Fainting couch

Popular speculation about the need for fainting couches

• The term "fainting couch" is not documented as being in use until the 20th century. There is nothing to suggest in advertising of the Victorian era that any article of furniture was created specifically for people to use when feeling faint and should only be considered a myth.
• Corsets: One theory for the predominance of fainting couches is that women were actually fainting because their corsets were too tight, restricting blood flow. However, pictures from the 1860s show women horseback riding, playing tennis, and engaging in other vigorous activities in corsets without hindrance.
• Female hysteria: 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. As a "disease" that needed constant, recurring 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.