The historical stereotype of oppressed women strapped into suffocating corsets is being challenged by research suggesting they may have been more comfortable than contemporary bras. The controversial take has been put forward by Australian academic Dr. Sarah Bendall, the author of a new book Shaping Femininity: Foundation Garments, the Body and Women in Early Modern England. The Australian Catholic University researcher based in Sydney says corsets were far less restrictive than people think and their main advantage was in providing breast support before bras were invented. For some women at least, she says they were probably more comfy than today’s brassieres with their straps and underwires. “They supported the whole torso, so they didn’t cut into the back,” Bendall says. “For big-breasted women, that is probably more comfortable than a modern bra.” Bendall concedes it’s not possible to directly compare contemporary notions of comfort with those experienced by women of yesteryear. Women’s bodies …