ANST - re: ANST- Ladies Chest Protection

[cward at awd.com]

This discussion comes back up every so often.  I have been dealing with the 
topic since I started fighting around 1979 or 1980.  Personally, I hate any 
type of chest armor.  It's hot and uncomfortable and restricts movement way 
too much.  But I wear it none the less.

Back in 1979 or 1980, when I started fighting the first time, I consulted 
with my mother, who is a physician (OB/GYN), and she in turn consulted with 
 a colleague of hers who specializes in diseases of the breast.  Both 
agreed fully that while getting hit in the tits with heavy rattan might 
hurt, and could certainly cause bruising, there was no medical reason that 
it was a bad thing: they agreed it could not cause cancer, deformity, or 
other breast disease.  At that particular time, the marshallate was 
claiming that they wanted women to wear breast armor because they were 
afraid being whacked in the breast might cause cancer!

I've gotten hit in the breast a time or three -- the worst being a time 
when I caught a great sword going full speed and stopped it with my breast. 
 The breast looked like the world's largest concord grape for weeks, but  
since the sword tip had missed my chest wall, I actually was able to 
continue the fight and fought on later that afternoon.  The blows I've 
received there caused no scarring, no deformation, and no problems.  The 
worst injury I ever received to the breast while fighting was from an 
underwire bra, which is why ladies should not wear underwires on the list 
field -- I ended up with six stitches from that one!

I will mention that I am wearing a breastplate hidden under my gambeson.  
It's not to protect my tits.  It's to protect my sternum.  The breastbone, 
in men and women alike, most certainly *can* be damaged badly.  Worse, if 
you're hit just right (like, say, with one of those !@#$%$#@! pultruded 
fiberglass spears) the impact can snap the sternum loose from the ribs, 
allowing the ribs and sternum to do unlovely things in turn to your heart 
and lungs.

Another serious risk is the little tab attached to the bottom of the 
sternum.  That tab angles inwards anyway, and a good hard blow can break it 
off, or drive it back into lungs or apparently even into the liver (though 
this is more of a motor vehicle accident problem).

Basically, wearing only a gambeson to protect the chest is stupid.  It does 
nothing to protect against anything and only adds heat and restricts 
movement.  Wearing rigid or semi-rigid armor to protect the chest does make 
more sense, as it will tend to spread the force of the blow, keeping shots 
from concentrating on the breastbone or on a rib and possibly causing 
serious injury.

Thing is, I don't think that just women should be required to wear this 
type of armor -- the tits don't need protecting, the sternum does -- and 
thus men and women alike should protect it if *any* of us have to.  

I rather look upon armor as a chance to weed the gene pool -- it's like the 
motorcycle helmet controversy.  If someone is retarded enough to want to 
fight with no helmet, for the good of the human species we should let them. 
 And likewise body armor should be a matter of choice as far as I'm 
concerned: plate armor for the chest, some hot padding in a gambeson, or 
nothing -- I really wish they'd leave it up to the wearer.

That's my opinion.  I'd be glad to come up with the medical information 
about trauma injuries and breast risk factors related to same if the 
marshallate would find it helpful in making a useful decision.

::GUNNORA::
Gunnora Hallakarva,
Writing from work
(This account goes away Nov 10, 1997 -- write to me at gunnora at bga.com)
-------------
Original Text
From: "Vanora Villon" <vanora at hotmail.com>, on 10/28/97 7:21 PM:
Greetings from Lady Vanora!

 I'd like to do a "poll", here. Humor me, please:

 There are some discussions going on concerning ladies' chest 
protection. Ansteorra has a rule stating that women have to wear 6-8oz. 
leather over the breasts and sternum... while Coorporate says a gambison 
over the same area is sufficient. Quite a few of us ladies would like to 
have Ansteorra's rule dropped to the Coorporate rule. We can prove that 
there's no danger of cancer from being hit, that there's no long-term 
harm, and that the only difference between a man and a woman getting hit 
in the breasts arrises ONLY if she is lactating. 

 So, what do you think... drop the rule OR mandate chest protection for 
all men in Ansteorra?

You can respond to me personally  at <vanora at hotmail.com> or back over 
the mailing list. Just be aware that opinions expressed WILL go to our 
earl marshal and WILL be put into kingdom files where it WILL be read.
              
In Service to the Sable Star and to the Dream, 

~Lady Vanora Villon de Paris~
esquire to Viscount Galen of Bristol, 
Teutonic Order of the Dragon- Atlantia, 
Barony of Elfsea/ Ansteorra



______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
============================================================================
Go to http://www.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.

============================================================================
Go to http://www.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.