- TORTURE WILL BE ON PEOPLE'S MINDS. BUT WHAT ACTUALLY STARTED THE WOMEN'S MUSEUM'S IDEA TO DO A SHOW LIKE THIS CAME FROM THEIR OWN COLLECTION. THEY STARTED TO NOTICE HOW MANY OBJECTS THEY HAD THAT WERE SORT OF THEY HAD A TON OF CORSETS, THEY HAD A COUPLE OF THINGS CALLED :-('S WHICH IS ONE OF THE THINGS IN THE EXHIBIT THEIR TAPE SQUARES FOR PULLING BACK YOUR WRINKLES, SOMETHING ELSE WOMEN SLEEP IN. THEY STARTED IN THE 30s AND YOU CAN STILL BUY THEM TODAY. BUT YOU START NOTICING COLLECTIONS AND THINGS THE COLLECTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AND WE STARTED TO REALIZE WE HAVE ALL OF THIS STUFF. THIS WOULD BE A REALLY INTERESTING, TOPICAL EXHIBIT. AND WHAT GOT ME PERSONALLY SO EXCITED ABOUT IS IT SUCH A RELEVANT TOPIC ALL THE TIME. THIS IDEA OF WOMEN'S BEAUTY IDEALS. IT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR CENTURIES, IT'S NEVER GOING TO CHANGE. AND AS YOU NOSES -- NOTICE ADVERTISING CHANGING AND FASHION CHANGING THERE'S ALWAYS A RELEVANT CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT WOMEN ARE DOING TO THEIR BODIES. WHY ARE THEY DOING THAT QUESTION MARK WHO IS INFLUENCING THEM TO DO IT? IT'S REALLY INTERESTING AND ALWAYS RELEVANT.BOTOX, ONE OF THE MORE COMMON BEAUTY TREATMENTS IS LITERALLY A NEUROTOXIN THE PEOPLE AND JACK INTO THEIR FACE TO TAKE AWAY WRINKLES AND OTHER BENEFITS THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. SO HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST 100 YEARS? AS YOU LOOK BACK AT THE EXHIBIT AND WHAT WE STILL DO TODAY?NOT A LOT HAS CHANGED. ONE EASY EXAMPLE I CAN THINK OF IS THE CURLING IRON AND WHAT WOMEN DUE TO THEIR HAIR. THERE HAS ALWAYS THIS SORT OF FLUX OF CURLY HAIR IS GREAT. WE WENT STRAIGHT HERE NOW, WE WANT BIG CARE 10 YEARS LATER. THE ORIGINAL CURLING IRONS THAT WERE MADE IN THE 1800S, THEY ARE NOT THAT DISSIMILAR FROM WHAT WE HAVE TODAY. SO THE ORIGINAL CURLING I WAS ACTUALLY JUST A KIND OF IRON ROD YOU PUT IN A STOVE AND THE MAIN DIFFERENCE NOW IS THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED TEMPERATURE CONTROL, WHICH YOU DON'T ALWAYS GET FROM AN OPEN FLAME OR KEROSENE STOVE. AT THE BASIC SHAPE IN PRINCIPLE OF CLEAR -- CURLING HERE'S ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME. SO THE ORIGINAL CURLING AND WAS ALMOST THAT ROD SHAPED WERE ALSO GOING BACK TO THAT WHERE YOU CAN BUY A SINGLE ROD AND YOUR DOOR SPECIAL PERMIT BECAUSE OF TOUCH THE HOT IRON WITH YOUR HAND AND YOU KRILL THE HAIR YOURSELF AS OPPOSED TO THE ONES I HAVE THE BARREL WITH THE HINGE CLIP ON IT. IT IS REALLY VERY SIMILAR, EXCEPT YOU ARE NOT PULLING SOMETHING OUT OF A STOVE AND WRAPPING YOUR HAIR, THEY COULD BE A LITTLE BIT DANGEROUS AND THEY ARE SCARY WHEN YOU SEE THEM. IF YOU DO -- DIDN'T DO IT PROPERLY YOU RAN THE RISK OF SINGEING YOUR HAIR AND WEAKENING IT, OR JUST BURNING IT STRAIGHT OFF WHICH IS A VERY SCARY THING TO THINK ABOUT.I'VE BEEN SPEAKING WITH MARLEY HE -- HEALY CURATOR OF BEAUTY TORTURED. THE EXHIBIT RUNS THROUGH JANUARY.